Page 18 of More than Myself

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Andy only blinked at him in response.

“What I mean,” Will explained, “is that sometimes we need the help of another person. Extra support until things start to get a little better.”

Andy nodded again but looked at the half-full glass of green liquid.

Will put his hand on Andy’s small hand on the counter. “I’m going to make things a little better. I promise.”

“Thanks,” he said quietly.

And Will intended to keep that promise. “Let’s hit the pool.”

CHAPTER7

“So.”Lily poured the concoction into two glasses. Her new friend swore it was wine, but Aly had never seen purple wine that swirled like an almost magical potion. Then again, Aly wasn’t a drinker. “How are you the lucky bitch who gets her own room?”

Aly scanned her hotel room and shrugged.

Lily chuckled. “It’s your chattiness—people get sick of it, right?”

Aly shook her head at the heavy sarcasm in Lily’s voice. But sometimes it was true—shedidtalk too much.

Over the last three weeks, Lily had become Aly’s sounding board through the changes with Andy. Lately, the silence from her little brother was the most common topic. Besides daily calls from Will, her phone made no noise. No angry nannies, no mad principals, no exasperated teachers. It was almost too good to be true. Like it was the calm before the storm. Part of her waited for the inevitable blow-up, even though Andy and Will regularly assured her that all was well.

Aly had a hard time believing that she’d finally caught a break. The house repair bills, along with the worry that Andy would eventually self-destruct, kept her on that razor’s edge of unease. Which had led Lily to insisting they get together for drinks. Going out to a bar was beyond Aly. She didn’t have the headspace for the crowd. But when Lily found out about her empty hotel room, they reached a compromise.

“The rumor is you threw a fit and demanded to stay alone,” Lily said, pushing the glass of purple wine toward Aly.

“What?No!” Aly would never behave like that. “No one ever wants to stay with me, and we have an odd number of women. I’m always alone.” A blush crept up Aly’s cheeks at the admission. Yes, she was disliked by most of the crew, and now Lily knew it too.

“That can’t be true,” Lily said, her lips, painted a burgundy so dark they almost looked black, turning down at the corners. “Everyone loves you. You have no idea what we’ve been—” Lily slammed her mouth shut. “Never mind.” She lifted her wineglass to Aly. “To being almost done.”

Only the final reveals and the wrap-up interviews were left to shoot. It was ten days before Thanksgiving, and she couldn’t wait to be back in New Jersey with Andy to celebrate. Missing another holiday with him wasn’t an option.

“To finishing in two days.” Aly lifted her glass and took a small sip. The tart liquid hit her tongue and she swallowed.

“See, I knew you’d like it.” Lily smiled. “So,” she waggled her brows, “tell me about the hottie.”

Aly crossed her arms. “Babysitter.” The phone calls with Will were an important part of her day, and most of the time, she didn’t think of him as the sexy thirty-two-year-old man he was. Will was gorgeous, and she’d never complain at the sight of him on her phone’s screen during their video chats, but Aly worked hard to keep him firmly in the category where he belonged: coach-slash-babysitter-slash-whatever.

“Sure, sure.” Lily flicked her hand in the air and leaned forward in the chair. “I swear he was flirting with you yesterday.”

Aly chuckled and picked up her wineglass. She spun the long stem between two fingers, scrutinizing the way the swirls of silver danced through the lilac wine as the glass moved in a slow circle. “Will’s just friendly. But more importantly, Andy seems happy. He actually talks to me when I call instead of just grunting like he used to.”

A dramatic sigh left Lily’s lips. “We have such different definitions of important.”

By this point, Aly knew better. “You can drop the shallow act with me. If Andy was your brother, you’d be all about his happiness.”

“I will begrudgingly admit that you’re right.” Lily rolled her large purple eyes—colored contacts, surely, because yesterday they had been green. “But I’m a lucky bitch and have parents who always took care of my sister and me. They might not understand my”—she tipped her head and the bleach-blond hair she styled in what almost looked like dreadlocks danced across her chest—“free spirit. But they love the shit out of both Summer and me. We never had to worry about things like what you’ve gone through.”

She didn’t want to be jealous of her new friend, but the contrast in their life experiences stung. “My mom loved Andy and me. She meant well, but keeping jobs and paying bills weren’t her strong points. She wasn’t the best caretaker. That’s one thing I inherited from her.”

Lily huffed as her long silver nails tapped on the tabletop next to her wineglass. “Stop that. You have a job. You’re providing for your brother. And now you’ve found him a babysitter he likes. You’re crushing it.”

Aly spun her glass again. “It’s not that I’m not providing. That’s the only thing I’m good at. But crushing it would be finding a job in Jersey and being there for him myself. I don’t want him to feel like he’s on his own. I just—” She ran her hands over her face. Her stomach churned once again at the idea of Andy staying alone. Will was there now. The past was the past, and there was nothing she could do about it. But moving forward, she would make sure Andy was good. No matter what. “I just want him to have it easier than I did.”

Lily reached across the table and grabbed her arm, giving it a squeeze. “That’s why he will.”

Aly swallowed the lump in her throat. “Hopefully.”


Tags: Jenni Bara Romance