Page 33 of Make You Mine

Paige squeezed my arm as we rounded the corner, approaching the Coffee Cabin. “You know we’re here for you, right? No matter what?”

I nodded, feeling a lump in my throat. “Yeah, I know.”

“Stop.” She held out her arm, and we all froze. “Shit,” she muttered, yanking me back behind the bushes along the street. “Richard is here. Withher. Freaking Dana.”

I tried to peek around the bushes. “Is Cody with them?”

“Stay here. I’ll check.” Grandma buzzed around us on her Segway. “I own this damn place and I’m not hiding.”

A few seconds later, Paige’s phone went off with a text message.

“Cody isn’t here,” she informed us. “And Grandma is going home, she has to pee. And one of us should talk to her about texting and driving on that thing.”

“Like she’d listen,” Cara scoffed.

“She also said not to pull any shenanigans without her.”

“Eff that,” Lucy said. “I’m in the mood for a good shenanigan. I haven’t started any shit since I tossed a Margarita in Skip McFadden’s stupid face.”

“No,” I protested. “We’re adults. We’re going to get our coffee, find a spot to sit, and I’m going to say hello to them like a grown-up woman. No drink tossing. Promise me.”

“Fine. I promise,” she grumbled.

“I have to get to work in about ten minutes anyway,” Eliza said. “Sadly, I don’t have time for trouble today.”

I hugged her. “Love you.”

“Love you too. For the record, I’m available for trouble and shenanigans after I get off.”

“Got it.” She jogged around the bushes to go to work, leaving the four of us standing there looking at each other.

“We’re really handling this like adults?” Paige asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes,” I confirmed. “We are perfectly capable of acting like mature individuals.”

Lucy rolled her eyes but followed us to the window, where we ordered our drinks and found a cozy table beneath the covered outdoor seating area.

Coffee Cabin was bustling with the morning rush, so Richard and Dana hadn’t noticed me yet.

We settled into our spots, Lucy and Paige waiting for me to take the lead.

“So…” Paige broke the silence.

I took a deep breath, steeling myself. “So, I’ll just go to their table and say hello and see where it goes from there. No shenanigans, no drama. I still have to work with Dana and share Cody with Richard, and I need to find a way to do that.”

Cara snorted. “Drama follows this family around like a demented stalker. We’ll be right here when it catches up to you.”

Ignoring her, I sipped my coffee and then stood to head to their table.

“You got this,” Paige encouraged. “Proud of you.”

My heart pounded in my chest as I approached the corner where Richard and Dana sat. The last thing I wanted was another confrontation, especially in a public place.

“Morning,” I said, standing at the edge of their picnic table.

Richard looked up, a flicker of surprise crossing his face, quickly masked by indifference.

Dana, however, smiled warmly. I knew it wasn’t genuine. She was up to something.

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