“That’s right, Tris told me about David and Emily and their girls Cara and Leah.” I can’t stop staring at the photo; the happiness radiating off them shines on all the parts of my life that have been dark and gray for far too long.
“Best girls in the world.” His tawny gaze softens as he scrolls through a few photos until reaching one of him and two identical blonde toddlers with bright brown eyes climbing over his head and shoulder as they all laugh, the kind of smile that has a lady’s biological clock go off like a bomb spreads over his lips as he gazes at the image, and I can’t bring myself to prod him further, mesmerized by the look on his face. But then he perks up, shutting his screen and placing his phone to the side. “So, Em and Maddie have an older half-brother, Luke, which only surfaced when he was thirteen. Apparently, K.C. got pregnant at sixteen, before she started dating Trent. Care to guess who Luke’s father is?”
My eyebrows draw together as I run the options through my head, then they shoot up, eyes growing wide. “No! Lee? His best friend? Holy crap!”
“Yeah, that’s probably the proper response.” Michael chuckles, taking another sip from his beer, his posture a stark contrast to the strain he was exuding before we started talking about his clan, his safe place. “So, to sum it up, Brian and Phoebe are siblings by adoption, Brian and Zoe are biological cousins, but Phoebe and Zoe aren’t related in any way. Phoebe, Maddie, and Em are also biological cousins, but neither Zoe nor Brian have any relation to them. But Zoe, Maddie, and Em all share an older half-brother, who is in no way related to Brian or Phoebe. Emily is married to my twin, David, and it seems Trista and Brian are well on their way there as well. One big, happy, somewhat incestuous clan!”
“Wow!” I throw myself back in my chair, eyes still wide in shock. “Just… Wow. That’s one hell of a story. Anything else I should know before I accept my status as part of the crazy clan you call a family?”
Michael is rolling with laughter now, rich and deep, the kind that makes you happy just to be near. “I think that covers the majority, though the crazy never stops.” His eyes shimmer at his next words. “But we are born knowing we have this mental bunch to support us always. Once you’re in the clan, you’ll never be alone again. Blood or not, Lauren, for us, family means forever.”
“Well, I need to consider if I want in on that sort of arrangement.” But I do, with every fiber of my soul.
All I remember of family is sacrifice, compromise, and loneliness. I don’t want that to happen with the clan, with Trista. I don’t want to endanger my status as an honorary clan member, compromise this unexpected gift that embodies everything I’ve ever wanted in life.
I finally have the chance to belong somewhere in this world, and I can’t lose that. Which is precisely why I can never act out on my attraction to Michael.
Chapter Three
Michael
“Rockstar!”I beam, well, gloat, at Lauren as she drags herself to the kitchen, handing her the coffee I made when I heard her clamber awake. “How are you and yourrock movesthis fine morning?”
“Fuck me,” she whines in response as she grabs her mug, and I choke on my coffee. “No! I meant, fuck my life! Because of the hangover, not for you to fuck me. Not that I wouldn’t… I mean... God damn it.” Her forehead drops to the breakfast counter with a groan. “Can we erase the entire last sixty seconds?”
“Absolutely.” I clear my throat, not entirely sure how I’m supposed to delete the image of Lauren asking me to fuck her from my head, but I’m willing to put reasonable effort into trying. “And mental note made on never giving you vodka after 10 PM.”
Muffled words follow her barely audible snort. “Or, just, you know, at all.”
Yeah, after my family saved the evening, we fell into a rhythm, talking and laughing and just enjoying each other’s company. And boy was there a lot to enjoy with Lauren. She’s got a bit of a wild streak she tries to keep tucked away, but two shots of vodka later and the girl was up on the bar raving the entire place into an impromptu party to the beat of P!nk’s “So What.”
And what a sight it was. Though judging by the way she looks this morning, I’m venturing a wild guess she isn’t as happy as I am about last night’s turn of events.
Lauren peeks at me over her folded arms. “You look fancy.”
I look down at the bright blue dress shirt and tan slacks paired with dark blue suspenders that I’m wearing. Nothing extravagant in my book. Davey is the suit and tie guy of our business duo, but I guess it is a bitextra.
“I have a meeting with your editor today, and I’m dressed to impress ‘cause I heard she’s a hardass.” I pick up the Fedora hat that completes the look and do a little Michael Jackson twirl onto my head with a wink.
Lauren laughs and takes a sip of her coffee, followed by a grateful sigh. “Well, if nothing else, you rock that look.”
“I rockallthe looks, Lore.”
“I bet you do,Mikey.” And just like that, we find ourselves comfortably slipping into the nickname zone, staring into each other’s eyes with a goofy grin. And the entire thing feels all too intimate considering we’ve known each other for all of thirty-something hours.
It doesn’t take more than a few blinks for the playfulness to simmer into something else entirely. What finally forces me to break the rapidly heating staredown contest is when Lauren’s eyes drop to my lips, and the tip of her tongue darts out to wet her own. If I don’t stop this now, I won’t be able to stop at all.
“I need to get going.” I cast my gaze to the floor, finishing my coffee then turning to rinse out my cup. “What’s your schedule like today? We can ride together to the office.”
Right. Suggest a close proximity, closed space, joint activity. That’s the logical thing to do when you’re trying not to get too close. Idiot.
“Shopping spree for work.” Even with my back to her, I can hear the glee in Lauren’s voice.
“Perks of the job?” I turn with a grin, and Lauren laughs her bright laughter.
“The biggest one.” She sighs with a dreamy look in her hazel eyes. “And who knows, maybe someday I’ll be in my own boutique, drawing up designs, and a wardrobe girl from the biggest magazine in the country will come to buymyclothes.”
“I have no doubt. You’re very talented.” Lauren cocks her head to the side in question. “I’m sleeping in your design studio; I may have been snooping around.”