“What the hell?”
At the sound of my brother Hudson’s voice, I push away from Lucas.
“Rainey?Lucas?Really? What are you two doing making out like teenagers in our storage room?”
“I—”
“How long has this been going on?” Hudson asks, shock giving way to what seems to be anger, and I panic.
“It’s not—I mean, we haven’t discussed what it is.” My cheeks are hot and I know they must be red with embarrassment. Someone in my family catching us is my worst nightmare. It’s going to get back to Jack and he’s going to lose his mind. Me and his best friend. His business partner. It will feel like such a betrayal.
“It doesn’t matter whatthisis,” Lucas says. “It’ssomething, and it’s between us.”
Hudson looks from Lucas to me and shakes his head. “Jack is coming home tomorrow.”
My eyes open wide. I had no idea, but Lucas doesn’t look surprised. I assume he planned on telling me after we got through my work issues, but it doesn’t matter. Jack is going to be hurt that his best friend did anything with his sister. He and Hudson are close, he won’t keep this to himself.
“Oh God. I need air.” I brush past both men and rush from the room, ignoring Lucas calling my name.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Lucas
“Shit.” I runa hand through my hair, torn between rushing after Rainey and dealing with her pissed-off brother.
“That’s one way of putting it,” Hudson says, a scowl on his face.
Of all the ways for my relationship with Rainey to come out, getting caught lip-locked in the Thunder storage room never crossed my mind. Hudson stands glaring at me, and I meet his gaze head-on. The twins are twenty-six to my twenty-nine but they’re solid, muscular, and protective as hell over Rainey. The same as her father and Jack.
“Look, I know you’re pissed and I know better than to tell you not to mention this to Jack. Just know it’s not a fling. Not for me.” Those are the only words I’m giving him. “Now, I need to go find your sister. And, by the way, I’ll be back to pick up the items she wants for the party.”
I push past her brother and rush out the door, going back the way I came, knowing I have to find Rainey. Stepping into the muggy sunshine, I see her getting into her car, and I jog to catch her before she drives away.
“Rainey!” I call as I stop by her side of the vehicle and knock on the window.
She pulls it down instead of opening the door and getting out of the vehicle. Her eyes are red-rimmed, her skin is pale, and it breaks my heart to see her so upset.
“I promise you, we’ll work this out,” I say, and I’m determined to do just that.
She shakes her head. “I thought we could tell Jack about us together. On our time. Now things are going to blow up before the anniversary party and with everything else going wrong, it’s the last thing I have time to deal with.”
“Get out of the car. I want to talk to you.” I grab the handle and with a sigh, she clicks the unlock button. I open her door and extend a hand. She places hers in mine and I pull her from the vehicle, directly into my arms.
I wrap my hands around her waist and keep her against me. “Did I just hear you say you thought we could tell Jack about us together? As in, you weren’t going to walk away when the anniversary events are over?”
She blows out a long breath. “I didn’t think about it, exactly. I just knew it was going to be hard, if not impossible to… separate when things were over. And I knew Jack’s return would speed things up. I just didn’t know he’d be home so fast.”
I have to laugh. “He’s been gone for a while. He had to return sometime.”
“I know.” She presses her palms to her eyes. “But it’s too soon.”
I grasp her wrists and lower her hands so I can see her face. “Maybe it’s exactly the right time. I can deal with your brother, Rainey. I can even face your parents.”
She wrinkles her nose, confusion on her face. “What do my parents have to do with anything?”
“We need to talk, but I don’t want to do it here. Are you in the mood to hit up the food truck again?” Hopefully we can find a bench to sit on while I explain my concerns about her family, what they really think of me and how it could impact us.
“But what about the boxes from the storage room? I wasn’t thinking straight when I was going to drive away without them,” she says.
