“Yeah. And that right there could be the thing that gets her hurt—or worse.”
“Are you suggesting I don’t date?”
“No, but—” He sighs. “This world is ugly. If you bring her into it, you risk something happening to her.”
“What about Mom? How’s that different?”
“Because your mother can handle it.”
“And how do you know Ash can’t?”
He doesn’t answer. Instead, he stands there, staring at me like I should know. Then he adds, “Even as strong as your mother is, there have been times over the years I’ve questioned if I made the wrong choice by dragging her into this mess. I don’t want you to do the same.”
“I wouldn’t let anything happen to her.”
Glancing away, he clenches his jaw, then walks away without another word.
Ash’s tough, and it’d be a cold day in hell before I ever let something happen to her. She’s safe with me.
As I waltz through the door between the garage and the clubhouse, Lily barrels toward me, draping her arms over my shoulders.
“Hey, stud.”
“Hey, Lil. What’s up?”
After Ash left last summer my occasional hookups with Lily became less and less satisfying. It didn’t feel right. Eventually, I stopped taking her home with me at all.
She pushes her tits out, tilting her head to the side. “You’re liable to hurt a girl’s feelings ignoring my texts like this.”
“Sorry.” Pulling her arms off me, I take a step back. “I’m kind of seeing someone.”
Her brows lift. “For real? Like you have a girlfriend?”
I nod.
“Damn.” She laughs. “Is she here?”
Scanning the room, my eyes findthe head of blonde curls perched on a barstool. She lifts her head to the ceiling and laughs at something JT said. I gesture toward her. “At the bar.”
Lily looks her over. “Cute. Wanna share?”
I pin her with a look. “Not a fucking chance.”
“I never thought I’d see the day.” She smiles. “Good for you.”
I make a beeline for her, leaving Lily behind. She’s got her back to me, her shoulders bare in a blue sundress.
Wrapping my arms around her waist, I whisper into her hair, “Did you think you could slip in, and I wouldn’t notice?”
“I figured you were busy with your friend. I didn’t want to interrupt,” she bites, not turning toward me.
What the hell?Ash is never cold, and my brain almost can’t comprehend what’s happening at first.
“What?” Rearing back, my brows furrow. “Lily’s just like that. There’s nothing going on with her.”
Her eyes stay trained on the bottles behind the bar. In a bored tone she says, “I don’t care. It’s not like we’re together. You can do what you want.”
Did she fucking bump her perfect little head?
