Page 409 of Hell Hath No Fury
“Well, she’s not here. You are.” Sierra grins at me, bridging the gap between us until she’s able to rest her hands on my shoulders. “Can I offer you some advice, big sis?”
“Can I stop you?”
“No.” She giggles.
“Well, there’s your answer.”
“Don’t kill me, but you’ll never get a boyfriend if you always look like you’re about to chop a man’s balls off at any given second. You know that, right?” She arches a brow teasingly.
I turn to her on my chair and cross my arms over my chest.
“Who says I want a boyfriend?”
“Momma,” she’s quick to answer. Too quick.
I roll my eyes and turn to my mirror again.
“No. Momma wants me to nab myself a husband. That’s different.”
“Husband. Boyfriend. It’s all the same to me,” she retorts with a shrug.
“Trust me. They are very different,” I mumble, going back to brushing my hair, just to keep my hands busy.
“How?” she rebukes, unconvinced.
I let out an exhale and turn on my seat to face her again.
“A boyfriend is of little consequence since he can be easily replaced. A husband, not so much.”
“Jesus, Col. You take the joy out of everything. What about romance? What about hot kisses on your neck while hands trail all over your body until you’re so weak in the knees you feel like the world is spinning around you? When the butterflies in your stomach flap their wings so viciously you feel like you’re aboutto either faint or throw up?” She giggles, holding her shoulders with her arms, as if giving herself a hug.
“What you just described feels more like a bad case of the flu.”
Her hands drop to her sides, her face falling in disgust.
“What about romance, Colleen? Don’t you want a bit of romance in your life? Love at least?”
“No,” I deadpan, dead serious. “Love or anything similar to it will just get in the way.”
“In the way of what?”
I turn around yet again, fixing my stare into the mirror and away from my sister.
“Don’t you have something better to do? Like getting dressed or something? You know Momma doesn’t like to be late.”
The weight of my sister’s stare on me feels like someone just laid a boulder on my shoulders.
“Fine. Be that way,” she castigates, rushing to the door.
I hold my breath waiting for her to go away, but my pain-in-the-ass sister decides she still needs to get in one more parting remark before she leaves me to wallow on my own.
“You know, Momma doesn’t have to rule your every minute of every day. You’re allowed to have fun sometimes. She can’t be everywhere at every second,” she explains with a bit of mischief in her eyes. “Have some fun, Col. A few laughs won’t kill you. Besides, who knows. Maybe you’ll actually find yourself enjoying kissing a few frogs before you meet your Prince Charming.” She winks before slipping out of my room.
That’s just the thing.
I don’t need Prince Charming.
I need a king.
