“I hope he doesn’t pop from excitement,” Finn teases.
I roll my eyes. “Whatever you’re here for, I’m not in the mood.” The last thing I want is company.
“Too bad.” Lucas pushes past me. Holding a six-pack, he heads into the kitchen.
Finn follows him into the house. “We thought you could use a drink. We heard you had a run-in with Rachel.”
I cock an eyebrow. “News travels fast.”
Finn shrugs. “The girls talk. How did Lily’s mother find her?”
My body tenses. “Rachel is not Lily’s mother.”
Holding up his hands, Finn backs up a step. “Sorry. I can see this has upset you. How are you doing?”
I scrub the back of my neck. “I’ve been better.”
We meet Lucas in the kitchen, he’s removed the caps off the bottles and has them placed on the counter. Finn and Lucas take a seat on the stools. I’m too agitated to sit.
“How did Rachel find Lily?” Finn asks again. This time remembering to not call the woman ‘mother.’
Placing my palms on the counter, I shake my head. “I don’t know. She knows where I work. She probably followed me.”
My gut twists in a knot. How long was she stalking us? Where else had she followed Lily? Our home? Her school? I’ll be making an appointment with the principal to make sure there is no way Rachel can contact Lily. I’ll stick a fucking bodyguard on her 24/7 if I have to.
“That’s fucked up.” Lucas frowns and takes a swig from the bottle.
“Yeah, it is.Sheis fucked up.” I tell them about her demands and her attempt at blackmailing me.
“She obviously doesn’t know you well. You’ll guard Lily with your life and let no one get between you,” Finn says.
“Did I let my guard slip? I’ve been so focused on Alyssa, sneaking around with her and keeping our relationship a secret. I should have seen Rachel coming. Taken notice of what was going on around me. If my head wasn’t so far up in the clouds, maybe this never would have happened.” This is my fault. I’m supposed to protect Lily. I haven’t done my job well enough. I’d die if anything were to happen to my daughter.
Finn and Lucas freeze with stunned expressions on their faces. Their eyelids blinking rapidly are the only parts of them moving. Then Finn shakes himself out of his trance. “What did you say?”
Oh crap! I’d forgotten that I haven’t told my brothers I’ve been seeing Alyssa. Because I hadn’t told Lily, I wasn’t ready to tell anyone. Now I’ve said more than I wanted. Especially with our relationship already on rocky ground. I saw the hurt expression on Alyssa’s face when I told her I’d see her next week. Does shethink we’re over? Are we over? How can we continue when I’m still fucked up? How can I live my life without her?
“How the hell did I not know you were seeing Alyssa?” Finn says with exasperation.
“I’m surprised Harper said nothing to you. She’s onto us.”
He shakes his head. “She never mentioned a thing. Girl code is tight.”
“You and Alyssa are seeing each other? That’s great.” Lucas raises his beer. “It’s about time.”
My legs don’t have the strength to hold me anymore. I pull out a stool and deflate onto the seat and stare at the bottle in my hand. “I’ve been spending time with Alyssa. Trying to fight the attraction was pointless. I couldn’t keep away from her. Things moved quicker than I thought possible and we…well…have taken the next step.”
“The next step?” Lucas raises an eyebrow.
I clear my throat. “We slept together.”
Both Lucas and Finn’s eyes grow round.
“You’re riding again? Congratulations!” Lucas raises his hand to give me a high-five. I glare at him. With a sheepish grin, he drops his arm.
“This is huge,” Finn says. “Things must be serious. Otherwise, you’d never sleep with her.”
Propping my elbows on the counter, I scrub my hands over my face. “It was serious, then so much has happened and now my brain is fucked up. I can’t think straight.”
