Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 107204 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 357(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107204 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 357(@300wpm)
Ohmygosh. I was riding the elevator with the worst human alive. The tall, dark, and annoyingly handsome Alex Ramírez, folks. The newest pain in my ass.
My cheeks flushed as embarrassment built in the pit of my stomach. Before I could say anything, we were already at Alex’s stop, and he exited without another word. I figured that was how the worst human alive would’ve worked—dropped bombs and walked off with a smug look.
The elevator closed, leaving Josh and I alone. Me, him, Cocoa, and the millions of thoughts rushing through my brain. None of which were worthy of leaving my lips.
When the elevator opened to the sixteenth floor, he stepped to the side to allow me out, like a freaking gentleman.
“Thank you,” I said, squeezing poor Cocoa to my chest as much as possible to hide my chest.
“Of course, have a good day,” he said.
“You too.” I started toward my apartment and paused. “Josh?”
“Yeah?”
“I didn’t poop myself.”
He laughed and it sounded like magical trumpets of joy. “I figured that much, Yara. I’m almost certain that your poop would smell like roses,” he said with a wink. “Oh, and Yara?”
“Yes?”
“You have white stuff around your mouth,” he said, pointing at my face before unlocking his door and going inside.
Panic filled my chest as I dashed inside my apartment. I hurried to my bathroom mirror to find the lovely remnants of my drunken piña coladas binge. Yet seeing it on my face made it look like something very different from piña coladas.
Oh, wasn’t life grand?
CHAPTER 5
Yara
After one of the worst days of my life, I tried my best to shake off my bad mood. That wasn’t easy when I kept seeing the Sip & Dish ladies in town, who seemed to be going out of their way to avoid me. That was fine by me. I had nothing to say to any of them. Besides, I still had my sisters. They would never kick me out of a group, minus that time when we were kids. We’d play as if we were Destiny’s Child, and they kicked me out because I was convinced I was Beyonce, yet they made me Michelle, so I threw a fit.
Outside of that, I had built-in best friends who would never abandon me.
No steps. No halves. Just full.
That was Daddy's motto when it came to my sisters and me.
My sisters and I looked remarkably similar despite not being blood-related. Technically, Avery was my stepsister, and Willow was my half sister, but we didn’t believe in those words. No steps, no halves, just full. We were nothing less than sisters. They were my full heartbeats from the moment they entered my life. Daddy always called us the melting pot of love, and Mama used to say that our heartbeats were the same race. I grew up in a home where love was the centerpiece. Mama and Daddy were the definition of soulmates. I wasn’t certain I’d believe in true love if it wasn't for them and their love story.
Avery was Mama’s first daughter, and after she was born, Mama thought she couldn’t have any more children again due to her health issues. Avery’s biological father wasn’t in the picture, so she never knew much about him. The two met Daddy and me when I was only two, and Avery was four. We met at the annual picnic event, Snack on Hillstack, where Daddy picked Mama’s basket. They fell in love right then and there over a peanut butter and jelly sandwich that Avery and I shared. If I were honest, I didn’t remember a time before Mama was in my life. I hated that I had to know a time after her.
Even though I wasn’t biologically hers, there was no denying that we were destined to be mother and daughter. When I was younger, people would say we had the same eyes, and for some reason, that made me always tear up with happy tears because Mama’s brown eyes were always so full of joy. It was an honor to be compared to such a woman.
Besides our looks, we had the same heartbeats. Family had nothing to do with blood but everything to do with heart. Our hearts beat in sync from day one. Daddy said we were destined to love one another. I always liked that idea, too—that people were destined to cross paths just so they could love one another.
That was how it was at the picnic. One day, we were strangers sharing a PB and J sandwich, and then boom—we were family. The day Mama adopted me and Daddy adopted Avery, they each bent down in front of us and said, “Forever,” as they wrapped our pinkies with theirs. The ultimate promise.
Willow was a surprise to us all. When I was eight, I overheard Mama crying because she’d found out she was pregnant. Daddy was so worried about Mama’s health, but she swore Willow was a blessing from above. I couldn’t argue that fact. My little sister was something special—even if she didn’t realize it just yet.