Tempted

hair that was already too poofy because apparently nuns didn’t believe in flatirons.
    “I never liked him, either.” Stark took my hand and kissed it. Then he looked Heath in the eye. “I don’t like it much that you and Zoey are Imprinted, but I don’t have a problem with you.”
    “I’m cool with you, too, dude,” Heath said. “But I don’t like it much that you slept with Zo.”
    “Hey, just part of the job description of being her Warrior, keeping her safe and all.”
    “Okay, vomit,” Aphrodite said. “By the way, testosterone dorks, you should know Z dumped Erik—no matter what kind of spin he tries to put on it. Keep in mind she could do that to either of you if you get too damn annoying.” She unwrapped herself from around Darius, marched over to me, and looked me in the eye. “Ready to go in there and face the pain-in-the-ass masses?”
    “In a sec.” I turned to Sister Mary Angela. “How’s Grandma this morning?”
    “Worn out. I’m afraid she did entirely too much yesterday.”
    “Is she okay?”
    “She will be.”
    “Maybe I should go to her and—”
    I started to walk away from the dining room, but Aphroditecaught my wrist. “Grandma’s going to be fine. Right now I can promise you she’d rather have you figure out what we’re doing next than stress about her.”
    “Stress? Did someone say they were stressin’?” Stevie Rae jogged around the corner of the hallway with Dallas at her side. “Hey there, Z!” She enveloped me in a big hug. “Sorry that I snapped your head off before. I guess we both have been stressin’ too much lately. Forgive me?” she whispered.
    “Of course,” I whispered back and tried not to wrinkle my nose as I hugged her. She smelled like basement and earth and something else stinky I couldn’t identify.
    “Hey,” I said quickly under my breath to her. “I dumped Erik and he’s hooked up with Venus—in front of everybody.”
    “Well, that sucks like your mama forgettin’ your birthday,” she said out loud, not paying any attention to our audience.
    “Yeah,” I said. “It definitely sucks.”
    “You gonna go in and face him, or turn tail and run?” she asked with a wickedly cute smile.
    “What do you think, Ado Annie?” Aphrodite said. “Z doesn’t run from a fight.”
    “Who’s Ado Annie?” Heath asked.
    “Dunno,” Stark said.
    “That’s a character from the musical
Oklahoma
!” Sister Mary Angela said as she tried to stifle a giggle by clearing her throat. “Shall we have breakfast?” Smiling, the nun headed into the cafeteria.
    I sighed and had the urge to run shrieking down the hall in the opposite direction.
    “Come on, Z. Let’s go in there and get somethin’ to eat. Plus, I got stuff to tell y’all that’s gonna make your boyfriend issues seem like nothin’.” Stevie Rae grabbed my hand, and swinging it, pulled me into the dining room. Trailed by Stark, Heath, Darius, Aphrodite, and Dallas, we found seats beside Sister Mary Angela at the same table where Damien, Jack, and the Twins were already sitting.
    “Hey, Z! You’re finally up! Check out the seriously yummy pancakes the nun cooks made us,” Jack bubbled at me.
    “Pancakes?” My world instantly brightened.
    “Yeah! There’re plates and plates of this stuff
and
bacon and hash browns. It’s better than IHOP!” He glanced down the table and yelled, “Hey! Pass the pancakes!”
    Platters started to clatter our way, and my mouth began to water. I seriously heart me some pancakes.
    “We like French toast better,” Shaunee said.
    “Yeah, it’s not as mushy,” Erin said.
    “Pancakes aren’t mushy,” Jack said.
    “Merry meet, Z,” Damien spoke up, obviously defusing a pancake debate.
    “Merry meet,” I smiled at him.
    “Hey, except for your poofy hair you look lots better than you did before,” Jack said.
    “Thanks. I think.” I said it through a big bite of pancake.
    “I think she looks amazing,” Stark said from where he was sitting a little way down the table.
    “Me, too. I like Zoey’s bed head,” Heath grinned at me.
    I was rolling my eyes at both of them when Erik’s voice drifted across the room to me.
    “Really,
really
crowded over there.” His back was turned to us, but that didn’t stop his voice from projecting obnoxiously.
    Why couldn’t breakups be easy? Why couldn’t Erik just not be a butt?
Because you really hurt his feelings
flitted through my mind, but I was sick of being worried about Erik’s