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“I’m going out to run some errands. Tom’s asleep, but I won’t be too long. Do you need anything before I go?”
I scoff. “I’m not going to have a mental breakdown while you’re gone if that’s what you’re insinuating.”
“Wow.” Lily stares at me. “I get that you’re going through a lot with everything going on with your family, but that is no reason to act like a jerk and take it out on the people who care about you. That’s a really dick move, Harley, and I thought you were better than that.”
Guilt pulses through me as she walks out and slams the door behind her, but as much as I don’t want to upset her, I also don’t have it in me to go after her and apologise. Instead, I grab my Beats and lose myself in my art and some old school punk rock.
MY BEDROOM DOOR flies open a couple of hours later, and I glare over at it, ready to tell my brother to fuck right off, but my jaw drops when I take in the smiling face of my best friend instead.
“Lachy!” I drop my sketchbook and scramble off the bed, meeting him halfway across the room in an embrace. “What the hell are you doing here?”
He laughs, clapping me on the shoulder as we pull apart. “You didn’t think I was going to miss my best mate’s twenty-first birthday, did you?”
I grimace, because I’d missed his. Not that I would have been able to afford a trip to Italy. “Is Chiara here, too?”
“Nah, mate. She’s on a shoot in Milan for a month. I was there with her until I flew out last night. She said to send her love.” His grin drops, and he runs a hand through his dark curls as he studies my face closely. “How are you holding up? How’s Sam doing?”
I shrug. “I don’t really know. Tom said he’s stable for now, whatever that means. We’re just waiting to see when the surgery will be.”
“We?” Lachy arches a brow, and I know what he’s asking. The sly bastard knows who I’m referring to, he just wants me to say it.
“Me, Tom, and Conrad.” The words grate on the way up. I hate that he has anything to do with helping our family at all.
“Ivy told me you two had kissed and made up on her birthday.”
“You two still talk?” That was news to me. I assumed he found out about Ivy through Jordan, but apparently he gets it straight from the source.
Lachy punches my shoulder. “Yes, dickhead. We still talk. Not as much as we used to, but we’re all adults.”
I roll my eyes, punching him back. He gives me another playful jab, and before I know it, we’re wrestling andlaughing. He manages to get me in a headlock, and I struggle against his hold when someone clears their throat behind us.
We turn to see Lily standing in the doorway, her lips tugging up into an amused grin. “This looks fun.”
I shove Lachy away and straighten up, fixing my shirt and running a hand through my hair. Lachy smirks, glancing between us before stepping forward and offering his hand. “Ciao, bella, I’m Lachy.”
Lily’s smile widens as she steps forward to greet him. “Lily. Nice to meet you, Lachy.”
Tom appears behind Lily, hair rumpled and dark circles under his eyes. “What’s going on?” His gaze lands on Lachy, and he grins. “Glad you could make it.”
My jaw drops. “You knew he was coming?”
“I invited him.”
My gut twists. I’ve been the biggest asshole to my brother this last couple of months, and then he goes and organises this for me. I swallow around the lump in my throat and croak out, “Thanks.”
Tom nods, his face tight. “I just got off the phone from Conrad,” he adds.
My stomach drops. “And?”
“He’s a good match. They’re scheduling the surgery for first thing Tuesday morning. We’re lucky that Conrad gets regular health checks through the rugby program at BHU so they have no concerns about whether he’s in good physical and mental health for the surgery.”
I should be happy. Iamhappy. But it fucking sucksknowing that I wasn’t able to do anything to help Dad.
“See, your dad is going to be okay.” Lachy elbows me in the gut. “I’m in desperate need of some killer waves. They’re just not the same in Salerno. Come on,puttana, let’s get out of here.” He eyes Lily. “You coming, bella?”
Lily’s cheeks flush a pretty pink that has my dick twitching in my pants, and disappointment floods my veins when she shakes her head. “I’ve got some stuff to do around the house. But you two have fun.”
“Fun’s my middle name,” Lachy says with a wink, and I shove him out the door with a shake of my head. He’s almost as bad as Jordan.
