Page 26 of Queen Rose

I chuckle. “Yep.”

“They deserve each other. Maybe Farrah can go party it up with him because she’s certainly not welcome with us anymore.”

“And lemme guess. For Farrah, not being invited to parties is like the end of the world.”

“Pretty much. The demise of her prominent social status at Rosehaven.” Aria pauses for a few seconds. “Um.” She mashes her lips together for a second, then a smile stretches her cheeks. “I couldn’t even deny the River Rock Cock Lover thing. Thanks a lot.” I feel the burst of giggles erupting from her body before she lets loose with it. The way it lights up her face… I love it.

Chuckling, I stamp a kiss to her lips. “I would never have mentioned it, but now that you have… you did seem to enjoy yourself earlier.”

She swats at me half-heartedly, still laughing. “So did you.”

Entirely amused, I lie back on the blanket, and Aria immediately goes back to resting her cheek on my chest. Her legs entangle with mine, and she spends the next several minutes carefully tracing every single indentation of muscle on my stomach. I get the feeling she’s working up to saying something, so I keep my mouth shut, skimming my fingertips over the exposed skin at her hip, just above her panties.

Aria draws in a deep breath and angles her head back just slightly so I can see her face. She lets it out in a rush. “Speaking of parties… my mother is planning a birthday party for me.”

From the way her body has stiffened and her brows pinch together, I can tell this is something that has been giving her anxiety. I hold her a little more tightly. “When’s that?”

“April 16. It’s on a Friday. And like I mentioned, it’s my eighteenth, so I guess I have to go along with it. When I told her I didn’t want to have one, she told me it was her right as my mother to be able to throw the party. For me.” She gives me a disgusted look. “But if it’s for me, then why are we doing something I don’t want to do?” She runs her hand up over my chest and mumbles, “I don’t know what she wants from me. I’ve never been the daughter she wanted, but I try so damn hard.”

I lean in and kiss the top of her head. “Her issues are not about you. Parents suck sometimes. She should listen if you say you don’t want some fancy party.”

She sighs. “I’d rather get together with my friends, no party. We could go for some ice cream, you know? I don’t need it to become this big, overdone affair, but that’s what this will be, no doubt. She’s already had a bunch of dresses sent to the house for me to choose from. She’s getting the catering menu ready, working on all of these details that I want nothing to do with.”

I grit my teeth, thinking about all the parties my parents didn’t throw. Or rather, couldn’t. “Would you believe I’ve never had a birthday party?”

She lifts her head to stare into my eyes, remorse at her words clear. “Ugh. Shit. I’m sorry.”

“It’s no big deal.” I shrug. “We never could afford it. I’m way more concerned with taking care of Mom and Becca and Brandon than throwing parties.”

“That’s exactly where your priorities should be. You do a damn fine job of managing everything.” She traces her fingertips over my eyebrows before running them down the side of my face and lowering her mouth to mine to kiss me softly.

“I’ll never say what I did wasn’t worth it. But—” I slam my eyes shut. “I’ve dug myself into a hole I don’t know how I’ll get out of.”

“We’ll figure it out. Together.”

She seems so fucking confident, I almost believe her.

---