“What are you? The secret police?”
“Fuck you.” Sebastian’s scowl returns full force. “I’m offering to help. Clearly, you need it. Gentry got any money he could scam off her?”
“No. In fact, her brother, who’s been sending her money every month, just told her he’s cutting her off. Gentry’s going to be struggling.”
“Unless her father really means well,” Sebastian says.
I just give him a look. Our parents are some of the best people in the world, but doing remodels and new construction for couples, we’ve seen a lot of shit.
Sebastian nods. “Right. Well, what the fuck are you doing standing around? Get the hell out of here and help Gentry.”
I stare at him. Sebastian isn’t really an asshole, but I figured he’d at least give me more shit before he let me leave. Or he’d get five minutes out of me to talk about the business.
“Don’t look at me like that,” he says. “I’m not the dick you all seem to think I am. Unlike you, I can understand the trials andtribulations of caring for younger siblings who act like teenagers all the time. Gentry must be in hell.”
“Ah,” I say, feeling oddly relieved. “There he is.”
“Get out of here before someone else wants something from you. But as soon as you get things resolved for Gentry, you get your ass back to work. You’re helping her, not romancing her. We don’t have time for that.”
I bite back a smile and salute him. “Thanks, boss.”
He rolls his eyes. “Fuck off before I change my mind.”
I hurry out of the house with a smile. The drive to the library is quick, and I don’t waste any time parking and hurrying toward the sliding doors of the building.
I’m about ten steps from them when they open and Gentry steps out, her arms full of books, with Emily and Sophie following, their own arms equally full.
“Hi, Levi,” Emily waves, her smile wide.
Gentry’s head jerks up from where she’d been looking down at the books she’s carrying, and her expression flashes with pain for just a moment before she forces a smile.
“Want some help?” I ask.
“We’ve got it,” Gentry says.
“I want some help.” Sophie hands me her pile of books. “These are all Emily’s anyway.”
“Almost half of them are yours,” Emily says.
I shuffle the books into a manageable pile and spin to follow them. I swear Gentry’s walking as fast as she can to avoid talking to me.
I hurry and catch up with her. “How are you feeling?”
She groans. “Like I drank way too much last night and made a total fool of myself.”
“You didn’t. You were adorable.”
“Well, don’t expect to ever see me that way again. I’ve sworn off alcohol.”
She stops next to her car and sighs. “Um, I can’t…” She turns. “Sophie, can you get my keys from my bag?”
Sophie digs through the small clutch hanging from Gentry’s elbow and pulls out the keys, holding them up triumphantly. “Got them!”
She clicks the lock and opens the trunk.
“You can just put the books in there,” Gentry says.
She waits, unmoving, for me to put my stack neatly in the clean trunk before dropping hers next to mine.
