Page 17 of Rejected Plus-Size Mate

“The… aunts?” I ask hesitantly.

“Don’t stress,” Lena says, turning around again. “I know it’s a bit daunting, coming into such a big family, but trust me, it’s pretty awesome.”

I look at her glowing eyes and wide, happy smile. She looks so confident and relaxed. There is no way I can doubt her words, knowing what she went through. I don’t have all the details, but everyone in both packs knows what went down with her father.

“Okay, we’re here!” Gina announces. “This place has the best milkshakes and ice cream, and I want to do some serious damage to my waistline and my purse.”

“Oh, Gina, no,” Lena giggles. “I’m never going to get rid of my baby weight.”

“Pfft. Why would you want to? Fat-bottomed girls make the rockin’ world go round.”

I get out of the car slowly, trying to join in with the laughter of the other two girls.

I wish I could be confident like them, but I’ll never be that beautiful.

Gina is stunning, with her long black hair and big blue eyes. Her long wool dress is the same deep blue, a wraparound design that hugs her waist and accentuates her bust and hips. Lena’s strawberry-blond hair is pulled up in a ponytail, makingher look young and girlish. Her fuzzy pink sweater and soft black jeans fit her loosely, tracing out her lean, muscular body.

I can’t see a hint of baby weight on her.

Beside them, I feel like a huge, soft, ripe tomato. No shape, no curves. Only squishy edges.

“Come on.” Gina links her arm through mine and drags me into the café. We take a booth by the window, and Gina orders three ice cream sundaes with extra everything.

When the mountains of ice cream arrive, slathered with two types of hot fudge and covered in tumbling avalanches of nuts and waffle crisps, I want to say it’s too much for me to finish.

But who am I fucking kidding?

It looks like paradise in a crystal bowl. There’s no way I’m missing out on it just because I’m feeling a bit down.

Isn’t that exactly it, though?

Whenever Mom and Dad had a go at me, whenever a boy I liked turned me down, I’d comfort-eat. I’d try to solve my problems by making the problem worse.

Gina moans in a manner that is probably not acceptable in public. Lena takes a big bite and echoes her. Skeptical, I grab my spoon and dig in.

“Oh my fucking God,” I mutter, rolling the ice cream across my tongue.

“Right?” Gina says, waving her spoon. “It’s obscene. Do you have any idea the willpower it takes for me to stay out of this place?”

“No,” Lena says solemnly. “I can’t imagine. Because youarein here every day.”

Gina giggles and makes emphatic gestures with one hand because her mouth is too full to respond.

We all get halfway through our sundaes before anyone is ready to talk again. I decide to hit the family topic again.

“So, you said Kyle didn’t want to go to your mom’s?” I ask. “Why’s that?”

“She’s missed him so much,” Gina says. “He was away for a bit, but it’s not like he visited regularly before that.”

“What do you mean?”

Gina regards me with her dark blue eyes, and I can tell she isn’t ready to spill every gory detail she knows. Not yet.

Besides, Kyle should be the one to tell me.

“Kyle is just wary of parental figures—especially authority,” Gina says. “I honestly don’t know a whole lot about his childhood because I was a kid then, too. I do know my mom has tried to take care of him as much as she possibly can, and it hurts her that he won’t open up, even though I can tell he’s been lonely.”

I want to ask how she knows that, and the details of the family connections, but I feel a bit stupid asking. I just married the guy. I don’t want to advertise that I know absolutely nothing about his family connections.

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