Aly’s heart skipped painfully. No matter how hard she tried, she could never convince him that she loved him.
“We’ve talked about this. I want to be here more, but I have to work,” she explained for the hundredth time.
“Yup. Can’t do construction in New Jersey.”
“Not for the same money.” She sighed. “But the reason I wanted to talk is because the show wants to redo the house for us as a Christmas present.”
Andy cocked his head to the side. “Why?”
Lying would get her nowhere. “Multiple reasons. Some are because they think the story will give the show publicity.”
There went the glare again.
“Also, they want to help me. If they fix it up, we can sell it—”
“You’re going to sell Mom’s house?” Andy shot to his feet, knocking the controller to the floor.
“If we sell it, we can buy something smaller that needs less upkeep. With fewer bills, I can work locally and be here with you.”
“I can’t believe you’re just going to sell our house.” Andy’s voice rose, and he blinked hard. His eyes glistened, but the hard set of his jaw said he wouldn’t let himself cry.
“Mush—”
“Don’t.” The anger in his tone ripped at her heart. “Don’t call me that,” he spat, backing away and twisting the knife in her chest.
She rose slowly. “Andy, I don’t know what to do. You’re mad at me because I’m never here, but now that I’m working on a solution that will allow me to be here more, you’re even more mad. I don’t know what you want.”
“I want my mom back,” he yelled, breaking her heart. It was the only thing she couldn’t possibly give him. But she would sell her soul if she could. “But I can’t have that, so I want Will. At least hetriesto be a parent. I want you to leave.”
Her eyes welled, and she swallowed hard against the lump in her throat. Her job was to keep it together. She was the adult here, and she’d take the anger Andy threw at her. But she needed a minute before she could talk, otherwise she would lose the small hold she had on her emotions.
He turned to the kitchen and smacked right into Will, who stood in the doorway. He put his hands on Andy’s upper arms to keep him from stumbling. His brown eyes tracked over Aly before turning down to Andy.
“I want to swimright now.”
Will simply nodded, and Andy took off up the stairs, leaving them alone in the room.
Aly shut her eyes, and her shoulders sagged. That couldn’t have gone worse. The only thing she wanted was for Andy to feel safe, loved, and taken care of, and she was failing at all of it. An impossible loneliness crept over her. God, she was so bad at this, and her brother may possibly hate her forever at this rate.
Footsteps echoed across the hardwood. Then Will’s arms were around her, and he was pulling her into him. She froze, taking in the hard plane of his chest against her and the woodsy cedar of his cologne. She couldn’t remember the last time someone had given her a good hug, but the feeling of warmth rushed through her, and she leaned into it.
Into him.
She snaked both arms around his tight waist, one that was probably smaller than her own. Pulling away was the right response, but the feeling of utter safety that flooded her when she was in his embrace kept her right where she was.
“We probably could have eased into that entire thing since you hadn’t mentioned any of that to Andy or me. I wondered what you meant about the hotel. But he’s angry at everything, Aly. And you’re an easy target.” He ran a huge palm up and down her back, sending sparks of heat through her thin shirt. “I’m not excusing his piss-poor behavior, but he’s having a hard time.” He pressed his nose into her hair, his breath tickling her ear and causing a shiver to rush through her. Every muscle in Will’s body tightened and locked then. For one split second, the air around them charged with an electricity more intense than she’d ever felt, but he cleared his throat and released her, breaking the connection.
He ran his hand through his hair and stared across the room. “I told him that when he’s upset, we could hit the pool to work out his feelings. So he and I are going to the gym.” Will swallowed before he finally turned back to her. “Did you want to come swim laps with us?”
She chuckled. “There’s no way I could keep up with you two.”
Will’s eyes danced with mirth. “Too bad, because I’m damn sure you’d look hot in a bathing suit.”
And with a grin, he left her alone to fumble with the overabundance of emotions swirling inside her. Some were normal: regret, guilt, loneliness. And now lust had joined the list. But her focus needed to be Andy, not her hot as heck new roommate—who needed to stay firmly in the role of Andy’s caretaker, because the last thing Aly needed was another reason for her brother to hate her.
CHAPTER10
Will glancedinto the rearview mirror. Andy sat in the back seat, brooding silently as he watched out the window. Aly had been back for a week, and still there was a lingering tension between the Gomez siblings. Aly had promised not to make any decisions about selling their mother’s house until after the remodel was done. And that Andy could participate in the show as much or as little as he wanted. But so far, he’d refused to even drive by the house as the crew loaded all their possessions into a pod in the driveway. Andy’s room was being boxed up tomorrow. Will hoped to convince Andy to go over for that part. Aly wanted him there, even if she refused to ask him to come. Her stock response to everything was “whatever Andy wants.”