Page 92 of Filthy Rich Brother's Best Friends

So, I unlock the door with the key Lola gave me last week and let myself in quietly. I don’t hear any movement on the first floor. A floorboard creaks above me. Then another. It sounds like it came from Lola’s room, so I head that way.

I walk through the living room, past the ridiculous crystal display Gigi keeps on the coffee table. I mean…half the crystals don’t even go together. There’s carnelian sitting next to selenite, a chunk of pyrite jammed between rose quartz and something that might be smoky citrine but also might be a chunk of driveway gravel.

I take the stairs two at a time, desperate to get to my girl. She’s letting me in bit by bit. I don’t want to push when sheneeds space, and usually I don’t. I just can’t let go of what I heard in her voice when I called to see if she wanted company tonight.

Her door is ajar. I lift my hand and knock quietly. “Lo?”

She turns toward me. Her arms fold across her chest and she looks like she’s been crying.

“I can’t do this.” Her voice cracks.

My stomach drops. Does she mean us? Is she done already? Did I miss something?

I step inside her room and ease the door shut behind me. “What happened?”

She huffs out a sound—something close to a laugh. Then she turns away and presses both hands to her temples.

“I’m so tired of pretending I’m fine.”

She starts shaking her head, like she’s in disbelief. Whatever happened today, it must be pretty bad. I watch as she starts unraveling. She’s not ready to let the words out yet. So, I wait her out.

Eventually, she starts spilling everything she’s been holding inside. She tells me about how shitty things have been with her roommates and the post Gigi put up that morning.

“She knew what she was doing. She wanted me to see it. She wantedeveryoneto see it.”

“And then this afternoon, I get a message from one of my clients. Just casual. ‘Hey, heard the studio’s being bought out—should I cancel my class pack?’”

She lets out a bitter laugh and drops her hands to her sides.

“I obviously didn’t know what she was talking about. I had to call around. Someone finally told me they heard it fromBlaire. Apparently I’m in over my head and one of the guys next door—you know, the handsome neighbors with deep pockets—is stepping in to rescue me.”

She spits the last part out like it physically hurts to say.

“I’ve built this place from nothing,” she says, softer now. “And I’m still building it. I’ve done everything I could to hold it together. But somehow that’s not enough. I’m just some pretty face getting saved by the hot boy next door.”

“You’re not,” I say. “No one who knows you believes that.”

She doesn’t look convinced.

“I don’t think I can stay here much longer,” she murmurs.

I wrap my arms around her. She melts into me without hesitation, burying her face in my chest.

“Then don’t. Move in with us.”

She pulls back just enough to look up at me. “You want me to pack up and just start playing house with the three of you?”

“No. I want you safe. I want you somewhere no one can fuck with you. And maybe—selfishly—I want you where Icanfuck you.”

She doesn’t answer. She leans into me again and rests her forehead against my chest.

She didn’t say yes.

But, she didn’t say no either.

I press a kiss to her temple. She exhales against my chest. I know she’s not ready for this conversation right now. So, I don’t push it.

Without a word, I slide one hand to her lower back and gently nudge her toward the bathroom. She looks at me with heavy eyes, but she doesn’t resist. I grab a towel from the shelf and run the water. There’s a little bottle of lavender essential oil she keeps tucked behind the skincare clutter. I add a few drops to the tub.Lavender has a magical way of making everything feel better.