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“It’s not from Shepherd; it’s from Kevin,” I tell Birdie and Tess as I quickly skim his message and roll my eyes.
“Why are you smiling? Why is she smiling?” my sister questions nervously while I show them his text.
Piece of Shit Dickhole Motherfucker: It would be nice if you sent me the ferry schedule like I asked you for days ago. It’s really mature of you to try to stop me from seeing my son. Again.
Tess growls, and Birdie lets off a whole stream of curses that lasts for a solid minute, both of them trying to reach for my phone to put Kevin in his place for me. This is what Kevin does. It doesn’t matter that I sent him a link to the ferry schedule years ago or he could easily look this information up online. If he asks me for something and I don’t reply in a timely fashion, it’s my fault and I’m the reason he never sees his son. He does the same thing with Owen’s baseball schedule. He hasn’t been to one of his son’s games in over three years, so I just stopped sending the schedules to him. Again, he could easily look this information up online, but I’m the bitch who keeps him from his son and makes it so he can never see him play. I’m ashamed of myself that I just took it for so long. That I allowed someone to treat me this way when I don’t fucking deserve it and I never have.
“You guys,” I tell them calmly, holding my phone out of their reach as I quickly type up my reply. “I’ve got this. And I’m smiling, because I have a voice and a backbone, and it’s about time I start using them.”
Quickly hitting Send before I second-guess this newfound confidence, I turn my phone back around to face the girls as Tess reads my reply out loud.
“You know what would be really nice, Kevin? If you started acting like a decent human being for once. Looks like we can’t always get what we want. The ferry schedule is online. Where it’s always been,” Tess finishes, looking up at me with a smile and sniffling loudly. “Our little girl is all grown up. I’m so proud.”
All of a sudden, my good mood thinking about my date with Shepherd tonight starts to plummet.
Oh God. Kevin is coming to Summersweet Island.
I just got Shepherd, and sure, I have some great new confidence now, but I’m still just a girl who wants to impress the guy she likes, not throw him into the pit of my shitshow life right off the bat. All that fried dough starts churning in my stomach while Birdie takes a sip of mimosa before speaking.
“Is anyone else super excited for Killjoy Kevin to get to the island now?” she asks, raising her hand in the air like she’s at school.
“What? No! Are you high?” I ask, turning the volume down on my phone before I set it on the counter so I don’t have to hear when Kevin’s rage-filled reply comes in, while also pressing my hand to my stomach to try to quell the nausea.
He already knows about my one-night-stand stupidity. Does he really need to come face-to-face with it? Uuugh…
“Considering how much pot Bodhi smokes and how close we’re sitting to Tess right now, we could all be high from second-hand smelling and not even know it.” Birdie shrugs. “But seriously. I’m getting all tingly just thinking about that douchebag coming for a visit.”
“Yep, I’m feeling a spark of something. This is gonna be fun,” Tess agrees, both of them oblivious to my growing panic.
“There is nothing fun nor exciting about Kevin coming to Summersweet Island. Do you remember the last time he was here? That apology tour took me a week after he left, going around to all the people he insulted the whole twenty-four hours he was on the island,” I remind them.
“Honey, that douchebag doesn’t stand a chance when Shepherd Oliver gets his first good look at him.” Tess chuckles as Birdie nods and joins in with the laughter.
“It’s not his fight,” I mutter quietly, not even believing the words coming out of my own mouth. I’ve only kissed that man once, but once was enough to tell me there is no way he will just stand by and let me deal with Kevin alone.
“A man who says the things Shepherd said to you in those messages, who straight up tells you that you are the prize for him, is going to defend your honor whether you want him to or not. Oh yeah, this is gonna be fun.” Birdie nods with a big smile.
“You’re both cut off from alcohol forever,” I mutter, walking around the counter and moving the champagne out of their reach.
