Page 58 of Meet Cute the Virgin

“Dads worry about boys trying to get in their daughter’s panties. I wanted you in my panties.”

“Lily—”

“What’s sad is, he’s not here to hear me say it.” A laugh leaves her. “But Dad was good at those things, always so many steps ahead. If he didn’t want us together, he wouldn’t have put us together.”

I take in what she’s saying. It’s been a thought lingering in my mind for a while now. He was more of a father than mine has ever been. Lily is still smiling, but her eyes fill with tears. I wish I could take the sadness away from her, but I know there’s nothing I can do about it.

“And he had to know how you are. I even recall one time him talking about how when you lock in on anything, there is nothing that will get in the way of that.” Her tongue comes out, wetting her bottom lip. “I fantasized about what it would be like if you locked in on me.”

“Princess.” I press my forehead to hers.

“We fit in our own strange way.”

“Why do you sound more grown up than me?”

“I think it’s because we’re both new to this whole dating thing.”

“Dating?”

“Or whatever.” She rolls her eyes playfully. “I did, however, think you and Sasha were hooking up.” The thought alone makes my stomach turn. I’m shaking my head no before she fully gets all the words out.

“No, I have never seen her that way. I have to tolerate her. It’s a favor I did for my mother but one that will be ending.”

I’m not keeping Sasha around to appease my mother anymore. Lily comes before anyone else’s wants or needs. Plus, I think it’s probably best for Sasha’s safety at this point. God only knows what kind of hell she and Teddy will unleash on her going forward. They’re like twin tornados. Unpredictable.

“Oh my God!” Lily’s eyes widen, panic taking over her face, but it quickly fades before she bursts into a fit of laughter. “Yesterday, Teddy and I—” She keeps laughing, trying to talk, but it’s not working so well.

I simply watch her, enjoying this. Lily’s happiness is so full of light it warms everything around her. When it’s gone, you feel the cold, and that cold reminds you what you need to survive. What I need to survive:Lily.

Chapter Twenty-Six

LILY

“It was only a joke,” I tell him, but was it really? I was feeling pretty petty when I made that call. “It was Teddy who told her that you stalk me.” I’m biting my lip, fighting the laugh that’s trying to escape. “And that we’d... done the deed.” My cheeks burn, and I’m toning it down. “And to come get my, ah, sloppy seconds.” I lift my brows. “You.”

Tristan goes still. The spatula lingers over the now forgotten pan. He stares at me for one long second, then two, his face completely blank. Oh shit. If he stands up for her, I’ll beat him with that spatula.

Then he throws his head back and laughs.

Full, open, unguarded. The sound fills the kitchen, warm and startling. I’ve never heard him like this. Not once. His shoulders shake, and I watch him completely lose it over the ridiculousness that is Teddy and me, drunk and stupid in the vault last night.

I love this. I love him like this. He seems younger and carefree.

He crosses the space between us in two strides, cups my face in his hands, and kisses me. It’s brief and warm, tasting like the coffee he had moments ago. Perfect really. Then he returns to the stove, flipping eggs like nothing happened, though I cansee the smile still playing at his mouth. That’s how it should be, naturally.

“Sloppy seconds,” he mutters, shaking his head. “Your friend has a death wish. Sasha can be a real bitch, I’ve heard.” Now it’s my turn to smile. Good luck with that.

“Teddy’s fearless. Unless there is a spider.” The eggs sizzle. “So you know Sasha is a bitch?” I ask.

“I’ve overheard it, but she’s all smiles when I’m around her.” He shrugs.

“Because she’s in love with you!” I hiss too loudly. “I can’t stand her.”

Tristan cocks his head to the side to glance my way. “Has she been mean to you?”

“Yes! Always making remarks about what I’m eating. Hinting that you two are a thing.” I fold my arms over my chest, getting pissed about it all over again, even if they were never anything. In her mind, she thinks they are, and that’s too much for me.

“All right, I’ll handle it.” He goes back to cooking. I’m about to start up again, but I see the slight tic in his jaw. Oh, he’s pissed. I smirk. Sasha has it coming. She’s a mean girl.