Page 73 of The Road to Finding Us

Veronica’s blonde eyebrows raise, her eyes ping ponging between us. I feel the heat from Aspen’s body on my back, so I hesitantly look back at him. He looks almost perfectly put together again, aside from the small lipstick smudge on his white shirt.

“You’ve got a little—” Veronica gestures to and around her lips. Before thinking of a better plan, she licks her thumb and brings it to swipe at the corner of my mouth, “—lipstick here.”

I run my fingers over the spot she’s just wiped, I thought I’d gotten it all when I looked in the mirror.

“Well, Aspen, looks like the plan worked,” Veronica states, looking over at my shoulder at him.

I narrow my eyes. “Plan?”

Veronica takes a step into the hallway, gesturing for us to follow her. My feet, however, don’t move. I’m too invested in what the hell she’s talking about.

“Yeah, you know—the plan. The master plan Aspen and I worked up to finally get the two of you together. I can’t believe neither of you told me it worked!”

When I look at Aspen, he looks like a deer in headlights. He’s nervously shaking his head at Veronica, something she doesn’t notice until it’s too late.

“Someone explain. Right freaking now,” I demand, just as Maverick climbs the stairs.

Veronica purses her lips awkwardly, looking over to my brother as if he’ll help her.

I stomp a heeled foot, the sound reverberating off the walls. “Somebody explain—please,” I emphasize desperately. “Because right now, it sounds like my best friend and the guy I’m sleeping with came up with some freaking plan to lure me into bed. That can’t be true. Right?” I look between the two of them, a plea on my face, hoping this isn’t what I think it is.

“Well, when you put it that way, it sounds worse than it is,” Aspen starts, tucking his hands into the pockets of his suit pants.

A shrill laugh escapes me. “It sounds worse? Okay, then enlighten me. What the hell is happening here?”

“Sooo, at this rate we’re going to be late for the party,” Maverick interjects from the stairwell.

“Shut up, Maverick!” I shout, looking at my twin as he puts his hands up in surrender.

“Don’t talk to him like that,” Veronica seethes from the hallway, giving me a look of her own.

Aspen’s hand grips my elbow, delicately trying to spin me toward him. “Look, I was out here not too long ago, finalizing the plans for the house. Maverick and V were nice enough to let me stay with them. It was during that time that I confessed to them about the feelings I had for you in college. The feelings I still have for you.” He pauses, allowing his words to sink in.

He shifts on his feet before continuing. “I didn’t know how to get your attention again. I knew you were in Dallas too, but I also knew you wanted nothing to do with me, and I didn’t want to barge into your life if you were happy. But when Veronica told me you were single, I wanted to shoot my shot. I wanted another chance with you.”

Veronica chimes in with, “I told him about our girls’ trip. We came up with a plan to say I couldn’t go, so he could take my place.”

“Was there even a catering emergency?” I ask.

The look between the two of them tells me enough—it was a lie.

“It’s not like we did anything bad,” Veronica insists.

The look on Aspen’s face doesn’t hold an ounce of his normal arrogance. He looks nervous as he talks. “I just wanted the chance to show you how I felt. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to do it.”

“Well, it feels shady. Of both of you.” I grab my clutch from the armchair, brushing past Veronica and Maverick to go wait at the front door.

When Veronica comes down the stairs, the look in her eyes almost scares me. She’s definitely pissed. She stops in front of me, looking every bit of a bride in her white dress. Too bad the look on her face is definitely not bridal. “We’ll talk later. Until then, don’t ruin this for your brother.” She stares at me for a few moments longer, forcing a smile on her face when she feels Maverick come up behind her.

“Ready?” he hesitantly asks.

“Yes, dear,” Veronica responds, before planting a kiss on his cheek.

His eyes find mine, and I give him what I hope is a reassuring smile as I nod.

Aspen makes it to the bottom of the stairs, trying to convey something in the way he looks at me. I pull my gaze away from him, too caught up in my emotions to continue to look at him.

I plaster my own fake smile on as we walk to the car.

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