Page 92 of Knightfall
I shrugged. “I’ve never lived through a true foreign suitor visit. Mother just chose for me.”
“Bullshite!” Avia said, then clutched her stomach. “Ugh. Don’t get me upset.”
“I’m not trying to get you upset,” I leaned my elbows on the bed and propped up my head. “It’s true.”
“You didn’t need a ball. And mother didn’t choose for you. Not really. You had a crush on Ryan the moment you saw him,” Avia countered. “You loved Connor your entire life.”
“But Declan and I used to get into debates during our classes. We were always arguing. We never got along.”
“First of all, that’s because you’re both always so arrogantly certain you’re right. You through instinct, he through endless research. He’s a perfect match for you. Besides, don’t you remember the cakes incident?”
“You mean fiasco?”
“He multiplied chocolate cakes for you. By the hundreds.”
I rolled my eyes. “He just didn’t have good control over his power. He didn’t know how to go small.”
“Bloss, he was sarding in love with you. Everyone else saw it. You were too blinded by the other two to notice. And too immature to even manage a thank you at the time, remember?”
My face heated up and a little part of my chest constricted. “He was not.”
I would have known. Wouldn’t I? I thought back. But my memory was hazy.
“He always stared after you when you’d walk down the hall. Always.”
“Stop. Now you’re making things up.”
Avia held up two fingers. “Swear it.” She paused and bit her lip. “Confession, I may have noticed because I may or may not have had a childhood crush on Declan.”
My jaw dropped. “What?” And, despite myself, despite knowing that Declan was grown, that it was a childhood crush, that my sister would never do anything to hurt me, that Declan foolishly was thinking about marrying me … I felt jealousy rise up inside of me. Some part of me claimed Declan as mine.
Shite. She’s right, I reeled from the revelation.
Some part of me claimed all of them.
“What about Quinn?”
“Please. He’s a walking orgasm.”
That’s true.
This is a private conversation. Get out.
All right. But only after you admit it’s true.
You may be slightly attractive.
I’ll take it.
Shitehead.
Sard me. I’m in love with them. All of them. I couldn’t deny the truth of that thought.
Tears filled my eyes. “We need a new topic.” Because even if I wanted to claim them, I couldn’t.
“Don’t Bloss,” Avia reached out and grabbed my hand.
“Don’t what?”
