TWENTY

MAY

My mother was a force of nature. Disappointed wouldn't be the right word to describe the energy she would send my way if she found out her daughter was now homeless, penniless, and married all because I didn't read the fine print. I was cornered but if I had to choose, I would choose to survive a kiss with Edmond any day. I decided I would tell him the task Snuggle had handed me the minute he walked out of the bathroom. But as seconds trickled by, I wasn't finding it that easy to talk myself out into this one. My first kiss was going to be fiction. Something Edmond and I just had to do because it was for the best and not because we wanted to. The fear was clawing at me again, and it was taking more than an extra few minutes to stop shaking. I grabbed the phone and read through the pop-ups that Snuggle had sent just to remind my brain that this was not the time to be afraid or rational. It was just one kiss. It wouldn't even mean anything. It would be over before it even got awkwar