Page 58 of Not Your Ex's Hexes
“You’re that sure of yourself?”
“So sure I’d bet my soul on it,” Damian joked dryly.
Because technically, he was.
12
All’s Fair in F*cking & Orgasms
If you know what’s good for you, head back to the city. Do it now. Save yourself.
—Olive
Reading her sister’s text, Rose cringed. Any hope she’d had for a drama-free family dinner went up in smoke with each emoji. It was too late to run now because she’d just pulled up to her childhood home, and if the curtain movement was any indication, her mother already knew she’d arrived.
Half the town probably knew because there wasn’t much to do in Athens if you weren’t keeping track of your neighbors’ comings and goings. With a higher-than-average Supernatural population, the quaint little village nestled alongside the Hudson about an hour outside of the city was where they’d grown up.
It’s where Vi had plotted revenge on a surly teenage Lincoln and where, thanks to Grandma Edie’s extensive library, Olive fell in love with books. It’s also where Rose learned to smile, play nice, and that there was no higher duty than the one you served to your family.
It was pretty accurate to say that she had a love-hate relationshipwith going back home, and Olive’s text didn’t give her much hope for this visit being one of the lovey ones.
If she were any less of a sister, she’d escape before the front door opened, but that wasn’t her. They’d shared a womb for nearly eight months. No way was she letting Olly deal with their mother without backup.
Rose’s phone dinged.
If you don’t listen, at least come around back. You can thank me later.
—O
With a thumbs-up response sent back, she walked around the wraparound porch to the side gate and followed the stone path toward the rear of the house. Voices murmured from inside the kitchen, and Rose slowly crept up the back steps, silently cursing when the motion detector went off, basking her and the entire backyard in a blinding white light.
The back door flung open, and Olive shook her head, hand propped on her curvy hip. She pulled Rose inside and into a hug. “And here I thought you had more survival instinct than this. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“It can’t be that bad, can it?” Rose greeted Edie with a kiss on the cheek, and when her grandma grimaced, she cursed. “It’s that bad?”
Olive lifted a dark blond eyebrow. “Have you met our mother?”
“Yeah, but I actually thought she was mellowing a bit. She called the other day, and didn’t once sigh, groan, or try and set me up with someone.”
Olive looked at her as if she’d sprouted a second head, and she couldn’t believe the words left her mouth, either, but they were true. When Rose had been engaged to Valentin, Christina had overseeneverydetail of the Bonding Ceremony. From flowers to linen, to what detergent brand the linen was washed in.
Rose hadn’t picked a damn thing. Not even her dress.
But Vi’s Bonding to Lincoln? Their mother had taken a surprisingly backseat role. Oh, there’d definitely been a multitude of grimaces and a few eye rolls, but for the most part, the ceremony and the other activities had all been Vi’s and Linc’s choices.
Progress…
But Olive’s fervent head-shaking told Rose her triplet didn’t think so. “I think she orchestrated this thing during Vi and Linc’s escape on purpose because she didn’t want us to have extra backup.”
Rose swallowed a laugh. “Escape? You mean on theirhoneymoon?”
“Whatever. I’m just glad I don’t have to deal with Mom alone.” She glanced to Edie. “Not that you’re not a great ally, Gran.”
Edie chuckled. “Oh, I know very well how it goes, my dear. When my brother, sister, and I were your age, we felt the same way. There’s no better backup than Magical Triad backup.”
Rose studied her sister. Curiousness gave way to concern as she registered the dimness in Olive’s usually sparkling blue eyes, and beneath them, the dark circles.
“Are you okay, Olly?” Rose asked. Her sister looked the degree of tired that sent people to bed for weeks. “Are you good?”
