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Sleep never came last night. It’s not surprising because it’s rare it ever does, but it doesn’t make it suck any less. I turn over and look at Lucas sleeping next to me. I want to run my fingers over his skin, tangle them in the gold chain around his neck, but I don’t want to disrupt his sleep. If I can’t sleep, he might as well.
I study his bruised face, and immediately my mind wanders to Teddy. He’s the most violent kind of daydream. Wrecking my mind, breaking my heart over and over again, and he isn’t even here. I kick myself because I shouldn’t be thinking about him when I’m lying next to another man, but I can’t help it. One of the last images I have of Teddy, he was in Lucas’s exact position. Beat up, bloody, bruised… Only he deserved it. Did Lucas? Maybe not, but tensions are so high right now. I can practically feel the testosterone rolling off the twins as they battle for dominance.
“It’s rude to stare,” Lucas chirps sleepily.
A smile tugs at my lips. “I wasn’t staring.”
“I can feel your eyes on me, Flower.”
I roll my eyes, then flip to my other side, putting my back to him. I can’t look him in his eyes when I’m thinking about Teddy. I should be over him by now. At least that’s what I keep telling myself, but I’m not. His memories are starting to fade, but his presence is still strong. Maybe it’s because I’m carrying his baby, or maybe I’m just crazy.
Lucas’s arm wraps around my waist from behind as his face pushes into my hair. “How are you feeling today?”
Do I lie or do I tell the truth? “I’m fine. Just ready for everything to be over so we can go home. I miss it there.” Half lie, half truth.
I can almost feel his frown. “Why don’t we find a new place? Somewhere far away.”
My heart thumps faster. How could he want to leave? I get stepping away from all of the craziness, but leave Northridge Heights? I don’t think I could. Everything I know is here. Teddy is here.
“We don’t have to leave. We can make things work here.”
“You can’t be a queen in a crumbled kingdom, baby.” He kisses my hair. “I get it, you want to stay close to what you know. You want to stay close to… him. But sometimes you have to know when to step away.”
I know he’s right, but I don’t want to admit it. I’m not ready to say goodbye. “I—” His phone ringing cuts me off.
“Hold that thought.” He kisses me again, then stands from the bed to grab his phone off the floor.
“Hello? … Are you sure? … Okay.”
I watch as his face morphs into a serious stone. He listens intently to whoever is on the other line and nods like they can see him. When his eyes catch mine, he holds up his finger.
“What do you need from me? … Okay.” He ends the call.
“Who was it?” I stand from the bed and step in front of him.
“Sebastian.”
I suck in a deep breath. “What did he say?”
“Emil is gone.” He almost smiles. “And since Teddy was his half brother, he’s getting some lawyers to draw up paperwork, so all of his finances are left to us.”
“I thought no one knew that.”
“Well, he obviously figured it out.”
I shake my head. “This seems too good to be true, Lucas. Why would he do that?”
He grabs my hand. “Don’t worry. In order to get everything in his name, next of kin will have to sign it over. Since he has no children, Teddy would be it. We will forge his signature and dates, then hand it over. All of the money he has in the bank will come to us while the properties go to Sebastian.”
“I don’t like this,” I state flatly.
He hunches down and grabs my face in between his hands. “Look, if it works, we can take what we get and get away from here.”
I pull away. “Why are you so hell-bent on leaving? What if I don’t want to leave?”
The small smile he had falls. “You want to stay for him, don’t you?”
I squint and wrap my arms around my front. “How are you so jealous of a dead man, Lucas? He’s dead. He isn’t coming back.”
