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He swoops in, bends me back, and consumes my lips. Jude tastes like whisky and chocolate. Standing me upright, I blush and tease, "Did you eat dessert already?"
"Oh baby. I hardly got the taste I needed for my dessert." He winks, his dirty blonde hair hanging across his forehead. My clit pulses.Goddamn."Go inside and have JJ get you some wine. I'll grab Nugget." With a tap on my ass, he shoos me away.
"Judy!"
Layla's joyous squeal makes my chest clench painfully. All I can do is grit my teeth and walk inside, though. I'm immediately swarmed with a hard, yummy chest against my cheek. From the cologne and simple white shirt, I know it's Leo. I wrap my arms around him and will my tears to go away.
Leo has been struggling since Saturday. He seems more attached to me and whenever I catch his eye, he tries to wipe the pain from his face. "Hi, Lee," I murmur into his shirt.
"Hi, Beauty. How are you?" He doesn't let me go. At my sigh, he holds me tighter.
I shrug, one tear tracking down my cheek. "I don't know. I'm happy to be here, though." Lying to Leo is the hardest thing in the damn world. He's just so quiet, sweet, and kind. With his heart on his sleeve, I feel like I can do the same.
"Come on. Let's get you a glass of wine," he urges, and keeps one arm around my waist.
Smirking up at the platinum god, I warn, "I was told Daddy Jackson was supposed to get me a glass."
Something clatters in the kitchen, drawing my attention to a red-faced JJ. "Dammit, Jude!"
"That's a bad word!" Layla shouts from the entryway where she's perched on Jude's back.
Leo laughs, and it might as well be a balm to my battered soul. Giggling, I take the offered glass of white wine from JJ. "Thank you. Daddy," I whisper and bound away before he can retaliate.
"Isn't Rylee a boy’s name?!" Jackson shouts.
Gabby enters behind Jude with a stern look at a perturbed JJ. "Hey! Don't talk to my bestie like that!" I smirk into my glass when she flips him off and steals the bottle of wine from his hand.
"It was just a joke. Why is everyone ganging up on me?" Jackson's pout draws Leo in like a moth to a flame. He gives his man a soothing kiss and a gentle rub on JJ's dark stubble. Soothed by his boyfriend, Jack turns back to the stove.
"Where is Marc?" Gabby asks, but that reminds me.
"Why is my brother here?"
"Ouch, Ry!" Tate waltzes down the stairs with Marcus, a look of mock hurt on his face. "Am I not allowed at family dinner?"
I gulp, remembering how this was labeled one of our last family dinners. Tate is planning on leaving at the same time Layla and I do, but I'm not quite sure what his plan is. He's been spending a lot of time with the guys, but whenever I ask what they have been up to, it's like they all forget how to act. They are hiding something, yet all of them have been making my life a lot easier since last weekend, and I'm too damn tired to figure out what they are keeping from me.
"Uncle Tate!" Bug wiggles out of Jude's hold and runs to my brother. He scoops her up with a kiss and a big smile. "Are you staying for dinner?"
"If that's okay with you and your mom, then I would love to!" Layla nods enthusiastically. Of course, I want him to stay. I nod, giving him a kiss on the cheek once he's made it past the couch.
"Yay!" Layla hoots and reaches for Gabby, who obliges and props Bug on her hip. "Hi, Auntie!"
Fuck me.
Gabby gasps. Her eyes immediately begin to water. "What did you just say, honey?"
Layla smiles. "I love you, so you are my auntie."
"Excuse me," I murmur, unable to hear the rest. I can't. My tears start before I make it to the bathroom down the hall. Closing the door quietly behind me, I sink to the floor and try to control myself.
What am I supposed to do?! Take my child away from the people she loves and keep her safe, or stay and risk Mason finding her?A sob gets lodged in my throat, and when a knock at the door startles me, it slips free.
"Rylee? Can I come in, sweetheart?" Marc's voice threatens to draw out more of my cries. Instead of saying anything, I shift so my back is against the wall and turn the handle so it cracks open. He shimmies inside, and his eyes immediately widen when he sees me huddled on the tiles. "Oh, sweetheart. Come here."
Scooped in his arms, I feel my walls begin to fade even further. "I'm a terrible mother, aren't I?" He sets me on the counter and steps between my thighs. Marcus wipes my snot and moist lips with a tissue silently. "I've ruined everything."
His brown eyes harden. "You have done no such thing. You are the most amazing woman I have ever met. Rylee, you’ve been on your own for far too long, and yet you’ve raised the most amazing little girl. She loves you beyond words. Layla will understand someday."
