Page 96 of Beyond the Hate

“I’m your bad boy.”

“And my sister isn’t stealing you away.”

“No one’s stealing me away.”

Because Paisley is mine. Maybe not forever. But for as long as she stays, she’s mine.

Chapter 28

“Can my friends keep a secret? I guess I’ll find out.” ~ Paisley

Paisley

“Ugh,” Chloe groans. “I’m still hungover from the end of the summer ball.”

I frown at her. “The ball was several days ago. You shouldn’t still be hungover.”

“I am. And it’s your fault.”

I rear back. “Why is it my fault?”

“Your boyfriend filled the limo’s bar with whiskey.”

I lift an eyebrow. “And then he forced the liquid down your throat?”

She nods. “Exactly.”

“And you didn’t dare his brother, Kai, that you could drink more shots than him?”

“He started it,” she pouts.

“Because our Chloe never starts shit,” Sophia says.

“It’s true. I’m areformed woman.”

At Chloe’s proclamation, I burst into laughter with the rest of my friends. Chloe may be married and have a stepdaughter she dotes on now but she will never be reformed.

She throws a coaster at me. “I’m being serious.”

Maya rubs her still flat stomach. “Try being pregnant.”

Nova nods in agreement. “I’d take a whiskey hangover over morning sickness any day of the week.”

“But then you wouldn’t have little Iliana,” Sophia points out.

Nova smiles. “True. She loves Hudson more than me and she can scream for hours on end without reason, but I love the little terror.”

Maya sighs. “I can’t wait to have my own terror.”

“I hope you have a boy. Iliana can fall in love with him and then we’ll be a family for real.”

Maya squeezes her hand. “We are a family for real.”

My heart fills with joy for Maya. She longed for her parents to love her for most of her life. Until Caleb showed her what true love is. Now she no longer puts up with shit from her parents.

“Hey!” Chloe slaps a hand on the table. “I have a daughter, too. Maybe she’ll fall in love with Maya’s son.”

Maya frowns. “It would be quite the age difference. Natalia’s thirteen now.”

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