A Reborn Bride Pearl Emerging from Dust by Sally Garcia

"I told you before, there's no such thing as a hundred percent guarantee. But I'll

do my best. Things won't get any worse than they are now."

She took a thoughtful bite of her cheesecake, her gaze distant.

Valerian nodded, but he still looked like he had something on his mind.

Calliope glanced up at him. "If you've got something to say, just say it. If you're upset with me, I'd rather you be upfront. It's not like you all haven't complained before."

She was the picture of calm.

Valerian felt a little uneasy. But he couldn't help himself. "Callie, are you really that close to those brothers of yours?"

He kept thinking about what Lance had said earlier. Were those so-called adopted brothers of hers really that amazing? Did she actually like them that much? They weren't even her real brothers, so why did she care about them so much? Shouldn't she care more about her actual family?

but when he tried to dig deeper, he turned up absolutely

Shepherd, or Julius Quillen, every lead went nowhere. They were all mysteriously out

she had these "brothers,"

bothered him more than he wanted

"Of course I'm close to them. They spoil

like it was the most obvious thing in

back on how she'd sometimes neglected her "honorary" brothers

her best. Christmas was coming up, they would be back soon, and she

the ones who showered

year, she wanted to surprise them for

thoughtfully as she considered what

brothers. You should be careful," Valerian said, a hint of concern in his voice.

"Or is

you. You don't need to get so defensive," Valerian