Page 14 of Where We Belong

Cory: No, I want to know your source. Was it some bait-click article?

Ben: Why are you asking for the source?

Cory: It’s important. I have seven siblings who are happily married—or engaged. If you’re telling me four of those relationships will fail, I want to be prepared.

Ben: None of them will fail.

Cory: You just said that according to your sources, four out of eight marriages will end in divorce. That’s half of my family condemned to your prophecy.

Ben:Your siblings don’t count. Well, I’m not sure about Aslan. He has four children, and I can see Keaton dumping his ass for being too fertile.

Cory: She can’t leave him. Can you imagine what’ll happen if she does? He’ll either destroy the entire world or die of sadness.

Ben: Don’t worry about it. I’m sure it’ll never happen. Your siblings are safe from any fucked-up study humans might devise to satisfy their morbid curiosity. Likely because most of my own siblings are divorced. That gives you the rate of 50% of marriages end up in divorce. Mine are bitter, while yours will live in eternal bliss.

Cory: Derek has one of the happiest marriages I’ve ever seen.

Ben: Derek is the exception, mostly because his mother was a saint, and ours was the bitch who destroyed her marriage and her life. They call that karma.

Ben: Did I tell you Piper is pregnant again?

Cory: Rhea’s having a little sister—or a brother? That’s going to be adorable.

Ben: Yep. We’re all excited.

Cory: Congratulations. The next time they’re in town, I’ll make sure to give them a present or something. I would say drinks are on me, but she can’t.

Cory: Wait, I can gift her a free massage or Haux drinks (the best mocktails in the world).

Ben: We should move the spa to the hotel.

Cory: I haven’t decided yet if I’m going to do this.

Ben: Regardless, you can build one there, close to the indoor pool.

Cory: I might sell all my businesses and move out of Paradise Bay.

Ben: What happened to ‘I want to rule the entire town.’

Cory: Didn’t I mention that dreams change?

Ben: Picture the hotel in the middle of a vineyard, the spa next to it. You can add anything you want. The lot is big, and the possibilities are endless.

Cory: Fine, let me think about it.

Ben: Of course. In the meantime, I’m taking a tour of the property and calling some of the best architects I know.

Cory: Make sure to reach out to Elliot. It’s not nepotism. Even when he’s Fern’s husband, he’s really good at what he does.

Ben: He’s on the top of my list. Safe travel.

Cory: Talk to you soon.

Chapter Seven

Benedict

The first step toward the rest of my life is… apparently, therapy. Thankfully, I’m not alone in this, and Derek’s family supports me. Piper sent a lengthy list of potential therapists. After countless calls, I settled on Dr. Andrew Rhodes.

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