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She was staying with him.
“I need you. Can you come get me?”
And hence the text messages. Feeling even more stupid, I covered my arms, but I noticed LJ glance away as well. I may have jumped to conclusions, yes, but I wasn’t the only party involved that day at his house.
He let me go to that place after all.
“Anyway, I better get back.”
“Of course,” I said, starting to let him walk away, but then something had me intercepting him.
His eyes followed me over to a quick dinner kit, one the store put together with veggies as a feature. I held it up. “Maybe better than pizza rolls?”
Chapter Eighteen
LJ
Billie was good with my sister, which said something considering what a sarcastic little shit my sister could be. I loved Dasha, I did, but I equally wanted to strangle her most days. Especially since she constantly gave lip to Mom. The two fought like cats and dogs, and since I wasn’t there now to play referee, they’d been getting into it more than usual. Dash only had to get to the end of the school year.
But she couldn’t even manage to do that.
I watched her with Billie now, the beauty queen teaching my sister how to make gravy. As far as my sister was concerned, Billie was just a friend, and that friend managed to get all kinds of messy cooking with my sister. The pair played with shit like cornstarch, getting it all over each other since it was messy. Billie literally had some on her nose and Dasha on her cheeks, smiling at Billie in ways she didn’t often. All my sisters had their issues, just like me, but I think it’d been Dash to take Dad’s leaving the hardest back then. She remembered him just like I had, and even though she tried pretty good in school, she had a fair amount of bullies and a temper that could match mine most days. She didn’t make things easy for Mom, but for whatever reason, Dash was able to put that shit away now and cook with Billie. Her first rounds of gravy had been truly awful-looking, lumpy and shit, and just when I thought she’d go into a Dasha meltdown, Billie was able to talk her off the ledge. Billie was patient with her, truly listened to her, and I could tell that meant so much to my sister. She put that attitude right away and cooked beside Billie, listening to everything she said.
I didn’t know how I felt about that, watching them from the kitchen island while I tried to do some homework. Honest to God, I thought Billie and I were over, my fascination with her done when I’d deliberately put space between us. Things were getting too heavy for me, and my sister needing me had been a good excuse to cut things off. I hadn’t planned to step back that day, and really, I’d been completely obsessed with the beauty queen at that point it wasn’t even funny. I couldn’t see where she ended and I began, and it took my sister’s text, family needing me, to show me my priorities. Billie was still linked to her dad, and though I wasn’t tied to the Marvellis anymore, that fact still remained. I wasn’t trying to work up any shit with the Marvelli family for getting involved with enemy ties. I literally couldn’t for the sake of my family, which meant Billie Coventry was trouble.
But fuck me, if I didn’t want to take a walk on the wild side.
Currently, Billie wiggled her little bottom behind my laptop. Mashing up potatoes from that veggie kit she’d bought, she pretended real damn good she wasn’t aware of me staring at her. She laughed with my sister, teasing her on occasion, but every so often, I did get a glance over her shoulder in my direction. She was well aware of me, just as I was of her.
Why can’t I get this girl out of my head?
A spoon in her hand, Billie sprinted on over to me in her black leggings and sweater that hung off her freckled shoulder like the ultimate tease. I wanted to drag my tongue across every freckle, flick and sample that sweet skin. I wanted to make her quiver and sweat just like I had that day in my bed, but I pretended not to notice her coming over.
She pushed the spoon in front of me, something orange on the top.
“What’s this?”
She nudged it with a grin. “Just try it.”
As aloof as my ass pretended to be, I didn’t need to be told twice. I took that spoon right into my mouth. Pure heaven, I actually groaned, and Billie giggled, shooting heat action straight into my pants. The fucker couldn’t seem to keep his mind on anything serious, cramming for exams apparently not as big of a deal as Billie’s ass wiggling in skintight leggings.
“It’s orange marmalade for the biscuits.”
So much pride flashed across her glittering eyes. In fact, so drawn our gazes c
lashed, hard.
A lip chew and Billie passed her attention back over to my sister, who looked pretty fucking hilarious in an apron and oven mitt. One would have thought she was Suzy Homemaker outside of that expensive ass jacket she wore and designer kicks, all gifts from me. What could I say? I loved treating my siblings. Currently, sis pulled some biscuits out the oven, and Billie grinned at her. “Dasha made the marmalade. The biscuits too.”
Shocked to hell, my brow jumped, and Dasha happened to catch that after depositing the biscuits on the counter. She shot her middle finger up at me. “Don’t look so surprised.”
I raised my hands in defense. “Didn’t say a word.”
“You didn’t have to.” An eye roll before she smiled at Billie. “Can we make dessert now?”
A little Gordon Ramsey when she’d never made anything she couldn’t defrost or nuke in her entire life. At least, as far as I knew.
Duty calling, Billie got right to work at the request. The pair pulled out a cookbook I didn’t even know I had, and I was so busy watching them I nearly missed my buddy Niko. He came sliding on into the kitchen, his jacket on and a set of keys in hand. He appeared to be going when I didn’t even remember hearing him come in.
