A choking sound emits from my throat, and Lisa’s intake of air increases to dangerouslevels.
My sister’s face turns a ripe shade of cherry. “Crap on a crap cracker, Harlow.” She closes her eyes amoment.
“Ear muffs!” David shouts at my nieces, and even my incessantly giggling little sisters have slapped their hands over their ears. When I say Lisa has everyone in this house trained, I meaneveryone.
Lisa steps forward and cups my face with her hands. “Oh, honey, I know he’s knock-your-kinckers-off gorgeous, but don’t you see he’susingyou?”
“No—I promise, I’m not.” Levi is suddenly wild-eyed and vocal. A little too lateforthat.
“Yes, he is,” she insists. The rife worry on her face makes me feel like puking. “My God, all married men who cheat tell their poor, innocent, younger, better-looking lovers that they’re about to get adivorce.”
“But he really is.” I hate how I just whinedthatout.
“Enough,” she grits it through her teeth. “I will be civil to your guest this evening, but this conversation is far from over.” She snaps her neck to Levi and mumbles something about a chicken bone lodging in histhroat.
Dave steps forward with an ear-to-ear grin, because clearly we’re nothing more than the entertainment for the evening. “Dinner’s ready.” Dave is lanky and balding, but the nicest, kindest man on the planet. And have I mentioned a saint to put up with mysister?
Dinner is home-cooked heaven, and thankfully Sadie and Everly regale us with all the stories about their promposals—yes, it’s an actual proposal to go to prom—they even model the dresses they’ll be wearing. My nieces run around screaming and yelling, and by the time we dole out the birthday cake, sans the birthday brownie Levi and I brought that Lisa shoved into the freezer and promptly forgot—nevertheless, the girls need to be peeled off the ceiling. My sisters have long since retreated to their room, most likely to sleep off thesugarcoma.
Lisa stands and eyes her miniature doppelgangers. “I’d better get these two to bed.” No sooner does Lisa say the word than the girls scatter like frightened mice. While she and Dave try their best to wrangle them up, I take Levi on a tour of all the framed family photos Lisa hassetout.
“That’s me with my missing frontteeth.”
He wraps his arms around my waist from behind and buries a quiet kiss under my ear. “You are hot with or withoutteeth.”
“You should see what I can do with my new chompers.” I bite the air, and he winces. We stop in front of an old family portrait, the last one we ever took with all of the original members. “And that’s a family lineup from back in the day—when we were all together, last time.” My voice grows small. “There’s my mother.” I point to her in the pink dress. “Looking like Lisa, I suppose. And my father.” I’m still mesmerized by his dark brows. “And us girls in height order.” My arms are intertwined around my father’s legs as if already at that young age I could sense his need to bolt. I wanted to ground him, just as badly as I wanted to keep my mother alivethatday.
“How long after this did you take thatcarride?”
“The road to Key Largo?” I try to lighten the mood, but you could tie a boat to the tension in the room and it wouldn’t go anywhere. “About five minutes. I think it was just a few monthsafterthat.”
His chest expands and relaxes over my back as he sighs deeply, his breath warming my neck. “And how about your mom? Can I ask whathappened?”
“I killed her.” I take in a deep breath and hold it. “I’ve never uttered those words in this house. I was fifteen, just got my learner’s permit, and drove us through an intersection at the wrong time. We were T-boned. She was on the vent for a week. We told her she could go home if she wanted to. She was pretty banged up. No sooner did we say those words than she flew away. Lisa took over and lifemarchedon.”
“Come here.” Levi spins me around and gently lifts me by the chin until I’m forced to look at him. His eyes bear into mine a good long while as if he were sending all of his grief into me telepathically. “That was a terrible accident. Accidents happen. I’m sorry you had to go through any of it.” His lips twitch as his eyes gloss over with emotion. “I don’t want you to hold yourself responsible for that. You didn’tkillher.”
My arms wrap around him tight as I bury my face in his chest and buck with tears. It’s been a good long while since I’ve cried over the death of my mother—or the dine and ditch my fatherpulled.
“It’s okay.” He presses a heated kiss over the top ofmyhead.
Lisa and Dave thunder down the stairs, and I take a full step away from Levi in the event Lisa shows up with a machete. Tonight’s the kind of night where everything’s on the table—and I’d hate to think Levi’s dick might end upthere,too.
“I think we’ll be going now.” I sniff back the tears that I’m sure have already landed on my sister’sradar.
Dave says a quick goodnight before offering to get my sisters, but Lisa glares at Levi as if he just stole our mother’s ashes. “Can I have a word with you alone?” She nods to the kitchen, and he’s quick tocomply.
Sadie and Everly run down and smother me with love and I love on them right back, trying to memorize the amazing way their hair smells. And before I know it, Levi is right next to me on the frontporch.
“That was short and sweet,” I whisper as we make our way tothecar.
“Mostthreatsare.”
And that’s all I needtoknow.
The ride homeis mostly silent with the rare exception of grunts and murmurs of our discontent. It’s as if all of our frustrations have finally bottlenecked, and both Levi and I are about to burst at the seams. All I know is that I’m all out of my sexual reserves and I’m scrounging, jonesing for just one hit of Levi Masterson. And, ironically, I don’t at all feel romantic at the moment. I feel pissed.Livid. I’m fuming over the fact Raven is orchestrating my sex life from exotic locales like Milan and Barbados, making me masturbate in the corner while I have a perfectly good specimen seated right nexttome.
Once we arrive back at the house, Levi starts a fire and I fire up thestove.
