Page 124 of Badd B*tch

"I'll tell him. He'll ask me for your number, though, for sure. What should I do?"

"I'm tempted to say give him a fake, but that's your family, and I…well, I dunno. I want to talk to him, but I'm still with Jake. I dunno!" She paused, thinking. "If and when that happens, just give him my number, but then warn me immediately. I'll need time to prepare."

"I got it. And Tania?"

"Hmmm?"

"Kieran is a good person. He's more loyal and affectionate than a dog. He'd give you the shirt off his back, the last dollar from his wallet, and he'd fight to the death to protect you. By you, I mean someone he cares about. He’s got a hell of a good heart under all that muscle; he's just…unhinged. In a good way. Most of the time."

"I believe you. I think I’m the one who’s not ready for that. Seeing how you've softened my sister has made me see some of my own sharp edges."

"I get that."

She sighed. "Okay, I gotta go. I'm on a quick break at work, but I've gotta get back to it. Think tanks don't think for themselves, you know."

"I don't even know what a think tank even is, honestly."

She just laughed. "I'll explain it when I come up to see my sister—and you, and your absolutely fucking batshit crazy family."

“Yours too, now, by proxy."

This got a pause. "Whoa. Weird." Another pause. “Okaybye." It was all one word, then click.

I stared at the phone and then looked at Tea. "She hung up."

Tea just shrugged. “That’s my Tania Lasagna." She eyed me curiously. "So if Tania isn't ready for Kieran, then who will the Badd Family Love Charm claim next?"

I shrugged. "Hell if I know. Your guess is as good as mine, babe. Could be anyone."

"If you had to guess."

I sputtered. “That’s like trying to guess who’ll win the next Powerball." I considered all of my cousins. "If anyone is in a place in their life where they'd be ready for love to upend everything, it'd be Ella. Kieran's sister."

“Really?" She frowned. "I met her, but only once, and it was quick."

"She's the one who owns a cafe," I said. "She does very little but work. She graduated valedictorian and had academic and athletic scholarships to several Big Ten universities, but she turned them all down, took out a loan that Uncle Bax and Aunt Eva co-signed for her, and started her café. It's successful as hell, but she doesn't know how to stop and enjoy life. Maybe the right person will come along and teach her."

Tea grinned. "It'll be fun to watch it happen to someone else."

"Ella especially. That girl is stubborn. She'll resist it until she has no choice but to accept it, and even then, she'll do so in a fit of pique."

"What kind of person do you think will find her?"

I frowned again. "Hmmm, that I couldn't even begin to guess at. She's a big personality, like all of us. Strong, opinionated, forceful, and successful in her own right. And when I say stubborn, I mean you can’t even fathom it. She fell while roller-skating once when she was little and tore her knee up. Blood everywhere. It was bad. But she was so fixated on learning to skate that she wouldn't let anyone help her or clean her up until she'd gotten it. And she did, and then she cleaned herself up."

Tea pulled a face. "I know a thing or two about that."

I cackled. "I'll bet you do."

She eyed me and my empty plate. "So we have the house all to ourselves again."

I extended my debit card to the passing server. "Check, please!”

Epilogue

Jax

"Cut!" Adam, the director, yelled.