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They all stared at him in shock and he tried to rein himself in. Fuck. The last thing he should be doing was getting upset with the four of them.
Vivi grew pale before turning and running off.
Fuck.
“Vivi? Is she all right? What’s going on?” he asked.
Alina rushed off after her.
“Um.” Pippa bit at her lip.
“I’m calling Caleb.” He drew out his phone.
“Wait.” Pippa reached out to grab his hand. “Not yet.”
The sound of retching hit him. Fuck. Vivi was obviously ill. He gently but firmly removed her hand from his. “I need to call him. Vivi isn’t well and he needs to know. She’s his.”
Pippa sighed but nodded and walked back into the room as Vivi continued to throw up.
Chloe stared at him.
“What is it?” he asked.
“I know you have trouble opening up with people and showing them who you are. I’m not asking you to do that. But just remember that some people don’t show their pain. They hide it.”
“Maggie isn’t hiding any pain.” She pretty much blurted out her every thought. He doubted she could hold back anything.
Chloe shrugged, looking unconvinced.
“Chloe, you’ve known her five minutes,” he told her gently. “And I don’t know what she told you, but she doesn’t seem worried or traumatized to me.”
“Maybe not. But just try to be a bit gentler, Ian. For her sake. And yours. If you find out later on that she’s hurting . . . I don’t want you to feel bad.” Chloe walked away.
He shook his head. She had no idea what she was talking about.
Obviously, the misfit had done something to make her believe that nonsense. He needed to keep a closer eye on her. Keep her from making trouble.
And that was the only reason he wanted to be around her.
“This iswhere you used to live?” she asked Uncle Willy as they stared out at a gorgeous two-story house. It was off-white with a dark roof and surrounded by palm trees.
“Yes, this was Lia’s family home. I lived here for close to fifteen years with her before she . . . before she . . .”
She reached over and grasped hold of his hand. He held on tight. She could feel him shaking.
“Do you want to get out of the car? Go look around?” she asked. “I’m sure the people who live here won’t mind.”
“No,” he said sharply, pulling his hand away. “No, I won’t go inside.”
“All right, you don’t have to,” she murmured soothingly.
But he was agitated. Upset.
Monkeyballs.
Anxiety tugged at her and she wished she had Ziggy with her.
This had been a bad idea. But she hadn’t known how to say no when he’d suggested it on their way back to their accommodations. So here they were, sitting in a car outside the house where he used to live with Lia.
