Page 18 of Restless Obsession

“Worse. It’s like you and Maryanne. Like Jade and Lucas. Like fucking Jonas and Kitty… but worse.”

“Worse?” He set the dumbbell down and wiped the sweat off his brows. “Worse how?” Hollis pushed, obviously needing to put his thumb on the pulse of the situation.

“Worse like if she found out what I’ve done, how far I’ve gone, who I am… she could easily call to the cops and put my ass behind bars,” I confessed, ready to see Hollis lose his shit.

Instead, my usually straightlaced, law-abiding, worried-about-what-people-will-say brother chuckled and patted me on the back.

“We might not be blood, but we have a lot more in common that any of us could have ever known.”

“Hollis,” I started to say, and he grinned. “I’m serious.” I needed him to know I wasn’t kidding.

“So am I,” he said with a smug shit-eating grin. “Come on, let’s go check on our girls.” We put the dumbbells away and headed to the Pilates area. “It’s Halloween,” Hollis said, but when I didn’t say shit, he kept talking, “Any plans for tonight?”

“Guess you could call it that,” I murmured, thinking about the mask I’d gone back to buy first thing in the morning after our impromptu book and coffee date.

Tonight could be the clear beginning of the two of us. Or it could all blow up in my face.

“Anything I should know about?” he asked, almost as if sensing the trouble I could get myself into tonight. I shrugged but didn’t meet his eyes. “If something goes wrong and you need someone to bail you out, call me,” he offered, just as he pushed the door open, and there were our girls. We stopped and watched the two of them laugh and animatedly talk like they’d known one another for a lifetime.

If she got on with Maryanne, who was one of the shiest people I’d ever met, I knew Lucy would easily fit in with the other two women in our family.

Lucy turned, and the moment her eyes found mine, she smiled. So damn bright it almost knocked me down onto my knees.

“She won’t call the cops on you.”

“You don’t know half the shit I’ve done.”

“Trust me, little brother, that woman likes you.”

“That woman doesn’t really know who I am.” He turned to look at me. Questions filled his eyes, but he didn’t say a word. Not when the girls walked over. Then suddenly, Lucy was waving bye and we were walking out of the gym.

“Your brother and his girlfriend are nice,” she noted as we headed back to our building.

“They’re good people.”

“You guys are close.”

“We are.”

“That’s nice,” she said but stopped. “I have some errands I need to run,” she announced, and I wondered if hanging out, forcing this gym date on her, was too much.

“Want me to go with you?” I offered, but she was already breaking my heart by shaking her head. It felt like a lead pipe weighed me down in the pit of my gut.

“No, I’m good. But thank you.”

“Are you sure? I don’t mind.”

“I’m sure. It’s just some tedious stuff, like a pedicure and picking up some odds and ends for my door. But maybe I’ll see you later?” she asked, the hope crystal clear in her gorgeous eyes.

I couldn’t help myself. I was only so strong. I closed the small amount of distance between us, and my hand rose and rested on her hip before pulling her in flush up against me.

“You wanna see me later, Lucy?” Her swallow was audible, and I could have sworn I felt her heart racing against my chest. Her eyes dipped to my mouth, and her hand rested open palmed over my own heart.

“I’d like that.”

“Good,” I rasped, my eyes on her mouth.

Full and perfect. Sweat slicked the back of my neck as I leaned forward, dipping my head down slowly to give her the opportunity to back away at any moment if she wanted to.