Page 52 of Where the Little Birds Are (Little Bird Duet 2)

Pouring us drinks, I walk back into the kitchen and put away the juice before grabbing my own plate. She’s moving her eggs around her plate with the fork, lost in her own world.

“What’s wrong, Little Bird?”

She stops fussing and grabs her drink to take a sip. I know her well enough to know that she’s stalling, so I wait. “This is just strange. We’ve never done this before. The whole…” Her lips twitch as she tries finding the right word. “I don’t know, the domestic thing.”

I chuckle and pick up my fork. “There’s a lot we haven’t done that I have every intention of doing with you.”

Her face turns red, making me laugh. In all honesty, I meant nothing dirty by it. But I can tell the thoughts running through her head are anything but clean. The side of her I’ve seen since coming here a week ago only cements the fact that we’ve grown up.

“Anyway,” she says, “it feels like we’re playing house. Does this feel real to you?”

Clearing my throat, I unlock my phone and slide it to her. “It’s about to. I spoke with my manager last night and he sent over a release for our approval. If it looks okay, then he’ll submit it to the proper channels. We’ll need to do at least one interview.”

Her lips part as she skims the email on my phone, shaking her head and pushing it away. She drops her fork onto the plate, the clink echoing in the otherwise quiet room. “No.”

My brows pinch. “I thought we—”

“We can’t do it like this,” she states, crossing her arms over her chest.

I look from my phone to her. “But we discussed it and you agreed. Something has to be done before Lena makes the first move, Kinley. We can’t wait.”

“Gavin announced he was engaged online before he told any of us,” she blurts.

I just blink.

Her shoulders drop as she sighs. “My parents were really upset to find out that way. I told myself any big news they hear would come from me first before it goes on social media. It’s bad enough I shut them out when I got home.”

“You had your reasons,” I reply quickly, understanding that she needed time. Telling her that I don’t tell my parents everything won’t help the situation. We’re two different people and the circumstances between our families aren’t the same.

“What exactly are you saying?” I ask slowly, knowing where this is going but needing the confirmation.

Her eyes stay locked on the plate. “I haven’t been a good daughter lately and that needs to change. Our parents need to hear this from us before the media gets ahold of it.”

Appetite wavering, I click my tongue.

“You know it’s the right thing to do.”

“I’m not the best decision maker when it comes to the right thing, Little Bird.” Her frown deepens, making me relent. “We’ll go as soon as you want to. But Eddie says if we’re going to do this, it needs to be soon.”

She picks up her fork and scrapes it around the plate before stabbing the eggs. “When do you need to go back to California? I’m sure you have plenty of work.”

The way she asks has my heart constricting. Does she think I’m going to walk out and that’s it? “Little Bird, look at me.”

She doesn’t.

Holding back a sigh, I push my plate away and stare at her despite her insistence to avoid my gaze. “We are not about to turn our lives upside down for nothing. Think about it, Kinley. How many people in our positions get these chances? Not many.”

“It’s not impossible—”

“Did you try reaching out?”

She presses her lips together.

“We both thought it was for the better,” I say, wishing it weren’t true. We could have been together, but those thoughts are pointless to have.

“Yeah,” she murmurs, picking at her toast. The butter melted into the bread seemingly has her transfixed.

“We’re here. We’re doing this.”

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