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“Rick.” I hear a squeal and look up to see Michelle running down the stairs.
I’m in motion and plant myself at the foot of them just in case she takes a tumble. She doesn’t, and she jumps at me. I drop the flowers and model to catch her.
“Hey, Misha, how are you doing?”
“I’m good. Come see my room.” She squirms to get out of my arms.
“Wait, I have something for you.” I reach down and pick up the flowers and hand them to her. She told me she loves sunflowers, so that’s what I got her.
“I love them. Thank you.” She hugs me tight.
“Rick.” My name is yelled, and this time it’s Micah who is running down the stairs. “Come see our rooms.”
I hand him the model and he jumps up and down. I follow them upstairs and can’t believe how much has already been done. Lydia told me the first truck wasn’t due here until ten, and it’s only one. I see Asher and several of the guys, including Tucker, helping unpack furniture and put it together.
“You going to help.” Tucker points to a vanity he’s working on for Michelle. He’s looking tired. There are shadows under his eyes from lack of sleep. I’d look the same if Lydia pushed me away the way Sydney has him. It’s been a week since I got called to Sydney’s house after she found a bloody stuffed animal rhino on her porch. She kicked all of us out of her house, including him.
“Let me find Lydia first.”
“Okay.” He returns to working on the vanity with Michelle keeping watch.
I move closer to the raised voices and hear Lydia. “Your men dented the whole side of my dresser. I want a new one, or I will go somewhere else. And you don’t want me to do that. I’ll leave a bad review on your website for this. I’ve spent so much money at your store in the last couple of months.”
Asher is standing there watching her with a smirk on his face as she continues to argue. I move to her side. He doesn’t know how close she and I have become, but he will soon. She has a court date with the judge later this month, and I’m taking her out soon after that.
“Met your wife and kid downstairs. Thought you weren’t going to make it because of how young she is.” I thump Darrell on the back and look over to see Asher turning his back, but I see the smirk on his face before he does.
“Daphne wanted to come help and see the kids. How’s it your business? Did someone break the law, or do you need to give someone a ticket?”
I laugh and decide to really piss him off. I wrap an arm around Lydia and lean down to kiss her forehead, something I do a lot. She smiles up at me and points to her phone. I nod and move around her room, taking it all in.
I came by with her and the kids last month when they got to pick out the colors for their rooms. But now I get to see it with the furnishings she picked out. She’s spent a lot of time online and in the store getting everything she wanted. The insurance company paid for the damages to her other stuff, but she had to split it with Colton. I’m sure she had to access a lot of her trust fund and other money to pay for this house and the furniture.
“Just because I have the money to spend, doesn’t mean I want to buy another dresser that was damaged by your staff.” I hear the voice on the other end of the line raise and both Darrell and I move toward her. She moves away from us. “I’m not going to say this again. I want a new dresser delivered by Monday, or I’ll have my attorney be in touch.” She pauses, then after a moment says, “Thank you. I look forward to the delivery tomorrow.” She hangs up her phone and slips it in the pocket of her jeans before she slams her hands on her hips. “Now, you two, I can handle myself. Darrell, I’ve been taking care of myself for many years, and you know that. Maverick, you just got here, and we just started, so I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt.” That’s the first time she’s acknowledged that we are something.
“Started? What did you start?” Darrell bristles.
“Our friendship,” she says and smiles at me.
“Friendship. What kind of friendship?”
“Darrell, leave her be,” his wife says as she steps into the room. “Lydia, may I borrow one of your chairs in here to nurse. There are so many men moving around downstairs. Your brother would go crazy if I nursed in front of them, even with a cover on.” She laughs, and I can’t help but agree. I’d hate for any man to see Lydia do that. Instantly, the thought of her round with my baby slams through my head, and I almost stumble from the image. I take Lydia’s hand and we move out of the room, followed by Asher. Darrell stays back to talk with his wife.
“Did you see the kids’ rooms?”
“I did. They showed me right away. I like them.”
Micah’s Star Wars theme room is exactly what he wanted, and Michelle has a girly pink room. Both of them will grow with them for several years. And they have bunk bed sets in each room so friends can stay over.
“I’ll show you the family room.” She leads me downstairs as her brother comes out of her room and follows us down. He’s not done questioning us about my intentions. I’d tell him what my intentions are if I wasn’t sure Lydia would flip out.
We spend the rest of the day unpacking and barbecuing for everyone here. Darrell and his wife take off before we start cooking because they want to get home at a decent hour. I’m the last to leave after the kids are tucked in. Again, I lean down and place a kiss on Lydia’s forehead. I haven’t kissed her lips since I drove her home from the hospital. I’m waiting until she’s completely free of Colton, then I’ll finally show her how we could be together.
CHAPTER8
LYDIA
Maverick pulls up to Sydney’s house. We are early, but there are already so many cars lining the block. It’s Sydney’s daughter’s first birthday. Mari is toddling around when we walk in the front door. She just started walking a month ago, so she still falls down easily.
