The Forever Girl (Wildstone, #6)(10)

“Guilty,” she said to Dillon.

She figured he’d smile or say something teasingly. Instead, he remained serious as he leaned in and whispered, for her ears only, “Don’t mess this up for her, okay? The wedding’s very important to her, and she’s important to me.”

Then he turned away and sank back to the couch and his game.

Okaaaay. Maze let out a shaky breath and turned to the door with some half-baked idea of running for the hills, except she nearly barreled into Caitlin.

Caitlin lifted a beautiful green plant with white flowers in a ceramic container. “Remember this? We painted this container at a ceramics class that summer, and I’ve kept the plant alive this whole time. I thought maybe after the wedding you could take it home and babysit it while I’m on my honeymoon.”

Maze lifted her hands. “I’ve got a black thumb. I’ll kill it.”

“In a week?”

She thought about how quickly she’d managed to get off on the wrong foot with Caitlin’s future husband. “You’d be surprised how fast I can kill things.”

Cat sighed and Maze felt like a jerk. Cat had offered her an olive branch. It was also a blatant attempt to make sure they saw each other again when Maze would have to give the plant back.

“Sure,” Maze said, and took the plant. “Just don’t expect it to be alive.”

Cat smiled. “I know you’ll do your best. That’s all I can ask.”

Maze’s chest hurt.

Heather had given Sammie a piece of banana, and she had it smashed in both hands as she ran around doing her staggering drunk impression again, happily chattering in baby speak. Her bright eyes landed on the pugs, now in Dillon’s lap, and she beelined straight for them with an excited scream.

The pugs screamed back, but in alarm. Dillon cuddled them in close. “Caitlin.”

Sammie kept coming at him.

“The couch is linen,” Dillon said to the little girl.

“It’s okay,” Caitlin told him. “I bought Tide pens at Costco.”

Dillon frowned, but Jace snagged Sammie before she executed her destroy-the-couch mission. “Hey, you. Let’s go wash your hands while your mama sits down and puts her feet up.”

Heather looked at him like he was the god of all men. “You’ve got the best boyfriend on the planet,” she whispered to Maze. Maze thought she managed to hide her grimace, but Heather cocked her head. “What?”

“Nothing.”

Heather nodded, but she still studied Maze for a long beat. Without Michael, Heather was the youngest and the most intuitive. “So. Santa Barbara? How do you like living there versus Wildstone?”

Wildstone had been . . . well, home. But Santa Barbara worked. It was warm, not too small a town, but not too big either, and being sandwiched between the Pacific Ocean and beautiful rolling hills made it feel familiar and deceptively safe. She had a good job and an even better boss. She had friends, both on the job and in the building where she lived. She dated. Sometimes. Okay, so she didn’t tend to date the same guy more than a few times, but she found herself reluctant to form close ties, especially since apparently she had never really learned how to do that successfully.

But she was fine, even happy. Or happy enough, anyway. She spent her free time volunteering at a women’s shelter, mostly just cleaning and doing whatever needed to be done, but it gave her a sense of something she’d never had before—that she was worthy enough to be able to give something back.

She liked that. A lot.

She was also going to school online at night. All of it added up to an almost very full life, and it was . . . nice. Really nice. Definitely a quieter life than she’d ever imagined for herself, but fulfilling.

Well, it had felt like it was fulfilling, until she’d stepped foot in here again.

“Love it,” she said.

“Hmm,” Heather said. “You do realize that I know your trying-to-pull-one-over-on-me smile. I also know you still think of me as the baby here. But trust me, I’ve grown up fast these past few years. Also, I’ve missed you like hell. I’m not going to push you, but I’m here if you ever want to talk.” She paused, eyes on Maze. “Please want to talk. I really did miss you, and frankly, I need my big sister back in my life.”

A gut punch. And a heart punch. “I should’ve—”

Heather shook her head. “I didn’t say that to make you feel guilty. Or maybe I did. Did it work?”

Maze let out a rough laugh, feeling a little bit lucky that the front door opened just then.

Unluckily, it was Walker, and her chest tightened, restricting air. Chin up. You’ve got this. But her heart was tripping all over itself as her eyes soaked up the sight of him. No current bullet holes, at least that she could see, which had relief rolling through her. Nothing but that long, leanly muscled body, the one that still played a starring role in all her secret fantasies. She’d even tried replacing him with Liam Hemsworth, but it hadn’t worked.

Walker looked at Dillon on the couch. “Hey, you’re in the same spot as you were last time I saw you.”

Wait, they knew each other?

“Funny,” Dillon said. “So funny.”

Walker hugged Heather, then pulled back to look at her face. “You’re better,” he said.