Page 83 of More than Myself

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He cocked his head and raised a brow in an expression that meant he expected a response, so she took a breath. “I thought you’d all prefer someone more like his ex-girlfriend.”

Luke furrowed his brow and scoffed. “Genni? That makes no fucking sense. We all despise her.”

“But she’s as perfect as the rest of you.” Aly sighed.

“Perfect?” He guffawed. “You think my family is perfect?”

“Intimidatingly so.” Aly huffed.

Luke rested his elbows on his knees as he pounded his fist into his palm. “Let me give you some perspective. My sister, Beth, had a sex tape go public as a teenager.”

Aly gasped so hard she coughed.

But Luke stared at his boots and smacked his hand again. “Until a few years ago, Marc had a reputation as a drunk manwhore.”

Her eyes widened, and she pressed her lips together.

Smack. “Taran and Corey met because Taran blackmailed him for a story about Clayton.”

“What?” Aly whispered.

Smack. “Grant and Trish started sleeping together while she was still married to her last husband.”

Aly swallowed.

“Nick almost got Morgan killed by a stalker.” Smack. Smack. “I’m pretty sure Danny has been banging Marc’s sister behind his back for a while.” Smack. “I’ll bet money Clayton is currently fucking his trainer, and she’ll get fired when word gets out.” Smack. “Joey’s in breach of contract with his current employer because he created a better drug that he doesn’t want them to patent.” Smack. “And it’s been pointed out to me that I’m an immature man child.” Luke finally looked at her. “We arenotperfect.”

Aly blinked. That was too much information to swallow at one time.

“Don’t forget Will,” a phantom voice yelled down the stairs.

Luke turned toward the stairs and yelled, “Thought you said something about peeing with a fan on.”

“Right.”

He shook his head. “Will—”

“He’s—” Aly started.

“You’re probably going to argue that Will is perfect because you’re blinded by love, but he’s a bossy asshole.”

She forced herself to admit the truth. “I like that about him.” His ability to take over gave her a sense of peace.

Luke’s mouth lifted just a small amount, and he went on. “He’s loyal and caring. And he would do anything for you.” He regarded her for a moment but went on when she didn’t respond. “If only you could see how impressive you are outside of your show. When Danny heard about Andy’s emergency—”

Aly sucked in a breath, and her spine went ramrod straight.

“He called his EMT friends to see who’d taken the call. He found the guy, and you know what he said?” Luke asked.

She slumped back on the couch. “That they couldn’t believe I was irresponsible enough to not have an EpiPen?”

“No.” Luke scoffed. “That both the cop and the security guard were blown away by how calm you were. By how well you handled Andy, and if it hadn’t been for you, he probably would have passed out.”

“What?” Aly asked in disbelief.

“Quick thinking. Calm head. I don’t think I could have been that calm, and I know for sure my brother would have panicked.” Luke sighed. “Insecurity is a weird thing. It sneaks up on you and it distorts the way you see yourself.” He reached over and patted her thigh. “You’re amazing, and Will would be a lucky fuck to have you in his life.” He shifted to pull out his wallet, then flicked through a few things and lifted a torn, dingy piece of white paper using his pointer and middle fingers.

“What’s that?” The writing on the scrap of paper looked like a set of numbers in blue pen.


Tags: Jenni Bara Romance