Page 34 of Heartfelt Goals

… And peaches.

His nose twitched.

Something smelled like peaches. Not just any peaches—warm, cinnamon-dusted, fresh-out-of-the-oven peaches. Juicy, caramelized, decadent peaches that he could picture in his mind and swallowed.

Oh my gosh… is that - peach cobbler?

“Did you put on lotion or something?” he blurted, desperate to focus on anything that wasn’t the way she looked in his darn Coyotes shirt. “I smell something.”

“Oh, is it okay?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. “I love the stuff and how soft it makes…”

Nope. Nope. Nope.

“Great. Yeah. Good night.”

Before she could say another word, he rolled over, yanking the blankets up to his chin, curling into a ball of pure agony and frustration.

Happiness and torture.

He was going to die.

Dustin could fight it all he wanted, but there was no denying it. His interest was piqued by the one person he shouldn’t be looking at. And for someone who was determined not to be interested in Laurel and to keep things amicable and friendly… falling for Laurel was going to be the sweetest torture imaginable.

8

LAUREL

“I don’t wanna go…”

Laurel sighed and looked at Kendall dispassionately. This argument had been had so many times over the last year that it was getting really old, really fast. She had to give it to the girl – she was persistent.

“Why do I have to go to school when it's a bunch of garbage I’m not going to use,” Kendall huffed. “Besides, I don’t speak French, and we live in the French-speaking part of Canada. Have I mentioned howmoronicthat is?El-stupido-de-french-yo…”

“Okay, first off – that is not even remotely French.”

“It got my point across – didn’t it?”

“Yes, it did. You made your point on a verypointlessargument that we’ve had repeatedly over the last year with the same firm answer that came from the court system –not me.You must be educated and enrolled in school for me to be your guardian. Every child has to go to school.”

“They speakFrench, Laurel, and I don’t!” Kendall hissed in a panic as she put the car in park, waving her hands frantically, her hazel eyes huge with fear – and Laurel finally understood.Her sister wasn’t scared of school; she was afraid because she didn’t speak French and would be an outcast.

“Sweetie, I think you’ll be surprised by the private school that Dustin selected… come inside.”

“So because Little Boy Blue picked the school, you’re all like ‘ohhh it’s perfect, and you’ll love it,’” Kendall mocked, her voice raw as Laurel got out of the car and walked to the passenger side – just in time for Kendall to lock the doors.

“No.”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Yes– and I can do this all day,” Laurel said firmly. “You have to attend school, or the courts will take you from me.”

“Teach me at home.”

“You don’t listen to me at home. Why would I believe that you would start now?”

“I’ll listen! I’ll listen. Just don’t make me go in there and be the only person who has no clue what is going on,” Kendall begged as Laurel unlocked the car door with the remote and managed to open it before her sister could lock it once more.

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