Page 14 of More than Myself

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“Whoa, do you breathe, babe? Slow your roll.” Lily laughed.

But Aly kept pacing the wooden planks of the porch. When she reached the railing at the end, she turned and made another lap.

“His coach, who is his best friend’s uncle, volunteered to babysit for you?”

“It’s the setup for aDatelinestory, right?” Aly asked, shaking her head.

“I don’t think so, but if you want me to have the guy checked out, my family has connections.” Lily shrugged.

Aly gasped and put a hand to her chest. “Oh my gosh. Your family is in the mob?”

Lily crossed her arms and leaned against the pole beside the porch steps. “You’re paranoid.” She chuckled. “I meant the police.”

“Oh.” Maybe Aly was a little maniacal. She tended to spiral. If she had been in New Jersey, she would already be at Will’s house, demanding her brother come with her. But she knew the Evans family. They were good people. She just didn’t trust her ability to parent, and finding out Andy had been lying to her and staying alone? She shuddered.

What if something had happened to him? How would she have lived with herself?

“What’s the verdict about checking out the swim coach?”

Aly shook her head. “He’s fine. Iknowhe’s fine.”

Lily pressed her lips together, but she couldn’t hide her smile.

“I sound high or something, but I promise I’m not,” Aly assured her.

“I think you sound stressed out, overworked, and under-sexed.”

That was an understatement. She hadn’t been on a date since before her mother died. And sex? It had been, what? Two years? She couldn’t even remember.

“You seem to forget that my job intimidates most men and that I’m socially awkward. And my looks aren’t enough to convince guys to overlook the first two issues.”

“You and me? We’re going to open your eyes to reality. You’ve been hanging with dipshit Logan too much.”

Aly’s phone buzzed in her hand, and she held the device up so she could read the messages that came through.

Andy: I’m fine. Staying with Will.

Andy: Don’t want to talk

Yeah, that was typical. He never wanted to talk to her.

* * *

Will brushedhis hand through his hair as he stared at the TV in his family room. Aly’s TV show—that he’d search for on-demand—was on the screen, but he wasn’t actually seeing the scene playing out in front of him.

Andy was tucked into bed in Will’s guest room. He’d wanted to talk to him that night, but his three grunts and twofines made it clear that Andy wasn’t ready to open up. Getting him into Will’s house and settled took precedence for now. Andy had passed out almost as soon as his head hit the pillow. The poor kid. Who knew how long it had been since he’d had a good night’s sleep.

The knock on the door was only a warning before it swung open, and Will’s best friend sauntered in. Corey’s manners hovered somewhere betweenreally?andwhat the fuck?Will had long ago stopped trying to teach Corey Matthews simple things like waiting to be let in.

“Porn?” Corey asked him, pausing to look at the TV momentarily before heading into the kitchen.

Why the hell would Corey think Will would stand aroundin the living roomwatching porn with an eleven-year-old in the house? These were the things that never ceased to amaze Will about Corey.

“No, douche, that’s Andy’s sister,” Will said, shaking his head and making his way to the kitchen. Although Corey looked confused, Will didn’t give him a chance to comment. “I thought you were going to Beth’s.”

“Yeah, me too. But your sister called and told me what a shitty friend I was being. She freaked out on me for not knowing what was going on in my bro’s life and told me I better go figure it out. And then Taran heard, and she started screeching. How come chicks have the ability to take on an octave that makes men’s ears bleed?” Corey frowned.

“You love her,” Will reminded his friend.


Tags: Jenni Bara Romance