Lainey leans in closer, her eyes wide and dramatic. “You get fleas.”
With that she straightens, smiles widely at them and sashays away. My chest shakes with laughter as I stand and pull her into an embrace.
“Did you just tell those girls your brother has herpes?”
“Yup,” she laughs, pulling back.
I wait for her to take a seat at the table before asking, “why?”
She shrugs. “He pissed me off.”
“What did he do this time?” I ask, bringing my straw to my lips and taking a healthy gulp of lemonade.
Lainey lets out a long sigh. “He told Dex I was on a date.”
“Oh no. How did that go?”
“About as well as you can imagine. Dex showed up at my house with an excuse about the kids and then he cornered me.”
My eyebrows shoot up. “He cornered you?”
“Yup. He followed me into the laundry room, backed me up against the dryer and was asking all of these intense questions, like ‘does he make you laugh? Did he touch youunder the table?’ while running his hand up my leg,” she emphasises the questions with a deep voice.
“That’s kind of hot.”
She huffs, sinking back in her seat. “I know. I got worked up and he fucking knew it. He done it on purpose. I was practically panting when he pulled away and stormed out of my house.”
“Damn. And how do you feel about it now?”
“I’m pissed. At him and at Cass for telling him about the date in the first place. But mostly at myself because I don’t know if I would have stopped him if he went farther.”
My curiosity morphs into empathy when I register the torment on her face. The turmoil she’s feeling mirrors my own the morning after I kissed Killian. If his whispered words hadn’t triggered the memory of that phone call, I’m not sure I would have stopped either.
“Would you have regretted it?” I ask her, bringing forward the very question I’ve asked myself repeatedly.
WouldIhave regretted it?
I’m not sure I would.
“I don’t know. It would complicate things. Besides, we’ve been divorced for almost a year now, and it’s not as if we were very passionate at the end of the marriage, so him showing up and acting that way just makes me think he’s being a jealous asshole.”
“I’m sorry, Lainey,” I say, my tone softening.
Lainey bats a hand through the air. “Meh. It’s fine. I don’t want to talk about that anyway. Tell me about Killian.”
I knew it was coming. I’ve debated how much I should divulge to her about Killian and me, but if anyone can give me unbiased advice, it’s Lainey.
With a deep breath, I sit up straighter in my chair and tell her everything that’shappened since I came home.
CHAPTER 31
KILLIAN
The arena shudders beneath myAriatsas thousands of people jump to their feet and cheer. The atmosphere is electric. Beer flows left and right. People high five and embrace, celebrating someone else’s win. Noah wolf whistles beside me.
But all I see isher.
Her face is flushed pink. Her smile is wider than I’ve seen in years. The crease between her eyebrows whenever we’re in the vicinity of each other, is no longer visible as she bounces up and down on the spot, applauding and cheering as she celebrates with the women next to her.
