Page 52 of Dandelion Sighs

“Married?” Sheridan echoed. “Seriously? Can she do that?”

“It was hers. She did it.” I tried to nudge her along. “Thanks for the cookie salad, Clover.”

“No problem,” Clover answered but didn’t walk away. My muscles vibrated to shove past her and run. Sheridan wouldn’t understand. She’d hate me. I’d made my decision for her. For both of us.

“I was in a bad place,” Lily started, and I held back my groan. “I needed somewhere to live, and I claimed that I was marrying Eliot to Aunt Linda.”

“But you weren’t?” Sheridan asked.

“I had just met him,” Lily said. “But he married me to help me out, and well, the rest is history.”

“I love Violet’s story.” Poppy had to scoot out of the way so Clover could grab some crackers. “Evander was renting the house Grandma left her.”

Surprise lit Sheridan’s eyes. “She got a house too?”

“We all did,” Clover said, and I was tempted to hide under the table like a kid. I could just take off across the pasture and I’d reach my house in an hour. But I was responsible if nothing else. I stayed rooted and accepted my fate. I should’ve been upfront with Sheridan in the first place. She would be hurt. She’d blame herself for my decision.

Poppy flipped a finger up. “Lily got Grandma’s place. Violet didn’t marry Evander despite being pregnant with his kid, but they fell in love anyway and then married and got the house.” She added a second finger. “Daisy and Alder used to be married. They got remarried so he could get the house and she could save up for her own place.”

“But Alder really meant to win her back,” Lily interjected.

“And the rest is history for them too.” I bumped into Sheridan, still foolishly hoping for an escape. So much for weathering the storm of the full truth. She just stepped around me, getting closer to my tattletale sisters.

Poppy pointed to herself with her third finger. “Jensen and I were going to do the whole marriage thing to get the house so I could turn it into my office, but our wedding became real.”

When she held up a fourth finger, Clover took over. “Then there’s me. I was going to marry Van’s piece-of-shit brother, but he ditched me, and Van took his place. We got married just so we could have somewhere to stay and get on our feet.”

Sheridan smiled. “And the rest is history?”

“No, we actually divorced.” She winked. “But we didn’t want to. We were married again by Valentine’s Day.”

“That’s so sweet.” Interest radiated across Sheridan’s face.

My heart banged harder against my ribs. There was no one else left but me. This was my last chance to get away.

I took another step back, but Poppy gestured to me. Fuck.

“And that leaves Jasper. If he doesn’t get married by the end of August, he won’t get the lake cabin.”

And there it was. Nausea filled my stomach, and I could puke all over the buffet. I pinched the bridge of my nose. Sheridan’s brows drew together as she considered me.

“What lake cabin?” she asked, anxiety brewing in her gaze. A knowing. It was dawning on her that I hadn’t told her something she’d find critical.

I’d never forgive myself for the betrayal darkening her eyes. The least I could do was be the one who said it. “The one with the property between you and the shore. That’s mine, and I’m going to lose it because I’m not going to get married.”

Chapter Fifteen

Sheridan

Jasper owned the cabin and property?

That wasn’t right. Poppy just explained it. He’d have to get married to move in. He’d have to get married in less than two months. Which he clearly wasn’t going to do. And unlike his siblings, he wasn’t going to marry me to get that property, nor was he going to marry me in order for me to buy it.

I dragged in a breath. My throat was raw, and my lungs were on fire. It hurt. I had the full picture now. Everything Linda said made sense. Everything Jasper hadn’t said made the worst sort of sense.

“I’ve pretty much written the cabin off,” Jasper said, his tone heavy.

Numbness sank through my skin and into my bones. “Yeah. Right. I mean, married?”