Page 53 of Stand Your Ground

Me:It’s not a stain, it’s character. I’m cultivating layers, gentlemen.

Daddy P:Cultivate a shot on net.

A few more chirps rang out in the chat before Daddy P threatened to give us all wedgies if we didn’t shut up. I wasn’t normally scared of a teammate, but Will Perry was the exception to that rule, so I chuckled and tossed my phone onto the passenger seat before throwing the SUV in drive.

But before I let my foot off the brake, I eyed the little device again, Doc’s words still playing in my ear.

“Fuck it,” I finally said, and I put the car in park again to shoot off one more text.

Me:So… how about that date?

Horny Little Witch

Livia

“Have you seen those memes that are likegirls be like ‘I needed this’ and it’s just a beach vacation?” Maven shook her head, relaxing back on my couch with her wine in hand. “Well, I be like ‘I needed this’and it’s just time with you.”

“Wow,” I mused with an arched brow. “That was soft, even for you.”

“I can’t help it. I’m feeling all kinds of mushy lately. I blame work. Seeing these kids be so happy with just a bed to sleep in at night…” Her eyes welled a little at that. “It’s amazing, to be able to do things like this, but it’s also so sad sometimes, you know?”

“I can imagine,” I said, reaching over to squeeze her knee in understanding. “But trust me, I needed this, too. Work has been absolute hell this week.”

I scooted closer on the couch once I sank back again, pulling my current project into my lap. The bracelet I’d been designing for Chloe was on pause — something about the balance felt off — so tonight I’d laid out a scattering of metals and tiny gemstones for rings instead.

The little tray of gems sat on the coffee table beside my pliers, jeweler’s saw, and a mandrel. Maven wrinkled her nose at the clutter, grinning when I handed her a pair of oversized safety goggles.

“You’re joking.”

“Nope. You drink wine near flying metal shards, you wear the goggles. Rules are rules.”

She laughed, pushing them onto her face, the lenses magnifying her wide eyes as I put my own goggles on before I picked up a strip of gold.

This was the part I loved most — the dreamer’s stage. Raw metal, loose gems, a sketchy idea in my mind’s eye. All I had to do was imagine what it could be, and then coax it into reality — bend it, solder it, set it, polish it. I loved watching something as plain as a wire transform under my hands into a ring someone might treasure forever.

“So, it’s going well, then?” I asked Maven before sliding down to the floor in front of my coffee table full of tools. “The Sweet Dreams Initiative?”

Maven nodded, accidentally hitting her goggles on her wine glass before she laughed and maneuvered them slightly so she could take a sip. “It is. We have a lot of work to do, but… so far, so good.”

“I’m glad. You seem so happy,” I said. “I like that. I like seeing you happy.”

Maven stared at the wine in her glass, swirling it. “I am happy. But… there’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”

I arched a brow, though my fingers stilled where I’d been idly rolling a loose piece of gold wire between them. “Uh-oh.”

She bit her lip, brows pinched together like she was unsure how to say what she needed to.” I just… it hurt a little, finding out at the girls’ night that you were freezing your eggs.”

My heart broke. “Shit, Mave. I’m sorry.”

She winced. “No, no, I don’t need a big apology or anything. It’s not about me. You don’t owe me every detail of your life, Liv. I just… hope you know that you can tell me anything. If you want to.”

I exhaled slowly, setting the wire back on the tray of gems and metals spread across the coffee table. “It wasn’t that I didn’t trust you.” I plucked up a moonstone with my tweezers, holding it up to the light before setting it down again. “It’s more… I wasn’t even sure if I was going to do it at all.”

Maven leaned back, eyes soft on me as I tucked my legs beneath me. “I didn’t even know this was on your radar.”

I shrugged. “I’ve always wanted to be a mother. I just kind of thought that was impossible for a while, given that I rarely have a sub for longer than a couple of months, let alone seriously date anyone.”

“This is something that could be changed, you know,” Maven challenged.