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had truly allowed herself to be human and not a robot. She didn’t remember a time when she wasn’t the Tin Man or, in her case, the Tin Woman. Forgetting that she was a living being with feelings and thoughts made life much easier or at least more bearable.
    Right on schedule, the bathroom door flew open and her best friends bounded in. Bitchily, Shannon lashed out as she wiped away the evidence of her fleeting moment of humanity. “Took you long enough.”
    “I had to have a sisterly chat with my brothers,” Jaycee responded.
    Shannon heard the click of the bathroom door being locked. Her attention focused on Katie-Anne, who grabbed one of the other chairs and planted it in front of the door before lowering herself elegantly into the seat.
    “There,” Katie-Anne said, sounding far too proud of herself.
    Curiously, Shannon asked, “Do you really think that is necessary, Katie-Anne?”
    “Of course,” Katie-Anne replied. “You never know about these busybodies.” Scowling, she grumbled something about “nosy bitches.”
    Jaycee took the seat next to Shannon with a sigh. She stared at the ceiling with tired eyes and told Shannon, “She only wants to keep Leila out. You know she just arrived on the arm of Shane, right?”
    Distracted, Shannon’s sniffles tapered off, and she inquired only half interestedly, “Really? I didn’t know.”
    Jaycee perked up at the prospect of gossip, her gaze leaving the ceiling. “Wonder what Landon thinks of that.” She rubbed her chin thoughtfully and declared, “He is probably taking it as well as that one over there.” Jaycee brazenly pointed at Katie-Anne, who flipped her off.
    Scrubbing her hands up and down her pant legs, Katie-Anne cleared her throat. “We are not here to talk about me.”
    Shannon preferred to keep herself out of the hot seat, so she latched onto Jaycee’s semi-scandalous small talk. “What do you mean, J?”
    “Don’t you dare, J,” Katie-Anne threatened Jaycee implicitly. “I will hurt you.”
    Cheerfully, Jaycee stuck her tongue out and spilled the beans, “I overheard Gray talking about Shane and Landon’s situation .” She paused, using a hand gesture to dramatically indicate quotation marks before moving on. “Apparently, they have unresolved issues.”
    The normally unflappable Katie-Anne turned red in the face. “Stop it, Jaycee. Please . ”
    Whoa, baby. I haven’t heard her say that word often, especially not the way she’d just said it.
    Like the gossip she was, Jaycee moved forward with her tale, despite Katie-Anne’s request. “Numero uno problemo is Katie-Anne. They both have the hots for our sugary sweet friend—”
    Shannon snorted. “Sugary sweet, my ass.”
    Exasperated, Jaycee attempted to resume airing out Katie-Anne’s dirty laundry, “They made a pact that they both had to stay away from her unless they shared, but Shane’s hesitating, and Landon’s fighting tooth and nail to change his mind. Numero dos problemo—”
    “Must you talk that way, J? You’re just annoying us,” Katie-Anne grouched, her voice sounding oddly high pitched. If Katie-Anne donned green fur and lived in a trash can, she would be Oscar the Grouch. A female, soprano version of Oscar.
    “Speak for yourself, Katie-Anne,” Shannon snapped. “Ignore Oscarina. I want to hear this.”
    Jaycee leaned forward, propping her elbows on her knees and balancing her chin on her hands. “They have some sexual tension festering. Obviously, both of the men want the other, but neither of them will admit it.” She shook her head. “Men are so obtuse.”
    “Says the pot to the kettle. As fucking usual,” Katie-Anne remarked snidely. There’s the diva we know and love.
    “Kiss my ass,” Jaycee sneered.
    Pretending to shiver, Katie-Anne ribbed Jaycee, “No. I know where it has been.”
    With a lecherous grin, Jaycee responded, “Hell yeah!”
    Katie-Anne pretended to gag, “He’s my brother, Jaycee Elizabeth.”
    Jaycee seemed to be