Page 64 of Ravished By Her

“Can I float a hypothetical scenario to you without you getting mad?” she asked, and I frowned, sensing a trap.

“No, but you’re going to do it anyway.” I wished I had more wine, so I got up and plucked the bottle from the fridge and brought it over for both of us.

“Go ahead,” I said, once I’d filled my glass again. The wine was fine, but I almost wished it was one of Lacey’s beers.

“The hypothetical scenario is that you stick around Arrowbridge. Maybe even rent a place. You keep doing your work and getting more clients and build a thriving business. And you make Lacey fall in love with you, which I think she’s probably already on the way, and then you make her decide to stay and we all live happily ever after and I get my van back.”

I immediately started shaking my head. “No. That’s not a hypothetical that’s ever going to happen. Even if Lacey decides she wants to stay here, I’m not. Sterling, my life is in Boston. I worked so hard to get there and build a life and I’m not giving that up.”

Sterling let out a frustrated sound and set her wine glass down. “But that’s the thing, Gwennie. You don’t just get one life. You get multiple chances, multiple choices. I thought the only way I could be happy was by always moving from place to place and never letting anything tie me down. And then I met Kai and I saw that I had another option, a better option.”

I opened my mouth to interrupt her and point out that we were two different people, even if our genes were identical, but she put her hand up to stop me.

“I’m not telling you that you have to run over to Lacey’s, rip out your heart, and give it to her. All I’m saying is to not slam this door immediately.”

“I’m not giving up on what I want,” I said, and she sighed.

“I know. I’m not asking you to. But there are different ways to get what you want. And sometimes you think you know what you want until you’re presented with an alternative.” She touched my shoulder and I wanted to push her away. I wanted to go back to the van and forget everything she’d just said.

“Why are you doing this to me, Sterling?” I asked, taking my glasses off and rubbing the spot between my eyebrows where I felt a headache brewing.

“I’m not doing anything to you. Just presenting facts. If they make you mad, then that’s a you problem.”

I pulled the pillow from behind my back and whacked her with it.

“Hey! Don’t attack me for speaking truth! You know I only speak truth!” she said as I kept hitting her with it and she tried to shield herself with her arms.

“What about that time when you told me that I looked good in my junior prom dress? What about that?” I didn’t know what I’d been thinking when I chose an orange dress, but Sterling had told me I looked great and then I saw the pictures and I looked like a fucking sparkly pumpkin. That dress was going to haunt me for the rest of my life. I’d been so lost in high school, and that dress was evidence.

“I made a mistake with the dress! I admit it,” she said, clasping her hands together. “Please forgive me.”

I grinned down at her and shoved the pillow at her. “Never.” I also still owed her a tickle attack, but I was holding off on that until she really had her guard down. Then I’d pounce.

“Oh come on, Gwennie. You love me. You know you love me.” Sterling peeked at me over the pillow and pouted.

She looked too silly for me to keep up the act that I was mad. “Fine. I’ll forgive you for the prom dress, but only because I am partially to blame.” I had been the one who picked it out in the first place.

“Thank you,” she said, jumping up from the couch and then smacking a kiss on my forehead with a loud sound. The door opened and Kai came in, which made Sterling’s face light up.

Did I look like that when I saw Lacey?

“Hey, honey. Did you have a good time?” Sterling dashed over to give Kai a hug and a kiss.

“I did. Everyone says hello and that you have to come next time. They missed you,” Kai put her bag down and sighed.

“And just so you know, you’re invited to a barbecue next weekend, Gwen,” Kai said. “It’s at Everly and Ryan’s house. You’ll meet them at book club. They’re great.”

Sterling’s new friend group was huge, and even though they’d explained who everyone was and gave me names and details, I was still going to need a refresher if I was going to remember who all these people were.

“Everly is the one with the pink hair. And Ryan is like, incredibly tall. And buff,” Sterling said, flexing her own arms. “Everly has social anxiety, so I’m a little surprised she volunteered to host, but who knows.”

“Something tells me they have an announcement to make,” Kai said, taking her dark hair down and running her fingers through it.

“Ohhh, do you think they’re engaged?” Sterling asked as Kai settled on the couch next to her.

“I don’t have anything confirmed, but I just have a sense about these things. I think one or both of them is going to be sporting a ring,” Kai said.

Sterling bombarded Kai with questions about her night and updates on their friends and I decided that it was time for me to leave. I said goodnight and walked the short distance to the van. The fairy lights did make the space feel cheerful and magical, I had to admit. Even though it wasn’t enough space, and I hated the bathroom situation, and I didn’t like cooking in it, the van had still taken care of me since I’d been here.

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