Page 121 of Sharing Shane

Veronica thought about a little girl with Shane’s dark eyes, or a little boy with his rare smile. “Yeah.”

Delia’s brows rose. “Okay, then. Is Shane still with Wyatt?”

“Of course.” Veronica frowned. “Why wouldn’t he be?”

“I’m just asking,” Delia said. “So that’s not part of your problem?”

“No,” Veronica said, then hesitated.

“I hear a ‘but’.”

“There’s no ‘but’,” Veronica insisted, then relented at Delia’s bland stare. “Okay, there’s a little but. I don’t know if he wants anything long term outside of Wyatt.”

“Girl. That’s not a little ‘but’. That’s a huge ‘but’. A giant ‘but’. That’s a Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade balloon sized ‘but’.”

“Are you finished?” Veronica asked drily.

“This is because none of the other girlfriends lasted?” Delia frowned. “I thought you said that was because they thought he’d ditch Wyatt for them.”

“It was.” Veronica reached for the bag of candy on the coffee table. “But maybe he likes it that way. Maybe he doesn’t want two permanent partners.”

“Maybe not. Guess you’ll have to stop being a pussy and ask him.”

“You’re such a comfort to me.”

“That’s my job,” Delia said cheerfully. “What about other women?”

“What other women?”

“Other women. Women other than you.” Delia rolled her eyes when Veronica just stared blankly. “Does he plan to date women other than you?”

Veronica focused on unwrapping the chocolate. “We’ve never talked about that, either.”

“For fuck’s sake.” Delia threw up her hands. “I thought the first commandment of poly was ‘Communicate until you’re sick of communicating, then communicate some more’.”

Veronica scowled. “Yeah, well, I’m new.”

“Do you at least know how you feel about him dating women other than you?”

Veronica popped the chocolate into her mouth. “Right now, it would probably wig me out, but I think that’s mostly because I feel so uncertain about all of this. If I felt more stable, it might be fine.”

Then she sighed. “And it might not be fine. Fuck a duck, this is hard.”

“Add that to the list of topics to bring up when you stop?—”

“Being a pussy, I got it.” Veronica huffed out a sigh. “You’re a pain in the ass, you know that?”

“So I’ve been told,” Delia said. “By the way, you know you’re eating my edibles, right?”

“Oh, hell.” Veronica stared at the bag on the table, then at Delia. “How many did I eat?”

“Just one. Where’s Shane tonight?”

“He’s in Ionia until Monday. Hippie Fest.”

“Right. Well, that’s probably a good thing, because in about an hour you’re going to be high as balls.”

“Oh, hell.” Veronica let her head fall forward onto the coffee table again. “Have I mentioned I hate you?”

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