Page 22 of Novice Girlfriend

“Good, because honestly I’m horrible at being careful with family stuff being an orphan and cracking inappropriate jokes about my own dead parents as my armor,” Winter admitted. “You can help me navigate this when I would want to just plow into the information and not care about Millen anything.”

I winked at him when he shot me a nervous look like he knew how that sounded. “You do better than you think, Sir Winter.”

He chuckled and blew me a kiss.

“So my remaining priorities are laying down some rules about guarding me because while Nigel is a bit rigid, he’s not wrong that my guards weren’t really invited out and shouldn’t just jump in on everything because it gets awkward,” I blurted in a fast ramble. “Figuring out how to integrate Kate like Mrs. Reid said Mr. Reid has people. And familiars at blanket time.”

Needless to say, I had to back up and explain a lot of that.

All of it even.

Everyone agreed that the guards needed stricter rules, not because I was a stick in the mud, but because I was the boss, and if people saw them being lax, they would assume it was because I was young. That would trickle downward and make more problems. The moment we were alone or at the house, they could be chill.

But in public or even around my friends, it had to be top-level professional and Taylor promised he would handle it. He made it clear that no one did it as an insult or because they didn’t respect me.

I smiled at him. “I really like them all. It’s just really, really awkward for me having been locked up all my life. I feel caged. I feel like I’m buying my friends? And I need to not feel that way and clearer boundaries. It’s all still too blurry and too hard on me, especially when I see something intimate like their bonds with their familiars and then pay them. I don’t know normal.”

I didn’t realize tears were leaking out of my eyes until I sniffled loudly. I was mortified and looked down, hurrying to wipe my eyes.

“Clearly, this was a needed conversation, and I’m sorry I didn’t realize it,” Taylor said gently. “That was my failing. Truly, I’m sorry, Bevin.”

I gave a half shrug. “I didn’t really realize it, and I don’t know how to explain things. I’m trying. Emma is a real friend now and—I…”

“What, Bev?” Tracey said gently.

“She wants the boundaries in place so she knows when people are crossing—when she is,” Winter said gently. He was nodding when my head snapped up and I looked at him. “Yeah, I know about the party, and—Nigel told me that he was sorry he made you uncomfortable acting like it was a date and you didn’t mean for it to be one.”

“I wasn’t cheating.”

He gave me a soft smile. “Bev, two things I know for sure. You, my friends, and Teddy will never intentionally hurt me, and someday we all die, okay? The rest we’ll figure out.”

That helped a lot. It really did.

So did figuring out the rest. It was so, so nice to have plans and more laid out. I couldn’t put it into words how nice it was.

There was just one change that I needed to make to everything and I knew it sounded really weird. Like beyond weird, but my magic was itching for me to do it, and it definitely wasn’t the weirdest thing I’d ever done.

Not by a long shot.

So that was something at least.

Right?

6

Bevin

It was a pain for people to drag all the skeins of yarn to my land we were going to do so much with but… Too bad? This was what my magic was telling me to do, and enough people were going to be going there in the future, so hopefully it wouldn’t be too big of a deal.

“If this is what you need, we can figure out the right location and have our own warehouse built out here,” Tracey said as she glanced around. “It’s smart even when we’ll have the security here… And your eyes just glazed over. Got it.”

“Love you,” I teased as I kissed her cheek. I thanked everyone for helping but then let out a slow breath. “Now, please go away.” I hurried on when people froze. “Not the familiars. They can stay.”

“One of us should at least stay to watch the progress and—” Wyatt started to say.

“Um, not this time. Please? Can you just scan me before and after?” I looked away. “People get really weird about me talking with the familiars and hearing them. You all use words like ‘unnerving’ and ‘unsettling,’ and it’s, um, really…”

“Hurtful,” Winter whispered. “Fuck, does it hurt you.” He moved closer and put his fingers under my chin so I had to meet his gaze. “I’m so sorry, little sexy.”