CHAPTER 22
I did my best to avoid Noah throughout the day and especially during the barbecue. The conversation I had with Pamela still lingered in my mind. Her disapproval felt like a weight pressing against my chest. It didn’t matter what my heart wanted—if she was against it, I couldn’t have Noah. And maybe… neither could he have me. Jackson’s cousins had arrived for the barbecue. At first, they seemed lovely. Pamela introduced them one by one—they were the children of Jackson’s father’s brother, so technically his nephew and nieces. There were two girls and one guy. Grace, the older of the two girls, was clearly the one with an attitude. I picked up on it the moment she stepped into the backyard. Her eyes scanned the place like she owned it. She had this air of entitlement, and most of her atten
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