Page 13 of I Can't Help It

That’s even worse.

It’s wrong for texting to be this difficult.

“You look like you’re about to throw that phone across the room,” Aunt Kat says, coming into the kitchen with an empty glass in her hand. “What’s up, chickie?”

When it comes to Aunt Kat, you need to know that she is my everything.

After I lost both of my parents to a freak plane crash when I was four, Aunt Kat (my mom’s younger sister) is the one who became my legal guardian. And instead of taking me back to Washington—where she had been living before the accident—she moved into this house to raise me.

We’ve been inseparable since then.

And I mean, sure, the “moving” conversation has been coming up more often within these past few years as I’ve gotten older. Aunt Kat will mention that maybe it’s time for her to move out, since my parents technically left the house for me, but then I tell her that she’s crazy because this is home to both of us.

Also, I just can’t imagine living here without her. By myself. Alone.

It’s a horrible thought.

Especially since she’s the designated spider-killer. I don’t deal with spiders.

At. All.

Oh, and her nickname for me IS inspired by my love for chicken nuggets, just in case you were wondering.

“Ava? You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m good,” I say, refocusing my attention on her. “I’m just trying to figure out how I should send this text.”

She puts her glass in the sink. “Well, who are you sending it to?”

“Luke.”

Unlike Sloane, Aunt Kat totally supports my feelings for Luke. So, he’s a hot topic between us.

“Shut up!” she gasps like an awestruck teenager as she whirls around to look at me. “You got his number?!”

“It’s for a work thing,” I tell her the same thing I told Sloane. “I’m supposed to text him my address.”

I repeat Colton’s plan, so she knows the full story, and then I also mention the deal I made with Sloane.

“I think this will be good for you,” she says, wagging a finger at me. “Ya know, a little nudge in the right direction?”

I set my phone aside with creased eyebrows. “Yeah, but there’s still a chance Luke doesn’t feel the same way.”

As much as I hate to admit that.

“It’s better to know than not to know.” She reaches across the counter to give my hand a brief squeeze. “Trust me, chickie. I wish I had told Scott how I felt before it was too late.”

Scott is Aunt Kat’s now long-distance best friend. She fell hard for him years ago—but never told him so—and then he got married to someone else before moving across the country. It hurts like heck to see the person I care about most stuck in the friendzone with a broken heart at forty-five. She and Scott would’ve been a power couple.

“And this should be obvious,” she continues, her blue eyes sparkling at me, “but Luke would be crazy to turn you down. I raised a strong, beautiful woman and I couldn’t be prouder.” She cranes her neck forward as much as possible, and she kisses my forehead. “I love you.”

I’m not really one to get overly emotional, but I can feel my eyes wanting to water. “Thanks, Aunt Kat. I love you too.”

“Now text that boy!” she exclaims, pointing to my phone. “I expect to hear about it tomorrow!”

She tells me a quick “good night” as she leaves the kitchen, and I echo the words back to her.

Okay.

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