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Max peels himself from the doorjamb and extends his hand. “You must be Lu’s mother. I can totally see the resemblance,” he says with a big smile.
Oh god, oh god, oh god.
This is the calm before the storm. And this storm is going to be very, very bad.
Mom takes a step back. “LU?” she spits, glaring at me before she zeroes in on Max. “Her name isLucinda, young man, and I’d like to know who in the devil you are. And yourfriendshere.”
She wedges herself between me and the guys, and while my first instinct is to shrink back and let the adults fight it out, I remember that’s how the old Luci would do things.
The one I left behind.
I elbow my way right back to front and center. “Excuse me, Mom, but these gentlemen are my friends.”
Realization is beginning to wash over the guys’ faces. They know to tread carefully.
I guess in their line of business, they learn to read people pretty well.
Rowan stretches to his full height and looks over my mom’s shoulder. “Lu’s got other visitors, too,” he says, looking at Dad and Sandy.
Mom steps aside as if to show she has backup. The guys enter my apartment, such as it is, and look around in shock. I’m not completely sure whether they are more surprised by my living conditions, my visitors, or something else.
Greyson takes up right beside me. “Lu, are these your parents, honey?” he asks.
And instead of flinching, I straighten my shoulders and lift my chin. “Yes, Grey. My mother and father, and that over there is Sandy Rollins.”
Sandy takes a step forward, clearly unaware of what he’s up against. “That’sPastorSandy. Lucinda, you know better.”
The contempt in his voice is revolting. And unforgivable. I don’t care how he feels about me or these guys, whom he doesn’t even know. The way he speaks to people is intended to manipulate and terrorize. And I’m over that shit.
I scowl at him. “Sandy, shut thehellup,” I snarl.
His eyes widen, but I’m done with him. Just done.
“You’re a disgusting little perv, Sandy. Everyone knows how you jerk off to porn, not to mention all the times you’ve grabbed my ass over the years. Don’t you go acting better than everyone else because you surely are NOT!”
Dad is speechless, but then he’s always let Mom do the talking for the two of them.
I turn back to the guys. “My parents showed up here with the intention of taking me back home. They thought bringing Pastor Creepy would help them make the case.”
The guys indifferently size up Sandy, then turn back to me, unimpressed.
“Well, are you going?” Max asks. “Because it doesn’t exactly look like you want to take us up on our offer.”
Mom gasps. Because of course.
But I ignore her because her vote no longer counts. She only wants theideaof me in her life. She’ll never accept the real me.
She never has.
“I… it’s not what I want, Max,” I say softly. “I don’t want to be your mistress—”
But I don’t get to finish.
“YOU ARE A WHORE, LUCINDA BRAXTON!” Sandy bellows.
Rowan rolls his eyes. Sighing, he takes a step toward Sandy, and smacks him across the face with his open palm.
Then he rejoins the conversation like nothing ever happened. Meanwhile, I look over my shoulder to see Sandy on the ground, cradling his jaw, his pride clearly hurt more than anything else.
