"You went out to dinner last night with the gorgeous governor, didn't you?” Lacy demanded, grinning. Ari felt her cheeks heat, as she looked at her friend over the huge expanse of Lacy’s new kitchen island. Travis’ ranch was about four times the size of Lacy’s family home. “So spill. What’s going on with you two?”

"What you mean what's going on?” Lacy had shown up at Ariella's apartment around lunch to get her and drag her back to Travis’. Jillian was working and Travis had an auction he was attending. Lacy didn't do auctions very well.

Lacy handed her the latest Snotty Garlic. Ari looked down and groaned. There she was, right on the front page. Filthy and snuggled up next to him. She’d had to; people were trying to eavesdrop on everything they’d said. They’d just spoken about W4HAV and the children, but it was still highly intrusive. “He was alone for the evening and we grabbed something to eat before he dropped me off. It was pretty simple.”

“Unh-uh. Look at you two. Look at how pretty you look. And he’s looking at you like you’re the last piece of cheesecake and he’s starving. It wasn’t just casual. You got a thing with Marc, don’t you?”

"Nothing's going on with me and Marc. He's just a friend.” Sometimes Lacy could be a bit too pushy. But sometimes she could be right. She might not actually have a ‘thing’ with Marc, but she had no doubt that he wanted one.

And he wasn’t one of those men who wanted her because of Luc. Of that she was one hundred percent certain.

Her cheeks flamed when she thought of the quiet kiss he had given her when he’d driven her home after.

He hadn’t pushed. But it hadn’t been platonic, either. There had been a restrained hunger in the way he’d held her.

“Sure. Does he know that? Because he doesn’t look like he’s gotten the message. And why is he always touching you? You don’t let men touch. Even casually. I know that for a fact, Ari. So…spill.”

"What you stop saying that. That stupid paper causes a lot of trouble." Embarrassing trouble at that. She had never figured out how the Garlic knew so much about her personal life, either. The Garlic had too many details that the general public wouldn’t know. Just like with Mel and Jillian and the others. It was almost as if the Snotty Garlic had a connection to the Beck family somehow. Ari and Lacy had speculated about that before.

They were pretty certain it wasn’t Jillian, Mel, or Brynna, at least. Or Syd. She was just too young.

Maybe.

"I like Marc, and I think it would be awesome to have you as a sister-in-law. Not fair that Jillian gets you and I don’t.” Lacy hugged her and dropped the subject. “You hook up with Marc, and I’ll get you, too.”

Lacy and Jillian were going to be sisters-in-law the right way. Because of the men they loved. Ari and Jillian were different in that. Jillian may consider them sisters-in-law, but Ari seriously doubted Rafe would.

Sometimes it seemed like Jillian and Lacy’s lives were moving on, faster than they’d ever have thought. And leaving Ari far behind.

She didn’t know how she was supposed to catch up. If she was supposed to. Maybe it was the natural way of things. They were all taking the next steps—them with the men they loved, and her with her career.

She had to stop this. Ari hated feeling so disconnected and on the outside from everyone, everything. It was making her think stupid thoughts again.

It was time she stopped being such a big weenie. Her friends were happy and safe and had found men who loved them. That one of those men happened to be her own brother should just be icing on the cake for her. She should be happy, right?

Instead, all she felt was alone and frightened and cut off from everything.

And extremely confused. But that emotion she put right at Marc’s door—where it belonged. He’d thrown her off completely.

She was just going to have to stop being so afraid of Rafe. Or letting Jillian and Lacy and Travis make things easier between her and Rafe. And they all did that. All tried it. Always protecting. Marc, too.

She hadn’t missed how he’d put himself between her and her brother on occasion.

"Marc is just a friend, I don't want anything else than that.”

"For what it's worth, though, I'd think you'd make a beautiful First Lady of Texas.” Lacy grinned again. She did that a lot since Travis. “I hear they have vegetarian options at the Governor’s Mansion now. But you’ll have to find out for me, for real.”

“So why am I here again, Lace?”

“To keep me company, of course. And to help with dinner. Marc and the kids are coming. I thought you’d like to be here. You know, since according to the Garlic, he’s about to pop the question.”

Ari just groaned and tossed the paper still in front of her at the grinning blonde idiot. “Shut up.”