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Ivy lets out an ear-piercing shriek, and I wince, rubbing at my left ear while they grab each other and jump up and down. Conrad catches my eye as he mirrors my action, and he grins, shrugging his shoulders as if to say “girls, am I right?”but I give him nothing. He shakes his head and slips his arm around Ivy’s shoulders when she stops bouncing. “I guess we’ve got something to celebrate then. My shout.”
I scowl. Just another excuse for him to rub it in my face that he grew up with his mum’s money while I was wearing Tom’s hand-me-downs and working part-time jobs since I was fourteen just to be able to do things with my mates.
Wren eyes me warily as we make our way out to the parking lot. “You okay?”
I force a smile. “Yeah, of course. Just tired. Congrats again. This is such an awesome opportunity.”
“Thanks,” she gushes. “I can’t believe he chose me. Now I’ve got to figure out what I’m going to focus on for my exhibit.”
“You’ll come up with something amazing, I’m sure,” I say, nudging her with my shoulder, and this time, my smile is genuine. Wren is an incredible photographer.
“You want to ride with us?” Conrad asks when we reach my bike. “I can drop you back here afterwards.”
“I’m good.” There’s no way I’m getting in his pretentious BWM that his mum and Principal Foster bought him for his eighteenth birthday. I worked hard to earn my Ducati, giving up the whole summer after I turned eighteen, slaving away in the sweatbox of a garage to make it roadworthy. “See you there.”
I WALK INTO Patty’s before the others get there, my eyes automatically seeking out Lily. I push down the fluttering sensation in my stomach when I spot her at the bar and make my way over.
She grins when she spots me. “Hey, Herc. What are you doing here? I thought you were training with Zeke this afternoon.”
“I am. Just grabbing a bite to eat to celebrate Wren getting chosen for a photography exhibition.”
“Oh wow. That’s incredible!” She waves at someone over my shoulder, and I turn my head to see Wren, Ivy, and Conrad enter. I can’t help the sigh that escapes me, and she laughs. “Don’t seem too excited that your friends have arrived,” she teases, flicking me with the towel she was using to wipe down the bar.
I roll my eyes. “I’ll get you back for that.”
Lily laughs again and calls out a greeting to the others asthey grab a booth near the pool tables. She leans her elbows on the bar, resting her head in her hands as she eyes me carefully. “Are you sure there’s nothing going on between you and Ivy? You get really weird whenever her and Conrad are around. I’m really good at keeping a secret you know.”
“No.” I pull a face. “There is absolutely nothing going on with me and Ivy.” I let out another sigh. “Tom and I recently found out that Conrad’s our brother.”
“Seriously?” Lily’s eyes go wide. “Holy shit. How? I mean, he doesn’t really look anything like either of you… except maybe the eyes. Wait…” her brows scrunch together in a way that has me wanting to reach over and smooth them out again. “How old is he? He looks like he’d be around the same age as Tom.”
I nod. “Dad cheated on my mum when she was pregnant with Tom. We had no idea until the start of this year. Well, Conrad and I had no idea. Apparently, Tom found out before he went to prison.”
Lily’s mouth drops open. “Tom was in prison.”
Oh shit.
“Uh… yeah. Sorry, I thought he might have told you.”
She stares at me incredulously. “Oh yeah.Hey, Lily, can you please pass the potatoes? Oh, and by the way, I’ve been in prison.What the fuck, Harley. Don’t you think that’s something you tell peoplebeforethey move in?”
I rub the back of my neck. “It’s not like he’s some dangerous criminal or anything. He didn’t murder anyone. He was done for selling narcotics.”
Another waitress calls out to Lily, pointing over at a table that’s waiting to order. She sighs and runs a hand over her face. “We need to talk about this. After my shift, I’m going to go over to Wren and Brady’s apartment. You can pick me up after you’re done at the gym.”
FOURTEEN
LILY
I GET THROUGH the rest of my shift in a daze. Whenever I have a break in tables and orders, I pass by Harley’s table, but he’s acting weird. I don’t know if it’s because of what he told me about Tom, or if it has something to do with the tension between him and Conrad. Either way, the vibe I’m getting from them is awkward and uncomfortable.
Wren is more than happy to let me come over to hang out with her until Harley’s finished at the gym. As safe as I feel around Tom, I don’t really want to be home alone with him right now. I mean, Tom doesn’t seem like a bad guy, but I meant what I said to Harley: that’s the type of thing you warn someone about before they move in. Tom is nowhere near the dangerous criminal Declan is, but you can never be too careful.
As we leave Patty’s with Conrad and Ivy, a tinglingsensation runs down my spine, and I get the sensation of being watched. I glance around, but the street is empty.
“You okay?” Wren asks, squeezing my arm.
“Yeah, fine,” I say, forcing a smile. With one final glance around chasing away the shadows, I climb into the back of Conrad’s BMW.
