“You’ll never change.” The words pierced my heart. “No matter how much I want to believe it. No matter how many times I convince myself to give you another chance. It’s always going to be nothing but lies to my face, deception behind my back, and fake tears and amnesia when you’re caught. I’m done, Sue.” Turning around, Alex walked away. “I’m just done.”
I stood there for a beat, then I cleared my throat, picked up my feet, and walked past the receiving room and the strangled piano chords floating out of it.
I made it all the way to the bathroom door before I started crying.
CLANG! CLUNG! CLANG!
Emerging from the bathroom, I made my way to the receiving room and stuck my head through the doorjamb.
Alex sat in the armchair beside the window, tapping away on his laptop while Lily banged away on the ancient piano that was here when Omma and Appa bought the place.
“That’s very good, Lily, now let’s try to do one smooth movement. A, C, F-sharp. A, C, F-sharp.”
Lily played the correct notes, but there was nothing smooth about it. The girl was, in a word, terrible.
No wonder she wants to switch to the drums. At least it’s fun banging on those. Banging on piano keys just makes your ears bleed.
I chuckled at the joke and three heads snapped around. Alex’s glare sent me shooting back with a mumbled apology on my lips.
Courtney said I needed to stop tiptoeing around and accept that this was my family, and I belonged here. But the look in Alex’s eyes whenever they landed on me screamed unwanted intruder so loud, I wanted to scurry back to Willingsworth and hide.
The front door swung open.
“—get the invite?”
“Got all five of them,” Rhodes replied, pushing in and holding the door open for Micah. “They keep saying it’s just a mixer for promising businessstudents to meet and connect with the top alumni, but we both know all the dean wants is to tap us for a check.”
“No question.” Micah shrugged off his coat and hung it on the rack. “But still, a weekend in the city on Columbia’s dime doesn’t sound so bad. We’ll bring the Lilybug and make a whole thing of it.”
Rhodes hummed, nodding. “She would love that.” He noticed me by the door and gave me a real, stomach-fluttering smile. “Evening, Sue. Everything okay?”
“E-everything’s fine,” I croaked.Hera, help me, will the day ever come that I stop getting tongue-tied around Rhodes Newbury?“I was just about to make Lily’s pre-dinner snack. Interested?”
“Might be.” Micah came over and smooched me right on the lips, staining my cheeks red. “What’s on the menu?”
“I found a healthy nacho recipe online. Lots of whole grains and veggies to make up for stuffing her full of cake and cookies at lunch.”
Micah laughed. “Cake and cookies for lunch? I respect how hard you’re trying to win the favorite-parent award, but I’m always going to be number one.”
Rhodes snorted, shrugging off his own coat and tossing it in the direction of the rack. “If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a hundred times, Spencer, you’ve got to stop dreaming when you’re awake.” He brushed past us. “I’ll help you make her snack. Just tell me what to chop.”
“I—”
“No nachos for me, but I will have some of that beer you snuck in the fridge,” Micah tossed over his shoulder—following behind Rhodes.
“Uh...” I blinked after him, rooted to the spot. After getting my ass chewed off by Alex, I wasn’t sure what to make of Rhodes’s and Micah’s pleasantness. I’d never been in a relationship with more than one guy at a time, so I had no idea what the play was when one of them was pissed at you? Was I supposed to act like nothing was wrong with Rhodes and Micah, and just ignore Alex’s elephant-sized resentment in the room? Or did I have to fix things with Alex before playing happy families with Rhodes and Micah?
It took me so long to decide, I was still standing outside the door when Alex and Lily came out.
“Did you like my song, Daddy?”
“I loved your song.” Alex’s smile lit up his whole face as easily as it stole my breath. “You’re getting very good, baby girl. Soon, I’m going to have to clear two shelves for all of your piano trophies.”
Giggling, she clapped—jumping up and down to her father’s sweet, but blatant lies.
“Go upstairs and take your bath,” Alex continued. “When you’re done, Daddy will bring your snack into the living room, then you can have one hour of screen time.” That smile vanished when he flicked to me. “Mr. Layton is being very nice by not having you do the assignments you missed today, so you don’t have homework.”
“Yay!” Lily took off running.
