"Hey, check out this road trip guide I found online for traveling across the American Southwest. We could rent a car and switch between two drivers. It''s much easier with those wide-open roads. After hitting the Grand Canyon, we can also explore...

Right then, Shawn felt like Kate''s chatter was starting to get on his nerves. His headache wasn''t helping, and her nonstop talking was making it worse.

If it were Allison, she''d be more thoughtful. She''d be in the kitchen, whipping up someforting soup and spoon-feeding it to him.

“Alright, enough,” Shawn cut in, sounding a bit irritated. “Let''s chat about it tomorrow. I''m feeling kinda wiped out today."

Kate tucked her phone away, her head drooping with disappointment. “Shawn, am I getting on your nerves?" Her voice was full of hurt.

Shawn let out a sigh, guilt nibbling at him. “No, it''s just this headache. We can n the trip when I''m feeling better."

“Okay.” Kate snuggled into Shawn, gently wrapping her arms around his waist.

Over at Oak Lake, inside aid-back club''s card room, a bunch of guys were gathered around a poker table. George, ever observant, noticed the watch on Joshua''s wrist. With a cigarette dangling from his lips, heughed cheekily, “Hey, rocking a new watch, are we?”

Joshua yed a card and grinned wide. "What do you think? Pretty slick, huh? Allie got it for me."

"Wow, Allie gave you that? I''m green with envy. Having a fiancée sure does change things," Brian joked with a chuckle.

George looked a bit puzzled. "How did you end up engaged to someone from the Owens family? Was that your parents'' doing? It doesn''t add up."

Even though he and Allison moved in the same circles, there were always unspoken hierarchies.

Joshua, being the top dog as the Fisher family''s heir, wasn''t expected to marry someone from the Owens family.

Joshua smiled, his gaze softening. “It''s not an arranged situation."

"What?" Brian blurted, surprised. "If it''s not arranged, then what is it?”

"Three years ago, I went to Javier myself,” Joshua exined. “I waited for Allie to finish school, and the moment she did, I went straight to him.”

"I told him I''d agree to any terms, just as long as I could marry Allie. Whatever it took." As he reminisced, Joshua''s eyes lit up. After all these years, he was finally getting what he wanted.

“You''ve been into Allison all this time?” Brian clicked his tongue in disbelief. “You''ve kept that under wraps. I''m your buddy for all these years, and I never caught on.”

George grinned, teasing, “So you were secretly crushing on her, huh? You should''ve spilled the beans. I always thought you were just not into women and maybe even into guys."

Brian perked up, eager for some juicy details. "When did you fall for Allison?"

Joshua kept his focus on his cards, not even ncing up. "That''s a secret."

“ying the mysterious card, huh?” Brian smirked yfully. “You know, Allison ran away from home to dodge an arranged marriage. She might not have been thinking about you at all. That gift might just be a polite

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gesture, so don''t get your hopes up too high."

Hearing this, George looked up, speaking calmly. "Did you know Allison has a boyfriend now?