Page 68 of Family: Posy 4

"What?" he whined back. "You didn't say it was a secret."

He grabbed me by the waist and whirled me around before passing me to Wyatt, who studied my face for a second, then leaned down and whispered in my ear exactly what the middle finger meant.

"Don't youdaresay that word, though, you understand me?" he said sternly. "If you do, Sir will be unhappy with his little girl."

For some reason, his words and tone made my belly tight and my lady parts damp. Swallowing hard, I widened my eyes and nodded.

"Okay, fifth star." I bit my lip, wondering if I should ask, then decided to go for it. "Um, Wyatt?"

"Yes, cutie?"

"What doesthatword mean? Lark won't tell me," I pouted.

Five groans rattled the room before he promised to explain after we came back from the fair.

"Why wait?" I tilted my head as I stared up at him. "Can't you just tell me now?"

"No, cutie." His lips tugged into a dark smirk and his blue eyes glittered. "We'll have so much more funshowingyou."

#

The fair was amazing!

The boys explained that we came in the late afternoon because the crowds would pick up the later it got. I was so grateful for them to think of that. I was slowly getting better about being around others, but strangers still made me uncomfortable, and a lot of them could make me panic.

"I want to take you on the Ferris wheel!" Ash crowed after we paid and walked through the gates.

He pointed to the ride towering over the rest of the fair, and my heart rate sped up just looking at it.

"Um," I tried to tell him I didn't want to go on that ride, but Wyatt jumped in first.

"Aw, I wanted to do that! All right, then. I'll take her on the roller coaster."

"Um."

"ThenI'mtaking her on the swings," Ash countered.

"Um."

"ThenI'mtaking her on the salt and pepper shakers," Wyatt smirked.

"Um."

"ThenI'm—"

"Shut up, you two!" Cole roared. "Stop interrupting her! She doesn't want to go on those types of rides! She doesn't like heights!"

"Oh," Ash and Wyatt said in unison, then Ash added, "I forgot."

"How could you forget?" Mason rolled his eyes. "You'rethe one who discovered it, remember?"

"Oh, yeah!" His eyes lit up. "She didn't like sitting on my shoulders! No way would she enjoy those kinds of rides."

"Let's stop talking about her like she's not here," Jayden suggested, giving me a secret wink, "andaskher what she wants to do."

"Well," I said, smiling up at all of them, "I saw a sign for a scavenger hunt. That's something we can do together all through the fair. I want to see the animals, and Peri said there are games that you can play and win prizes."

"Sounds perfect!" Cole hugged and kissed my cheek.

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