34
ASHTON
Skylar’s sunshine didn’t light up too many faces like I had expected.
Our usual guests, even those I considered actual friends in attendance at my birthday party, seemed closed off to her bright personality.
And Rhett? He’d shut down the second she’d made an appearance.
I’d thought he and I had a sweet moment together, his affirmation and affection soothing parts of me I’d been ignoring in my attention to Skylar—but then she’d descended the stairs, ending what had filled me with warmth and a sense of hope I hadn’t felt for weeks.
His silent intolerance for her nature continued throughout the next half hour and revealed itself countless times with disapproving glances and thinned lips.
We hadn’t discussed how to introduce Skylar, so I took it upon myself to label her as our
