第16部分(第1/8 頁)

underwear　to　shreds。　His　normally　pale　face　was　tan；　and　his　dark；　short　dreadlocks　were　streaked

with　copper；　like　he？d　been　living　on　a　beach　all　summer。　Aaron　was　annoying；　but　at　least　he

didn？t　look　anything　like　his　dad；　Cyrus；　who　was　the　most　revolting　human　specimen　of　a

stepfather　Blair　had　ever　encountered。

？Daddy；　are　you　still　there？？

？I？m　here；　Blair…Bear？and　I？ll　try。　But　no　promises；　okay？　I　want　you　to　be　realistic　about　the

situation。　If　it？s　meant　to　be；　it？s　meant　to　be。？　The　babies　started　wailing　again；　and　her　dad

offered　a　quick　？Love　you；　see　you　in　a　few　days！？　before　signing　off。

Oh；　it　was　meant　to　be；　all　right；Blair　thought　as　she　tossed　her　phone　down　on　the　bed。　You

couldn？t　stop　destiny？and　she　and　Nate　weredestined　to　be　together　forever。

？Thanks　for　the　friendly　wele；　Sis。？　Aaron　grinned　and　leaned　up　against　Mookie；　throwing

his　arm　around　the　dog？s　neck　in　a　half　nelson。　Good。　Maybe　he？d　strangle　the　thing　by　accident。

Mookie　offered　him　a　wet　lick　across　his　face。

？Oh；　right。　Wele　back；？　she　said　irritably。　？And　I　told　you　to　stop　calling　me　that。　Just

because　my　mom　married　your　dad　doesn？t　mean　I？m　your　sister。？　？Uh；　no　offense；　Sis；　but　that？s

exactly　what　it　means。？　Aaron　smoothed　down　Mookie？s　gross；　slobbery　fur　with　one　hand　and

chuckled。

？Whatever。？　Blair　inspected　her　French　manicure；　which　was　now　chipped。　A