Page 117 of Romancing His Heart

“Uh, okay. Come on.” I lead her up the stairs and stop at the doorway. “Here you go.”

“Nope, here you go.” Before I can protest, she has shoved me into the small room and kept pushing until I was standing in the shower stall.

She wouldn’t dare.

The bitch reaches around me and turns the water on full blast.Fucking hell. Icy water pummels my clothed body, and I scream.

“What the hell, Julia?”

“It’s time for some tough love, and I’m just the woman for the job. Get cleaned up and meet us downstairs.”

“You’re insane,” I yell.

“Insanity and genius often go hand in hand, or so I’ve heard. You’ve got ten minutes.”

I watch as she leaves, and when I can finally compose myself, I peel the wet loungewear I’ve been wearing for a few days off and leave it in a pile on the shower floor.

Shower. Smile. Tell them you’re fine. Smile. Get them to leave. I repeat that mantra until I believe I can do it.

Twenty minutes later, I’ve composed some version of myself that they’ll believe is acceptable and head downstairs. My clothes hang loose, and I realize I must have lost some weight in the last few days. With a smile plastered in place, I steel myself for the firing squad.

All heads swivel to me as I enter the small family room.

Tap-tap-slide.

Everyone in the room shifts, and Emory pats the seat next to her.

“What is this? An intervention?”

“Yes,” Julia blurts as everyone else in the room says, “No.”

“Right. Okay, well, what’s up?” I try to keep my tone cheerful.

“What’s up?” Eli screeches. “Are you shitting me?”

I stare at her like she’s lost her mind, but everyone in this room knows it’s me. I’m the one losing my grip on life.

Tap-tap-slide.

“Sis,” Tilly tries more gently than Eli, “when’s the last time you ate?”

“Ah, I don’t know. I had pizza not that long ago.”

“This pizza?” Trevor asks, holding up the box and removing the receipt that’s taped to the side. “Sloane, you ordered this over a week ago.” I cringe when he opens the top and sees it’s almost entirely intact.

“When’s the last time you left this house?” Julia asks, looking around at my mess. Luckily, it isn’t too bad because all I’ve done is sit on the couch and cry.

“Okay, everyone, give her a break,” Preston comes to my rescue.

Emory pats the couch again, and I sandwich myself between her and Eli.

“Tell us what he did so I know what kind of plan I have to make.” Dexter’s deep, rumbly voice fills the room.

Glancing around, I realize he’s talking to me. “What? What are you talking about?”

“Loki. What did he do? I know he’s in the field, so I can’t ask him, but it looks like I’m going to have to pull out the motherload of grand gestures for this one.”

“N-Nothing. Loki didn’t do anything. He just told the truth.”