Page 77 of Uproot

“Nope!” All three of my friends respond in unison, then start to crack up.

I find it hard to believe that a woman had the guts to mess with two strong women like Evy and Piper. Lyndsey must either have a death wish, or not enough brain cells to know what a bad idea that would be. I’m shocked she is still showing her face in public.

We finish up our lunch, avoiding Lyndsey’s table on our way outside. We give each other hugs goodbye, and I take Nova in my arms while Piper and I walk to her car.

We say our goodbye’s and soon I’m back on the road, driving to Beckett’s house. I decided to bring over some cannoli’s from the restaurant for all of them since Edison should be home from summer camp soon, and I know he will love a little treat.

I ring the doorbell when I arrive, and Dragana answers after a few minutes. She smiles brightly like she always does when she sees me. We exchange a hug and the familiar smell of her lavender perfume makes me grin.

She has really become a surrogate mother to me over the past few weeks. The way she shows me unconditional love, and is always looking out for me has meant more to me than she understands. I can’t even think about what it will be like not being able to see her as often.

She pulls away from me and shuts the door behind us, pointing to the box in my hand. “What did you bring us?! More of your cookies?” she asks excitedly, as we walk down the hall to the kitchen.

“Not this time. I brought cannoli’s from Upwood Pizza!” I respond, stopping and opening the box for her to see inside. “Have one!”

She reaches into the box, snatching one out quickly, “You don’t have to ask me twice, duso! Just don’t tell Beckett. He’s on me about how much sugar I’ve been having since we came here.”

“And I’m going to stay on you about it,” Beckett barks, making Dragana and I both jump in surprise, almost dropping the cannoli’s on to the floor.

He strolls into the kitchen, his eyes scanning between me and the cannoli Dragana is doing a poor job of concealing.

“What are you eating that your doctor will be frowning upon now?” he asks, coming over and wrapping his arm around my waist.

Dragana waves her empty hand, grabbing a paper towel and heading out of the kitchen. “Don’t worry about it! I’ll be in my room!” she calls out cheerfully, scurrying away.

“I only ever see her move that fast when she’s smuggling sugar,” Beckett mutters, making me laugh.

He smiles and takes the box from me, setting it on the counter. He leans down to kiss me, pulling me against him and snaking his tongue into my mouth.

I hold on to the front of his shirt, clutching it as he has his way with me. After a moment he pulls away, a satisfied smirk on his face when he sees my dazed expression. “Hey angel,” he murmurs.

“Hi Beck,” I sigh, my whole body tingling.

He moves and peeks inside of the box, “Did you have a good lunch with the girls? What did you eat?”

I’ve grown used to his casual interrogation of my daily diet, and water intake. Even though the way I see food has greatly changed, I still have days where I struggle, and worry about calories, or if my clothes may not fit the way I want them to if I consume too many carbs.

It’s a hard mindset to break, but I’m getting better with it one day at a time. It certainly helps that I haven’t spoken to my mother for a while, and haven’t had to hear any more of her negative comments like I did the night we had dinner with them.

“I had lasagna rolls, and salad,” I respond, going to grab a glass for water.

He follows behind me and leans against the counter. “Good. Tonight Dragana is making sarma and prebarnac, so I don’twant to hear that you had a big lunch, and can’t eat much. I know you love both of those dishes,” he warns, folding his arms over his chest.

“So bossy,” I mutter under my breath, going to the fridge.

I squeal as I'm pulled backwards and hit Beckett’s hard chest. His arms wrap around my waist, and one of his hands moves up my stomach. His large hand squeezes my breast, then continues on until his fingers reach my throat, and squeeze.

“What did you just say to me, little girl?” he growls in my ear.

“Nothing!” I squeak, wiggling against him until he slowly releases the grip on my throat.

“Hmm. That’s what I thought,” he murmurs, kissing my neck. “Why don’t you be a good girl and have your water, and some dessert. Then you can come with me to go get Edison from camp, ok?”

“Yes, Beck,” I chirp, going to move, but he shakes his head, his grip tightening around my waist.

“Tryagain.”

I moan, feeling him growing hard against me, “Yesdaddy.”

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