Page 81 of The Lies We Told Ourselves

And then she was running for the door next.

I turned to Xander with a smile on my face as he watched on in horror at the chaos that had just blown through the front door.

“Them, Xander. You have afamilyto stay for.”

The look of genuine surprise on his face was a little sad, and I cursed his parents for all the things they’d done to their sons so they couldn’t see a chance of happiness when it was right in front of them.

I stood from the couch again, giving Xander’s shoulder a squeeze as I walked past him, leaving him to his thoughts of the future and how he wanted that to look.

He had so many opportunities in front of him. He just needed to open his eyes and recognize them for what they were.

“This damn thing itches,” Booker grumbled as he tried to stick a finger inside his new cast.

“Will you leave that alone? It’s supposed to be helping you heal. Poking and prodding at it is just going to make this take longer,” I warned him.

The petulant look I got from him made me laugh, and I quickly kissed his lips to stop him from being annoyed with me. It must have worked because he wrapped an arm around me and pulled me closer.

The town meeting still hadn’t started, even though it was scheduled to begin nearly half an hour earlier. It seemed like people were still arriving, and honestly, the people of Willowbrook were so busy catching up with each other and being excited about the fact that they were having a town meeting to begin with for anything to happen.

“It’s barely broken,” Booker said, rolling his eyes dramatically. He’d tried this with the doctor earlier when he was trying to persuade him he’d be fine with just a brace.

“Booker Farrington, there is currently a bone in your arm that is in three pieces instead of one. Do not make me pull up the picture of your x-ray on my phone again,” I snapped.

I knew taking that picture was a good idea.

He leaned closer, his face coming level with mine. “It’s kinda hot when you get all schoolteacher snippy like that.” Then he quickly pecked my lips before pulling back with a smile.

“Aww, Booky bear, I love seeing you all loved up and gooey like this,” Blake gushed as she slipped into the seat on the other side of him and wrapped her arms around his good arm, clinging to him.

She caught my eye and grinned at me before she looked up at Booker with big Bambi eyes. “Did you get a boo-boo, Booky bear?”

The laugh burst out of me in the loudest snort that I swear echoed around the suddenly silent room. Everyone turned to look at me, but thankfully, maybe, Blake drew the attention away from me as she leaped from her chair.

“No, Booker, spank Reece. She’ll enjoy it more than me!” she squealed as she ran off.

“She’s like a four-year-old on crack who was the result of some kind of deal with the devil,” Booker grumbled.

At least most of the town turned to watch Blake run away cackling rather than me, until an elderly lady in the corner joined in.

“I’d be down for a spanking,” she loudly told her friend, who nodded in agreement.

Booker turned to me with a look of absolute horror on his face. “If you fake a medical emergency right now so I can carry you out of here, I’ll pay you a thousand dollars.”

“Booky bear, if you think scooping me up in your big manly arms is going to help in this situation, then you haven’t read far enough into that romance novel of yours.”

For a split second, he looked annoyed at my adopted use of Blake’s pet name for him. Then what I’d said seemed to register, and the blood drained from his face.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he mumbled, turning to face the front of the room as he tried to cross his arms over his chest, and then scowled at the cast impeding his progress.

I leaned over and whispered in his ear. “The one you keep under the couch cushion.”

Every muscle in his body tensed as he stared at me out of the corner of his eye. “Tell me you didn’t show Xander.”

“Would I betray you like that?” I gasped. Then I leaned closer, pressing my breasts against his arm as I licked my lips and whispered, “But maybe skip ahead to page 187, and we can give it a try tomorrow night.”

“Minx,” he grumbled as Trace stood at the front of the meeting and called for everyone to take their seats so they could get started.

I caught the twitch of Booker’s lips and laid my head against his shoulder to hide the smile on my face.

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