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At least they spent the night in separate rooms. Well, I think they did, considering Rae arrived down the stairs this morning, and Tyke strolled out of his quarters. But then again, who’s to say that’s where they were all night?Fuck.Can I do this? Share her? Or was it a stupid decision made in the heat of the moment?
“Problem, Uncle West?” Maddie slides me her whiskey.
Whatever the girls spoke about yesterday left my niece touchier than a live wire and Rae with a veritable canyon of safe space between the two of them.
I take a sip, lips peeling back at the burn, and then pass her drink back. “Nope.”
“Liar.” She smirks and fuck it all if I don’t mimic the action. “Try again.”
“You know, she never asked for it.”
“For what?” Maddie’s face falls into practiced indifference as she absently turns the tumbler on the counter before her.
“For my attention. For his.” I nod toward my brother, pissed that as jealous as I am, I still have to admit they look good together.
He looks relaxed, focused. Happy.
“It’s none of my business, really,” Maddie bluffs before tossing back the last of her drink. “She’s a grown woman. She can do what she wants.”
“She wants to know she won’t lose you,” I say. “This whole thing is pretty hard to wrap a head around—I get that. But don’t throw away a good friendship because of it.”
“She’s fucking myfather,” Mads hisses. “Andmy uncle.” Her pretty face distorts with her pain. “How the fuck am I supposed to make peace with that? She came here and what, within a day, she had you under her spell. How long did it take her to get Daddy on board, too?”
“She rejected him the first time.” I wave the prospect over for a drink. Fuck it all. May as well start the numbing process now, considering it looks as though Rae’s picked her bed for the night.
“Oh, goodie,” my niece sasses. “There was more than one time.”
“Pull your head outta your ass, you hypocritical bitch.”
She reels back, spinning a little on her stool to face me better. “Excuse me?”
“Yeah, I know about you and your stepbrother. You wanna get preachy about who you’re allowed to fall for, then by allmeans, do so. But make sure your fucking record’s clean before you do, yeah?”
Her mouth flaps like a damn fish outta water, little grunts slipping free as she fails to find words.
“How long you been fuckin’ Deo, anyway?”
“We haven’t.” Her jaw firms. The prospect slides my drink onto the bar, and she claims the goddamn thing like it was hers all along before taking a swig. “We’re taking our time.”
“Good to see you’re finally not afraid to try somethin’ new.”
Her weak fist meets my shoulder. “I’m not that bad.”
I raise my brow.
She drops a disgusted grunt, pretending to give me her back.
Rae’s sweet laughter filters across the living area, stealing the light mood from our little section of impending oblivion.
“Want to share a bottle?” Maddie sets both elbows on the bar, stiffening as she nurses the drink.
I cast another look toward the source of our discomfort and shake my head as I slide off the stool. “Naw. But promise me one thing, yeah?”
“What would that be?”
“Go easy on her.” I lean in close, adding, “Some of us don’t stop to question where the good feelin’ comes from; we just know that when we finally get it, how someone else feels about our happiness ain’t enough of a reason to give it up.”
Her gaze meets mine, understanding in the ashy depths of her eyes. “I’m sorry, Uncle West. I didn’t think before I started bitchin’ about it.”
