“I got the rundown,” Aunt Becky replied with understanding. “I pretty much told her what I told you back in October. You’re both young and resilient, and you have a lot of life ahead of you. And figuring out how to go it on your own for a while never hurt anyone.”

Ava sat up straight and stuck out her lip in a pout. “Do you think we’ve been married too long to apply for annulment?” Her voice was shaky. “It just hit me that if we don’t get back together, I’m going to have to check ‘Divorced’ when I fill out forms from now on.” She slumped forward again, covering her face with her hands and shaking her head wildly. “Wes said… He said he knew before we exchanged our vows. He said he decided whether or not to go through with the marriage based on a coin flip.”

Tears stung Olivia’s eyes instantly, and fresh, hot anger raced through her veins. Who the hell said that to someone? She’d have more than words with Wes when she saw him next. “Oh, Ava, then thank God you’re not wasting another few years with him. Or worse, you could’ve had kids with him. This side of him you’re seeing, it proves he’s not the person you thought he was.”

Ava shook her head and swiped at fresh tears. Olivia sensed that she was ready to say some of the things she’d hinted at last night but had not been able to voice. “He…he said I’m too superficial to start a family with.”

What a low blow. Olivia wrapped her sister in a ferocious hug. “What an ass.”

“Ass!” Coco parroted across the room.

With a stern look from Aunt Becky, both Olivia and her sister suppressed a few giggles. Courtesy of her first owner of seven years, Coco knew every curse word ever spoken in English and a handful in Spanish and German. It had taken Aunt Becky months of training and positive attention to change Coco’s go-to vocabulary. Though she’d heard stories, Olivia had only heard the attention-loving parrot curse a few times, though for some reason, sixty-nine had remained one of her go-to phrases, along with jet plane and ring, ring.

Seeming relieved by the distraction, Ava plopped her hands flat on the counter. “I don’t… I can’t talk about this now anyway. I’m showing property at one out in the county. I just want to drown my sorrows in those potatoes this morning, and tonight, I’ll go for a long run to make up for all the calories last night and today. I don’t think I’ve ever had a Frosty and Ben & Jerry’s in one night.”