Page 82 of Some Like It Fox

I make every effort to banish Atticus from my thoughts, to pretend the end of... whatever we are isn’t looming on the horizon.

He crawled past all my defenses and burrowed into my heart. He makes me happy. He makes me burn. His mere presence wraps around me like a warm blanket on a breezy day.

A dark, achy feeling swamps me, but I shove it away and greet Piper with a smile.

ChapterTwenty-Three

Taylor

Our dining room table has borne witness to a lot of things. Egg decorating at Easter, birthday parties, Thanksgiving, and a lot of family dinners where we laughed and fought and cried.

And now it’s going to be a part of the conversation where I tell all my siblings our mother is dead.

Mindy and I came up with a game plan. After dinner, that’s when I tell them, when everyone is eating pie.

No one can be mad when they’re eating pie. Well, maybe they can, but Jake can’t, so that’s at least one of them.

The final slice has been plated and served when Mindy widens her eyes at me, and I open my mouth to speak.

“I have to tell you all something.”

Startled, my gaze flies to Finley, who stole the words right out of my mouth. She bites her lip and fiddles with her fork.

I look over at Mindy. She lifts her brows and gives a subtle shrug.

What is this all about?

“Is it good news or bad?” Jake shoves a bite of pie in his mouth.

“Good. I think it’s good, anyway. I hope you all do too.” The fork slips from her hand, clattering against her plate.

Is she nervous?

Piper, sitting next to Finley, shifts closer. “You can tell us anything, you know that.”

Finley nods, a smile playing around her lips. She takes a deep breath. “So, here’s the thing. Archer proposed.” When we’ve all sucked in a collective breath, she adds, “And I said yes.”

The table erupts into chaos, everyone talking and laughing and pushing our chairs back to jump all over Finley.

She laughs when we finally step back. “One at a time, I can’t even hear what you’re saying.”

Piper gets her question out first. “When’s the wedding?”

Finley shrugs. “I’m not sure. We haven’t gotten that far yet.”

“How did he propose?” I ask.

“Well, uh...” She flushes and averts her eyes.

“Oh, gross.” Jake grimaces. “We don’t need the gory details.”

Piper shushes him. “I want the gory details.”

“Are you pregnant?”

“Jake!” We all yell at once.

Finley rolls her eyes. “No. I don’t even know if we want kids. I already raised all you yahoos. Why would I want to do that again?”

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