AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I turn to see a man who must be in his early thirties, at most. He looks surprised to see Lily, then his lips curl into a smug smirk. “Lily,” he says.
“Jared.” She nods.
“Rudy not with you?” He tilts his head.
She grunts. “Not today.”
“Oh, that’s right. He’s at the yacht club with…” Jared snaps his fingers. “I didn’t catch her name. Just saw him there with another woman when I went to pay my tab from last night.”
Lily’s brows tug together, but she says nothing.
It’s Candice who turns to Jared. “Rudy was on a date with another woman?”
“Candice,” Lily says. “Please don’t.”
“No,” my sister cuts in. “I want to know.”
“I do too,” I say, crossing my arms.
Lily just massages her forehead. “Forget it. This is Rudy’s cousin—the asshole who bumped into us. He’s probably just stirring shit up for no reason.”
I stiffen at the same time Candice does—and Candice doesn’t even know Lily’s pregnant. She doesn’t know this jerk could have hurt the baby by pushing her into that champagne tower.
Suddenly Jared doesn’t seem so smug. He looks at his feet and shifts his weight, then lets his gaze crawl back up to Lily. “Listen, Lily…”
“Iliana,” Candice cuts in. “You don’t get to call her Lily.”
Lily rolls her eyes, but there’s a hint of a smile on her lips. I have a feeling she likes having us in her corner.
Jared lets out a sigh. “I didn’t mean to bump into you.”
“That’s not what we heard,” I say. The line shuffles forward, and we all step closer to the promise of tacos. Clearly, this conflict isn’t stopping us from ordering food.
“It’s true,” Jared says, eyes turning to me. “My date was tugging on my arm wanting to dance when they were just about to do the champagne pour! I was just trying to get away from her and I stumbled into Rudy.”
Candice snorts.
Lily lets out a sigh. “Fine. Thank you. It’s okay, Jared. You’re forgiven.”
His shoulders drop. “Look—I was adopted, okay. And when Rudy and his ex broke up, and he never spoke to his stepdaughter again, I just… It bothered me, okay? A lot. I can understand how he’d think I did it on purpose. We haven’t exactly gotten along for the past few years. Everything comes so easy to him, and he just walked away from his ex and her kid, and there have been no repercussions. None. So I just…decided he was an asshole. He dates whoever he wants and then leaves them, and I hate watching him do it over and over.” He finishes his little speech in a rush.
“What?” Lily asks, tilting her head. “What happened with his ex?”
Jared frowns, then shakes his head. “I shouldn’t have said anything. I’m not a total asshole, okay? He just gets under my skin.”
“What’s that about a stepdaughter?” I ask, leaning toward him.
The line moves forward again, and we all shuffle a few feet. I can smell the fresh tacos and my stomach grumbles.
“Nothing.” He glances at the entrance to the restaurant, then shakes his head and walks away.
“Wow.” Candice whistles. “He was so uncomfortable he actually sacrificed the best tacos in town to get away from us. Must be serious.”
Lily’s frowning after him, and I take a moment to study her before we move just inside the door, nearly at the counter where we can put in our order.
“I wonder who Rudy was having lunch with,” I say quietly. “Are you guys official?”
Lily just snorts. “Please. I made sure he knew we were casual. We never said anything about not dating other people.”
