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They’re about to argue some more when I chime in, “I think I have a plan.” Every eye in the room focuses on me and I explain, “You need something better than peanut butter. As in, more drastic than peanut butter.”
“Like what?” Echo asks.
“How are your acting skills?” That gives her pause, but I keep going, “Doesn’t matter. He can resist you asking for fake help for a peanut butter jar, but he won’t be able to resist if you cry out for help in distress. Even if it’s fake distress. Guys are weird like that. Especially the ones who are in love with you. So next time on your date, you wear that dress, you put that makeup on, and you wear my killer Dior heels. And at the end when he’s dropping you off, you pretend to stumble and you pretend to stumble badly. And you cry a little, okay? And it doesn’t matter how fake it is because if he loves you, there is no way he can resist carrying you in his arms and bringing you to your third-floor dorm room. And as soon as he does that, you lock the door and you jump him.”
Echo is speechless.
All of them are, actually.
They’re all staring at me with wide, wonder-filled eyes.
Then Callie says, “Did you read that in one of your romance novels?”
My heart constricts slightly. “Yes.”
Jupiter leans forward. “Which one is it? Can you lend me a copy?”
“Sure,” I tell her, my heart constricting further.
“No, me first,” Echo says, “I’m the one with a crisis in her love life.” Turning to me, “Can I please borrow it?”
“Uh-huh,” I try to sound enthusiastic instead of squeaky and freaked out. “I’ll bring it by tomorrow.”
She beams. “Yay. Thank you.”
First, I just want to say that I love how supportive these girls are of the fact that I read romance novels. They actually encourage me to read love stories; all of these girls even bought me a bunch of paperbacks for Christmas and my birthday last year. Something that I never even dreamed would happen given how I grew up, and it just makes me love them so much more.
But the thing is that I don’t read romance novels anymore.
Haven’t read them in a year.
Actually over a year. Thirteen months to be exact.
I’ve not only not read them but also I don’t like to think about them or talk about them. So this conversation is making me a little uncomfortable. Of course they don’t know that though. If I told them, I know they’d just get worried and fuss over me. Which I absolutely don’t want because there’s nothing to worry about at all. I’m just taking a break from romance.
A permanent sort of break, but yeah.
Thankfully though, I’m so glad we’ve moved on from the topic of romance novels, and now Callie’s saying, “I can absolutely vouch for Roman losing his cool every time he thinks I’m distressed. And it has always been that way. Right from the start. And I can’t tell you how many times his worrying and ranting about me not taking care of myself has led to us doing —”
“Okay.” I point a finger at Callie. “No. Don’t. I don’t want to hear about Roman and you doing stuff to each other, okay? That’s my brother.”
My big brother, that is.
Well, his name is Reed but Callie calls him by her own name, Roman. And he calls Callie by his special name, Fae. Short for Fairy. And while I’m over the moon ecstatic that my brother and my very first BFF got married and have a beautiful little baby girl, I’m not going to sit here and listen to their sexy adventures. A sister has her limits.
Callie’s eyes twinkle. “I was just saying that your idea has merit.”
“Shut up.”
“I don’t think it’s only the guys in love that do that,” Wyn says then. “I think it’s the guys in love from Bardstown who do that. I think it’s something in the water here. Boys of Bardstown are uber possessive and protective. I can attest to that too. Because Conrad has always been —”
“Shut up,” Callie goes. “If you say one more word about my brother —”
“Ha!” I stab my finger at Callie again. “Now you understand.”
We narrow our eyes at each other but I’m right. Now she knows how it feels, because Wyn’s boyfriend is Callie’s older — oldest; Callie has four older brothers — brother Conrad. Like me, she’s thrilled that one of her BFFs hooked up with her brother, but a sister has her limits.
Which Wyn completely understands, because she swivels her gaze to me and winks.
In fact, the only girl in our group right now who isn’t hitched is Jupiter. Well, apart from me. But I have it on good authority that she’s got her eyes set on another one of Callie’s brothers, Shepard. Who unfortunately has a girlfriend.
