“Did she say why she left?” Dad asks, his eyes narrowing.
“No. We didn’t get that far. I said ‘Okay,’ and she left.”
“But it’s not okay!” Grandma Nancy says.
“Well, maybe we should give her the benefit of the doubt that she had her reasons,” Grandma Donna interjects.
Her name should’ve been Grace instead of Donna because it’s what she always leads with.
“You’re better off without that drama,” Dad says.
Noah studies me. “You don’t agree.”
“Well…I don’t know. But I saw Goldie, Erin, and Ava, and there’s a whole Operation Lola thing going on now.”
He smirks then. “I bet there is.”
Grayson runs back in and slams into Noah’s leg, wrapping both arms around it.
“Dad, Uncle Tulls lost.”
Noah rests a hand on his son’s head. “I assumed.”
Then he looks back at me.
“If you love her, don’t let Patrick fu—dging”—he looks pointedly at Grayson before returning his eyes to mine—“Martin get away with winning off the ice too.”
Boom.
He may not say much, but when he speaks, it’s loaded.
I can only manage a nod.
From the floor, Grayson raises the dinosaur toward me.
“For protection,” he says.
I take it solemnly. Given the day I’ve had, I might actually need it.
CHAPTER SEVEN
NOT ME
LOLA
Age 21
Tully leans across the center console at a stoplight and tucks a loose strand of hair behind my ear, and my entire nervous system zings.
“Where are we going?” I ask.
“Just trust me,” he says, eyes bright with mischief.
“Hmm. I can’t,” I say, which is a lie.
I trust him in a way that feels reckless and exhilarating. This is new for me, and I don’t quite know how to feel about it yet, but I’m living on the dangerous side and embracing the unknown. This is our fourth date, and Tully is breaking all the rules I’d set for myself during college. The first and foremost one being: DO NOT GET A BOYFRIEND.
It’s not like we’re official or anything, but…he’s all I think about.
