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But the truth is, Lenox and I are two people who never knew how to stop once we started. We could have made a million rules and laws, said anything we wanted, and had a million obstacles between us. But at the end of the day, we were inevitable. It was always going to turn out like this.
The only difference between now and then is that the timing is right for it to really happen. Georgia and Lenox. Two people who couldn’t be more opposite from each other, and yet I’m not sure two people were ever more right together.
“Georgia, why don’t you and I?—”
“No,” I tell Asher. “I’m not going in the other room. I’m sorry, but this is crap.”
Everyone ignores me.
“It’s not just fun, and there are feelings involved,” Lenox answers Zax’s comment from like three minutes ago, because that’s how this is going right now.
“I trusted you with her,” Zax snarls, and Lenox makes an aggravated noise in the back of his throat.
“No, you didn’t. Neither of you did, and I understood your reasoning for that. She needed help, and I was the only one who could deliver it. But you never trusted me with her. Not for a second.”
“Because you fucked her behind our backs for two years and then broke her heart!” Grey yells.
“Wait,” Asher calls out, stepping forward. “What is this? I thought they were just pissed because you were screwing around with their cousin.” Asher steps in front of Lenox. “When did that all happen?”
“Six years ago,” Zax tells him, and Asher frowns, shaking his head in consternation, but he’s looking at Lenox, really looking at him.
“Six years ago, huh? I remember you six years ago.” He puts his hand on Lenox’s shoulder. “I remember you the two years before that when you were evidently screwing around with Georgia behind our backs. Two years,” he repeats. “That’s no joke time right there. Tell me I’m wrong with that.”
“You’re not,” Lenox answers, and Asher nods, understanding lighting his features.
Lenox swallows hard, and then we hear footsteps, several of them, and then Callan and Aurelia are there. “Katy and Mason are with Layla, Wynter, and Fallon in the other room,” Callan announces with an air of annoyance in his tone. “We had them put on a movie. So how about you tell me what has you all yelling the word fuck when there are little children in the other room who were able to hear you?”
“Lenox is fucking Georgia,” Grey announces. “After he promised us he wouldn’t touch her.”
Aurelia rolls her eyes and comes over and stands beside me. “Men,” she grouses to me.
“Totally.” I smirk, only to quickly wipe it away.
“Should we let them work this out or step in?”
“Work it out,” I whisper back to her. “And only step in if necessary.”
She nods in agreement.
“Again?” Callan murmurs, and everyone sort of freezes and then looks at him in surprise including Lenox. “What? I knew about it.”
“How did you know and I didn’t?” Asher challenges.
Callan rubs the back of his neck, his blue eyes flickering around to each one of us. “Because I was there. We were all drowning in our shit, but Asher, you were in college in Alabama trying to get your football career going. Grey, you were working on music in LA and made your first solo album. Zax, you couldn’t handle looking at Lenox without losing your shit about Suzie, but I was there. I was in medical school and living in an apartment not far from Lenox’s place in Cambridge, and I’d go there to study because I was fucking worried he was going to kill himself one day. But then he started going out, and when he’d come home, he was different. Calmer. Less restless and self-destructive. He was in his head less. I saw Georgia’s name in a text once on his phone and put it together. I figured she was helping him when no one else could and in ways no one else could, so I didn’t say anything because I was afraid it would stop.”
“I saw it too,” Zax admits, his expression anguished. “I did. I didn’t know it was Georgia, but when you told me it had been going on for two years…” He trails off and heaves a heavy breath. “It’s why I couldn’t bring myself to hate you or let you go. Georgia gave you something we couldn’t, but I couldn’t handle you hurting her for it.”
“I couldn’t handle that either,” Lenox promises, moving over and standing before Zax and glancing over at Grey. “I loved her. When I loved nothing in this world except for my dead sister and you guys, I loved her. I’ve loved her since. I’ve loved her always. She and I just didn’t get there until very recently because she hated me for the majority of the time we’ve been married. There was nothing to tell you, not really, until now. This isn’t how I wanted you to find out. I had a plan for it.”
“Yeah, that’s sorta my bad,” Asher apologizes, and Callan grabs him by the shoulder.
“Come on, brother. Let’s let them figure this out. No one is bleeding, and no one needs to be held back. Am I right with that? Will it stay that way?” Callan asks Zax and a still-emotional Grey. Both nod.
“And miss the show?” Asher pouts.
My lips bounce, and Aurelia pats Asher on the back. “I’ll give you the highlights reel after.”
“Thanks, doll, but I’ll need more than highlights. I’ll want the play-by-play.” He gives me a conspiratorial wink, and Aurelia shoves him in the direction of the media room. But Asher, as always, has managed to lighten the mood, which was obviously his intent.
