She raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms. “Bother her with things like your life and feelings? Ella, she loves you. Liv will always make time for you. She’s your family.”
“Oh, I know.” I waved her off. “But it’s nothing serious.”
Even as I said the words, I knew they weren’t true, and from the discerning stare Katie gave me, I was pretty sure she knew it too.
“I better get out of here,” I said, changing the subject. “Bradley Cooper will be needing a pee break.”
“So, I assume the house training must be going well?” she asked.
“Eh, it’s a little better,” I answered. “But he still can’t seem to go more than five hours without a potty break. We’re still working on it.”
Katie’s mouth curved into an amused grin. “Well, that’s interesting.”
My forehead creased with confusion. “Why?”
“You usually go home around lunch to let him out, but you’ve been here for eight and a half hours straight.” She smiled and started toward the door to the kitchen. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Shit, shit, shit.I hadn’t even thought about the difference in my routine that day.
I was going to have to come clean about my relationship with Cash, and I was going to have to do it soon.
Eighteen
Cash
“For fuck’s sake, Luca!”I heard Dallas before I saw him. “What were you thinking?”
I’d just arrived at Derek's apartment for Sunday dinner. Ella had driven herself, leaving a little early to visit her mom before dinner. She insisted we drive separately until we’d told everyone our news. I knew she wanted to tell Grace first, and I respected that.
After knocking on the door with no response, I turned the handle to find it already unlocked.
“What’s your fucking problem?” Luca’s voice yelled as I closed the door behind me and walked through the foyer and into the living room. I looked around and noticed a young woman in a pink dress that barely covered her backside standing outside on the balcony smoking a cigarette.What the...
“You, Luca.” Dallas was getting louder and louder as I headed toward the kitchen. “You are my fucking problem.”
“Hey, guys.” I cautiously rounded the corner to see Dallas and Luca facing each other with their arms crossed and Derek leaned against the island with his head in his hands. “What seems to be the problem?”
“Him,” Luca and Dallas said in unison, each pointing at the other.
“Whatever, Luca.” Dallas snarled. “I’m so sick of your shit. Why don’t we tell Cash what your dumb ass did?”
“Does it have anything to do with the young lady smoking on the balcony?” I asked.
“This idiot brought a stranger to Sunday dinner.” Dallas ran his fingers through his hair. “And they both showed up drunk out of their damn minds.”
Luca shrugged. “Hey, at least I was early this time.”
“Liv and Jax are bringing their kids here to meet all of us for the first time.” Derek was struggling to keep his voice even. “You can’t bring just anyone to these dinners.”
“Who’s to say Mandy couldn’t be ‘family?’” Luca held up his fingers in air quotes.
“Brandi.” Derek threw his hands up in frustration. “Her name is Brandi. She only said it five times when you got here. Brandi with an i.” He mimicked a squeaky voice. “How do I know her name, and you don’t?”
Luca smirked and took a swig straight from a half-empty bottle of Jack Daniels. “I don’t exactly need to know her name for what we’re doing, if you know what I mean.”
“Okay, that’s enough.” I held up my hand. “Derek is right. You can’t be bringing people you don’t even know, especially not tonight. This is a big deal. Also, what if this girl is some crazed fan? Now she knows where Derek lives.”
“Trust me. She’s already too drunk to remember. She thinks I’m a Backstreet Boy.” Derek pressed his lips together to suppress a laugh. “And she’s certain she saw Dallas at one of those male stripper shows in Vegas.”
