Page 6 of Queen Rose

Aria

Upon entering the kitchen from the back stairs, I skid to a halt. Wait. What am I doing? I don’t need to pretend for them. I can just be me. And out of nowhere, the realization that I don’t have to be a complete fucking fake hits me, and I smile. A real, genuine smile.

Beau’s at the stovetop, expertly flipping an omelet. Everyone else’s plates are full of eggs and bacon, and they’re quietly conversing and digging into their breakfast. Relief flows through me. Everything seems… normal.

Beau slides the delicious-looking eggs onto a plate, then turns and holds it out to me with a wink. “Morning, sleepyhead.”

Uncharacteristically for me, my lips flap, not knowing what to say. It’s like my brain synapses aren’t firing properly. Oh boy, did Nate fuck me silly? I haven’t tried to talk to anyone yet. Maybe I’m incapable of intelligent speech. I look from Beau to the omelet twice before I manage to mumble, “For me?”

He nods. “I was up early, so I’ve spent the better part of the morning acting as a short-order cook for these heathens as they trickled down here, two by two.”

Xander eyes me carefully as he pushes his plate away. “Speaking of two by two… where’s Nate?”

I chew on the corner of my lip as I sit down at the counter in the space that Max offers me. I take a few seconds to grab a fork and napkin, trying to mentally prepare myself for wherever this conversation goes. “He had to go home last night.”

Daphne gets up and goes to the fridge, coming back with a glass and a pitcher of orange juice. “Want some?”

I nod, and she pours me a glass, pushing it across the counter to me. Hesitantly, I take a sip as I look around the group. “Nate’s mom texted. He, um— He helps out a lot with his little brother and sister. His mom isn’t well.”

To my surprise, they all seem fine with that explanation, which is good, since it’s the absolute truth. And since they’re understanding about that, I clear my throat, preparing to spill about Nate—because I’m unable to fathom how I’d tell them about everything else. I’m scared to death they’re going to ask me about why I’d been so upset last night. “Nate and I—we’re together.” I motion with my fork before I use it to cut into the cheesy omelet. “Like together, together. Just in case you weren’t sure if you should ask. It’s fine. You can talk about it. It’s not like I don’t know you’ve been discussing everything and wondering what the hell I’m doing.” I pause to suck in a breath, but then the words keep pouring out of me. “And I know you’re probably thinking this is all very unlike me to be with any guy, much less a guy from River Rock who has no social standing whatsoever. People at school will talk, and when it gets back to my parents, it will probably cause a lot of problems for me. But I’ll deal with it. It’s my life. I should be able to date whoever I fucking want.” I look down at my plate, scooping up the bite of the omelet. I stop with it midway to my mouth, my gaze traveling around the room, touching on each of my friends. “I like Nate. And anyone who has something to say about it can go suck a dick.”

Lyla’s eyes pop open wide. “Wow. That was a lot.”

Crap. Leave it to me to turn a share into an overshare. I don’t know how to do this. I don’t know what the boundaries should be. I set my fork down with a clatter, my hand shaking badly.

“You okay, Aria?” Scarlett frowns before quickly covering her concern by chewing on her lip.

“I’m fine. Promise.” I wet my lip. “I—” But it’s like I’ve run out of words. My head’s a mixed-up mess.

Xander leans on the counter across from me, his dark gaze piercing mine. Like he can see right inside my head. “Okay, so let’s deal with this first. We’re here to support you. Not one of us in this room has a problem with you seeing Nate, or whoever else you want. If you’re happy, we’re happy.” His lips press together for a second. “He’d better fucking be treating you right, though. I wasn’t sure what to think last night when you brought him here and then asked him to go upstairs with you.” He runs his hand through his hair, then through gritted teeth, he murmurs low, “That was definitely new and not Aria-like at all.”

I stare steadily at Xander, unsure how to respond. My cheeks flush. He’s making assumptions about what was happening upstairs—and he’s not wrong. But at the same time, his last comment, about my behavior being ‘new’ and ‘not Aria-like’ kinda wigs me out. Combined with my freaked-out dash to his bedroom last night, he has so many pieces of my puzzle, it’s only a matter of time before he puts it all together. Slowly, I nod. “I know.” I pick up the fork again and shovel the omelet into my mouth.

While I’m chewing, everyone is pretty quiet, but I catch Daphne nudging Micah and giving him a you-should-say-something look. Sure enough, he leaves her side to walk around the counter and hook my neck with his muscly arm. I bite down on my lip as I peer up at him, my face burning. He rumbles softly, “You wouldn’t lie about being okay, right? All that verbal vomit wasn’t a cover? Because you were pretty out of it last—”

I shake my head. “No. I know I was a mess. I’m better now. There’s a lot going on, and my brain is having trouble keeping up with all the bullshit flying my way, I guess.”

“Thank God we don’t have to kick Nate’s ass. Last night’s adventures with Jack were insane enough.” Griff wrinkles his nose at the pointed stares being shot in his direction. “Oops, was I not supposed to tell her that we paid Jack a visit?” He stifles a chuckle. “Sorry.”

Max rolls his eyes before grasping Griff’s chin firmly and stamping a kiss to his mouth. “Shut up, loose lips.”

Griff shrugs, a bit of a twinkle in his eye. “Whatever. Fucker deserves everything coming to him.”

My eyes widen as I glance around the entire group, which has become a little fidgety since Griff opened his mouth. Finally, I zero in on Xander. “What did you do?”

He slides his hand over his unshaven cheek, and his dark eyes focus on mine. “Um, like Griff said, we decided to have a little talk with Jack. He won’t be helping Farrah or causing you anymore misery. We figured even if the Instagram post wasn’t what made you so upset, at least we’d shut down that issue for you before it got worse.”

Beau grumbles, “And Jack will damn well keep his thoughts about you and Nate to himself. Both at River Rock and with the Rosehaven crowd.”

My mind whirs with all the possibilities—did they beat the shit out of him? Threaten him?—before I give an indignant huff. “Tell me.”

Xander’s response is clipped. “Don’t worry about it. But say something if he gives you any more trouble.”

Slowly, I nod. “Yeah, okay.” I shove a big bite of omelet in my mouth, chewing thoughtfully. Shit, I wonder what these guys did, especially if they really think Jack won’t be bothering me anymore. I probably don’t want to know.

Lyla shrugs as she begins to clear plates and utensils from the kitchen island. “None of these jerks will give us the scoop. Scarlett, Daph, and I weren’t invited along on the misadventure.”

I don’t miss Beau and Micah smirking at each other.

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