Page 37 of Sweet Thing

“Mice!” Tilly screamed and broke out in a flurry of giggles.

“Shush, Til, you’ll wake the baby.”

I unstrapped the guitar, but Tilly was having none of it. “More!”

I’d known I wouldn’t get away with a single verse. “Okay, how about the Butterfly Song?”

Ten minutes and three songs later, including a reprise ofDuckman, Duckman, On the Ice, I finally escaped. A quick check-in with Mabel assured me she’d slept through the entertainment, so I headed downstairs and was working on replenishing snacks in the kitchen when Rosie walked in with Eggsbee on her heels.

She leaned against the counter. “How were things at Lars’s house last night?”

“Good. I’m in the guest room with Mabel in the crib.” Lars had left yesterday morning, so I spent the day tidying, doing Mabel’s laundry, and ordering groceries and supplies.

“Right.” She ran a finger along the countertop. “And you were okay on your own?”

I looked up from my task of arranging Trader Joe Laceys on a plate, as if this careful placement would somehow stop people from inhaling them the minute I put them down.

“I was fine. He left instructions for the alarm.” I pushed the plate of Laceys toward my friend, who picked one up and took a bite. “Don’t worry about me. I haven’t had a nightmare in ages.”

Rosie had been the one to hold me tight every time I woke up terrified after another bad dream.

“You should tell them.”

We’d had this conversation several times. “They don’t need to know, Ro. They’ll just worry and want to wrap me up in cotton wool. Plus, this year is so important. For Dad, for Hatch, for the team. No way do I want this to distract from that.”

She looked both sympathetic and fierce, with a touch of guilt mingled in there. She still blamed herself for letting me walk home alone. “I wish I’d caught that guy and de-balled him,” she said around her chewing.

And end up in some Greek prison? “Thankfully, there was no lasting damage!” I added another Lacey to replace the one she’d eaten. “Now, take these into the marauding hordes.”

ChapterTen

Adeline

A text camein on the Kershaw Kinder chain from my brother Landon, quickly followed by one from Conor.

Is this true about Nyquist?

Conor

Which part? That he knocked up some chick or that Addy’s living in a sitcom playing the guy’s nanny?

Landon

All of it.

Now University of Michigan seniors, the twins were two years younger than me, but the gap had always felt wider, especially where Conor was concerned.

Me

Is it so strange I’m helping? Oh, right, you guys are so self-absorbed, helping someone else isn’t on your radar.

Conor

Ooh, big sis is testy!

Landon

Only yourself to blame, Addy. Shouldn’t have let #Elleo boss you around.

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