Page 98 of Stay for Forever

“Can we forget about the cake for a minute and discuss Juniper’s problem first?” Aspen’s words may form a question, but she’s not asking.

Lilac’s nose wrinkles. “I thought you said she wasn’t heartbroken.”

“Ashlyn said she wasn’t heartbroken. I want to hear it from the horse’s mouth.” When I don’t speak, Aspen pokes me, “Well?”

“I’m not a horse.”

She shoots lasers out of her eyes at me. “You know what I mean.”

“I’m not heartbroken.”

She purses her lips in disbelief. “Say it like you mean it.”

“I’m serious. I’m not heartbroken.”

“If not, why are you wearing your I hate the world t-shirt?”

I glance down at my t-shirt. “It doesn’t say I hate the world.”

“You only wear your UC t-shirt when you’re mad at the world.”

Crap. How does she know? “You pay way too much attention to what I wear.”

“And you’re avoiding the question.”

Yes. Yes, I am. “Fine,” I huff. “I’m not heartbroken.”

“I get it,” Ellery pipes up. “I worried about Cole and what he was doing in Chicago when I wasn’t there with him.”

We all know how much of a problem she had with Cole being out of town. She nearly ditched the father of her child, the man she loves, because she couldn’t deal with him being an out-of-towner. Life would be much easier if my issue with Mav was he wasn’t born in Winter Falls.

“At least, you didn’t have to see Cole on the cover of every glossy magazine ever printed and all over social media,” I grumble.

“I would hate that,” Ellery admits.

“Do you not trust him?” Lilac asks. “I can hack into the security system of the restaurants he frequents and check he isn’t cheating on you.”

“Can you really?”

“It’s not difficult.”

Wait. What am I thinking? I’m not going to allow my sister to cyberstalk my boyfriend. I might be a jealous cow, but I’m not a crazy stalker.

“Thank you for the offer, Lilac, but I’m going to decline at this moment.”

“Good.” Aspen nods in approval. “You should trust the man you love.”

“I’m trying,” I whisper. “I’m trying.”

It helps Mav phones me every night and tells me all about his day. He also sends messages throughout the day. They aren’t long – the guy is busy after all – but it’s enough for me to know he’s thinking about me.

Ashlyn skips out of the kitchen, followed by Rowan who’s carrying a cake. “Did you get her sorted?”

Get me sorted. What is this? A therapy cake tasting? “Can all of you stop butting into my life now? I want to eat cake.”

Rowan holds one up. “This is red velvet. I thought we’d start with something traditional and move on from there.”

I mouth thank you to him and he winks.

Phew. I’ve successfully maneuvered my way out of this uncomfortable conversation with my sisters. This is what I get for being close with them. There are no boundaries when it comes to the West sisters. Frankly, I wouldn’t have it any other way. No matter how much I want to throw them all in the capybara’s pool at the moment.

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