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“Use soap.” Ariel’s shouted command earned her a loud growl from her brother.
She finished her slice, all her attention on eating. I could only stare. The noises she made caused my blood to flow south and my mouth to go dry.
Unaware of the effect she was having on me, she grabbed another piece. When she noticed I hadn’t moved in a while, she smiled up at me. And fuck, the way her face warmed and her eyes lit up—
“Aren’t you going to eat?”
Mentally shaking my head to clear it, I grabbed two beers and dropped into a chair, setting one of the bottles in front of her. “I’ll never say no to pizza.”
Lenny came back, pulling a box to one side of the table and sitting down in front of it. “Did you get extra cheese?” Ariel sat down as well, pointedly staring at her brother, who smirked at her. “Just checking.”
She stuck her tongue out at him. “I forgot once.Once.”
“I was traumatized.” Lenny mock-shuddered at the memory, then turned to me. “She tried grating cheese on top when I realized she hadn’t ordered extra.”
Shaking her head, her mouth twitched. “Hey, cheese is cheese.”
Both Lenny and I now looked at her with a healthy dose of judgment.
Ariel smirked. “What?”
I tutted, working hard to keep an even expression on my face. “Blasphemy.”
She rolled her eyes. “You two are ridiculous.” She waved her slice at me. “And stop encouraging him.”
We somehow finished all three pizzas, Lenny returning to the game before he’d even swallowed the last bite.
Ariel leaned over the back of the chair. “We should go. You have school tomorrow.”
Lenny didn’t turn his attention from the television when he answered, “Just ten more minutes.”
“Fine. But then we’re leaving.”
I got rid of the empty boxes, getting two fresh beers from the fridge on the way back, handing Ariel one.
She sat down on the couch next to us, watching us play. Being in my apartment with Ariel and Lenny felt right. They’d slotted into my life seamlessly and I couldn’t imagine them not being there. For the first time in my life, I wanted to introduce someone to my family.
Because she was meant to be mine.
9
ARIEL
“Is she naked?”Lenny reached out to touch the sculpture sitting in the corner of the waiting room.
I slapped his hand away. “Don’t touch her boobs. That’s bad manners.”
“It’s not like she’ll complain.”
I shot him a glare, and he crossed his arms over his chest, pouting.
We were waiting for a meeting with Mom and her lawyers. I still didn’t have a lawyer of my own, but after Mom’s visit, I knew I couldn’t avoid meeting with her. And at least then I’d know what exactly it was she wanted.
We’d been in the waiting room for twenty minutes, and there was a throb behind my temple that hadn’t lessened even after taking painkillers. Everywhere I looked was beige. The carpet. The walls. Even the paintings.
Lenny was getting restless, and I couldn’t blame him. He’d been playing games on his phone, but we were both nervous about what was awaiting us behind the beige doors.
I’d been staring at them, willing them to open since we got here. The waiting was torture. I was sure it was a tactic, but other than going back up to reception to ask how much longer it would be until we could go through, there wasn’t much I could do.
