Page 56 of Forever

“Hey! What about me?” I complain.

“She’s under a lot of stress. Poor thing.”

“I’m under a lot of stress too!”

“Don’t be dramatic, Bel.” Sienna rolls her eyes and grabs a bit of ice cream and puts pineapple on top, eating the whole thing. “So, what did the asshole do?”

“Jackass bumped into me in the store so hard I started falling on my butt, but then he decided he wants to be a knight in shining armor, so he grabbed me to stop me from getting a nasty bruise on my butt.”

“That’s not so bad,” I offer, but judging by her stern look, I wouldn’t say she agrees.

“He grabbed me for my boobs.”

“He …”

“What …”

Sienna and I look at each other before bursting into laughter.

“Not funny at all.” She rubs her chest. “I think I’ll have bruises form his meaty fingers. At first, I was shocked, but he kept on laughing. Said ‘my chest got in the way’, what a dick. I was so angry I stomped on his foot! But he kept on laughing. And then he followed me all the way here, riding my ass the whole time. What is his problem?”

We’re both still laughing so hard the tears gather in our eyes.

“Seriously, it’s not funny! If I see that guy again I’ll knee him in the nuts. We’ll see if he finds that funny! And to think I said I should have come to the States with Anabel that summer and maybe I would find my William Price. The first guy I meet when I come here is some douchebag with grabby, meaty fingers and no sense for personal space whatsoever.”

Val sighs dramatically before she sits in one of the chairs, drained from all that happened.

“Should I put on a jockstrap or something?”

I jump in the air at the sound of the new voice. My hand covers my rapidly beating heart as I turn around. “Nate! You scared me to death! What do you think, sneaking behind our back like that?”

He smiles innocently, scratching the nape of his neck. “I though you heard me, but with little firecracker over there yelling like that, I’m not surprised you didn’t.” Leaning down he gives me a hug, his lips brushing against my cheek. “Please don’t let her chop me into pieces, Bel.”

Laughing at his words, I return the familiar greeting.

“You’re the one who pissed off Val?” I chuckle.

“Why is he here?” Val crosses hands over her chest staring him down with narrowed eyes.

“Val, meet Nate Price. William’s little brother.”

His blue eyes twinkle when realization sinks into her. Nate takes a cautious step forward, offering her his hand, but Val is too shocked to move. Her mouth hangs open in surprise.

“On je Willov brat[1]?” she asks me in Croatian, completely ignoring the person in question.

“Ne možeš reci da nisi upoznala svog Pricea.[2]” I reply in our mother tongue with a secretive wink before switching to English. “Now be a good girl and talk so everybody can understand you.”

Nate looks between us, before his gaze settles on Sienna’s who is still eating and quietly observing the situation. Like she is watching a soap opera. “They were just talking about me like I’m not here, right?”

She shrugs at him, putting another spoonful of ice cream in her mouth.

Seriously, that girl needs to stop before she blows up or throws up, whatever comes first. Looking at her stuffing herself with food makes my stomach queasy, and just when I thought I’m done with morning sickness.

“If you did, which I think you did, you should know it’s not nice to talk in a language other people can’t understand.” He shakes his head. “We’ll have to set some ground rules since you’re becoming a part of the family.”

“Maybe you should just learn Croatian,” I tease.

“Or maybe you should stick to English,” he counters.

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