Page 30 of Where We Stay

And the floor.

And somehow, part of the wall.

My eyes widen as I look toward Rory. She’s standing beside the table with a trash bag in one hand and an expression that is far too sheepish to inspire confidence.

“What happened in here?” I ask.

“Art,” Aspen answers proudly.

“An explosion,” Rory says at the same time.

Aspen gasps. “Aunt Rory!”

“Sorry, bro.” Rory shrugs as she starts sweeping glitter from the table. “What Aspen wants, Aspen gets.”

“That is a terrible lesson to teach her,” I say, looking down at my daughter.

Aspen smiles sweetly up at me. “Can I have ice cream for dinner?”

“No.”

Her smile disappears. “Aunt Rory would let me.”

“Which is why Aunt Rory isn’t in charge anymore.”

Rory sticks her tongue out at me.

“Pen, help your aunt clean up, please,” I tell Aspen before heading toward the kitchen. “Thanks again for today. I ended up staying at the shop later than I planned.”

“Oh, I heard,” Rory replies.

I look back at her. She’s wearing the same irritating smirk Knox had on his face all afternoon.

“Heard what?” I ask cautiously.

“G messaged me this morning,” she explains. “Apparently, the new girl’s car broke down, and you rushed to the lookout to rescue her.”

“I didn’t rush anywhere,” I argue.

“Then G said you towed her into town and dropped her home alone.” Rory points toward the clock on the wall. “That was this morning. It’s now six-thirty, so I can only assume you spent the rest of the day working on the new girl’s car.”

“It isn’t a big deal,” I tell her, opening the fridge. “She needs the car by Monday, and she doesn’t know anyone here yet. I didn’t want to be a dick.”

“Of course not,” Rory says, nodding solemnly.

I narrow my eyes at her. “And her name is Blair.”

“Right,” she replies slowly. “Blair.”

I roll my eyes.

Knox said the exact same thing earlier.

Those two spend far too much time together.

“Are you two talking about Daddy’s girlfriend?” Aspen asks from beneath the dining table.

Rory’s grin widens.