Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 65939 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 330(@200wpm)___ 264(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65939 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 330(@200wpm)___ 264(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
“Yeah, sure.” Ashton’s voice drips with sarcasm. “You’re practically BFFs—except for the part where she hates your fucking guts.”
“You’re upsetting your mother,” his—I presume—father says coldly. “If you must know, I invited Gwyneth after you told me you were coming here. I didn’t realize you’d have company.” He gives me a cool once-over. “I had hoped that maybe you’d come to your senses and—”
“Do not finish that sentence,” Ashton snaps, then turns to the young woman. “Gwyneth, you’d better go.”
“No,” his mother says. “She’s been useful. I want her to stay.”
“And how has she been useful?” Ashton demands.
“She got us access to the hospital system,” his mother says. “Told us which doctor Jordan’s speaking with and what university he got his degree from.”
Ashton whirls on Gwyneth. “You hacked into the hospital’s system? You realize that can get you a visit from the FBI?”
His father finally looks at me. “Aren’t you going to introduce us to your friend?”
Ashton’s jaw flexes. “Later. Right now, I’m going to see my sister.”
Grabbing my hand again, he strides over to the reception desk, where we learn where to find Jordan and provide our IDs to get visitors’ passes.
A short walk later, we stop next to a bed with a swollen-looking Jordan—who beams a megawatt smile at her brother and then at me.
“You’re here,” she says, her words slightly slurred.
He puts his hand over hers. “Of course.”
“You really didn’t have to come all this way,” she says. “This is just allergies.”
He gives her a glare. “You know anaphylaxis can kill you, right?”
She sighs. “So the doctor just said.”
“What else did he say?” Ashton demands.
“He thinks I reacted to my morning bacon.”
“Bacon?” he asks incredulously.
She nods. “Said this might happen if I eat any meat from a mammal. But obviously, more tests are needed to be sure.”
“All… mammals?” Ashton looks dubious.
“I know,” she says. “If I were a cannibal, I’d be screwed.”
Ashton frowns. “This is serious.”
“I know,” Jordan says. “The next time I get tuna, I’ll have to make sure it’s dolphin free for the sake of self-preservation.”
“How could you just become allergic to meat all of a sudden?” he asks. “You’ve always eaten it without any problems.”
“It’s that stupid tick,” Jordan says. “That’s what clued the doctor in. He thinks I developed something called alpha-gal syndrome—and no, that doesn’t mean I’m the type of gal who can lead a pack of werewolves.”
Ashton runs a hand through his hair. “I’ve never heard of that.”
“Me neither,” Jordan says.
“I’m so sorry,” I chime in. “That sounds horrible.”
Jordan waves that away. “I can still eat fowl and seafood. Or maybe I’ll become vegan—and finally prove that I’m better than everyone else.”
“Whatever diet you decide on, I know a good nutritionist who can help you make a meal plan,” Ashton says.
Jordan wrinkles her nose. “Speaking of unpleasant things, did you run into our parental units and Gwyneth on your way here?”
“Yes.” He grimaces. “I can’t believe Dad called her.”
“I can,” Jordan says. Turning my way, she adds, “Not sure if Ashton filled you in, but Gwyneth is the woman our parents wanted him to marry. They started pushing for it almost as soon as Ashton started dating her back in college, and they kept pushing for it even after Ashton broke up with her. They just couldn’t accept that Ashton wasn’t ready for such a serious commitment, and especially not with a stage-five clinger like Gwyneth.”
Seeing my shocked expression, she nods. “I’m not kidding. And telling us whom to marry is just the tip of the iceberg. They wanted us to go to the school they chose, get jobs they approved of, and—”
“And your life would only be the better for it,” says their father, who’s clearly part ninja.
I turn and see both of his parents here, but thankfully, Gwyneth is not with them.
Which is good, because, for no reason that I can explain, I want to locate a scalpel and stab a bitch.
Chapter 30
Ashton
“So what did the doctor say?” Mom demands.
Jordan tells them the same thing she told us, and our parents vow to get second, third, and fourth opinions.
“So,” Dad says to me when we’ve covered everything about Jordan’s condition. “You still owe us an introduction.”
He and Mom look at Kendall pointedly.
Fuck. Why did I let her come with me?
“Relax,” Jordan says. “I met Kendall’s parents. Her dad is a doctor, and her mother does charity work.”
“Oh,” our parents say in unison and look at Kendall a lot more approvingly, which, of course, pisses me off.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Kendall says politely and shakes both of their hands.
What follows next feels a lot like an interrogation, by the end of which I get the feeling that my parents are ready to replace Gwyneth with Kendall.
I, on the other hand, feel unsure about her for the first time since she ghosted me—but not because of said approval, as I would’ve expected. As it turns out, I couldn’t care less what my parents think of her, one way or another. However, now that I know my sister is okay, I can finally process the whole Ash debacle, and the more I think about it, the more I hate it that Kendall didn’t trust me—and kept thinking the worst of me even after we got to know each other.