Page 97 of Perfect Bragg

“Try me,” she grumbles before giving Ashlyn her back. “Now. Come on.” She grasps my elbow and leads me to the kitchen table. “Sit.”

“Will someone please tell me why all of my friends invaded my house?” I ask.

“She’s cute,” Eden notes.

Moon shakes her head. “Claiming she doesn’t know why we’re here.”

“Sorry, I’m late,” Daisy announces as she enters the house. “I’ll grab Robin and be on my way.”

“Grab Robin? What’s going on?”

Daisy continues down the hallway toward the nursery. What she doesn’t do is answer. I stand to follow her, but Soleil places a hand on my shoulder and pushes me back down in my chair.

“You’re oddly strong for an artist.”

“Thank the pots,” she says.

“What happened?” Ashlyn asks as she sits across from me.

Moon rolls her eyes. “I thought we agreed on easing into the subject.”

“We did? I agreed to ease into a subject?” Ashlyn points to herself. “Was I at this discussion?”

Eden sits next to me. “The cat’s out of the bag now. Why did you dump Elder?”

I shrug and feign nonchalance. “It wasn’t working out.”

Soleil frowns at me. “Which is why you were crying your eyes out when we arrived.”

“I wasn’t crying my eyes out. It’s literally impossible to cry your eyes out.”

Daisy returns carrying Robin and a diaper bag with my dogs trailing after her. I go to say goodbye to my baby. “Please take me with you,” I whisper to Daisy.

“Tell me why you broke my Elder’s heart and I’ll get rid of your friends for you,” she offers.

I scowl at her. “No fair.”

She smirks. “All’s fair in love and war.”

“And to think I supported you against the Bragg brothers when you started dating Lennon.”

“Thanks for the support,” she says as she leaves. The dogs follow her to the door. “I’ll be back tomorrow with your baby,” she tells them and they lay down at the door to wait.

“I need to feed Billy,” I announce to my friends.

“Dang it!” Moon slaps a ten-dollar bill on the table.

“I knew it,” Ashlyn says as she stuffs the bill in her pocket.

“I was sure she’d use the dogs as her next excuse,” Moon grumbles.

“I’m not making up excuses.”

“You are,” Soleil says. “But it’s okay. We have all night.”

“And all day,” Eden adds. “Congrats! Juniper said you can have tomorrow off.”

I don’t want tomorrow off. I need to keep busy. I don’t need downtime to think about all I’ve lost. All I can never have.

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