My heart sank. This time I had no master plan.
Acouple of hours later Ianthe left, Sunday dinner in her house was a ritual not to be missed. We agreed to meet up later at the bar. She figured I needed the two-for-one cocktails to cheer me up. She wasn’t wrong.
I stripped down, wrapped myself in a robe and headed to the bathroom for a shower. The house seemed eerily quiet. There was still no sign of Andre, which meant I had no idea if he’d killed Maddox or if they’d made up and were out somewhere drinking a toast to their friendship. The hot water streamed over my head and I lathered shampoo into my hair. The coveralls had done a decent job of keeping me clean, and there was only a tiny oil stain on the inside of my wrist. I scrubbed it away, wondering if it was the end of my car dreams too. Only two days ago, I’d been buzzed about the prospect, getting both the car and the man of my fantasies. And reality had certainly lived up to expectation. Until now. In a few words, Andre had ruined any chance I had at happiness.
Man, I hated Andre.
After my shower, I dressed and curled up in my window seat. I stared out at the driveway. The basketball hoop was still there, suspended above the garage. How many hours had I spent sitting in that window, pretending to read, when in reality I was watching Maddox, Wes, Andre and Jack playing basketball? Too many. So much wasted time.
I honestly didn’t know what I was going to do. My hand hovered over my phone, wanting to call Maddox, to find out how he was, to find out if he and Andre were cool. Instead I called Andre, but it went straight to voicemail. I didn’t want to leave a message, because I didn’t know what to say. There was plenty I could say, none of it very complimentary. What the hell. I stabbed Maddox’s contact details and waited while the phone rang and rang. Eventually it clicked to answerphone. Again, I had no words.
“Argh!” With a frustrated scream, I threw the phone onto the bed.
Hot tears stung my eyes like battery acid. My heart was breaking. It was one thing to now know what it was like to be loved by Maddox. It was a totally different thing to have tasted the forbidden fruit, discover I liked it, but know I might never get to do it again. Two days of pure joy and adventure brought crashing down around my ears by an overprotective, possessiveassholeof a brother.
The only thing which would help the healing process—apart from the margaritas Ianthe had promised me later—was chocolate chip cookies. Homemade ones. I knew Mom had been baking this afternoon; I’d smelled the comforting aroma of cookie dough as I’d come home. Plus, Ianthe liked those cookies almost as much as I did. She would have sneaked a few before I’d arrived.
I headed down to the kitchen, only to find Andre sitting at the island devouring a plate of them.
“I swear to God, if you’re eating the last of those cookies, I’ll end you right now,” I threatened.
“You’ll end me?” He scowled, then laughed. “Good luck, buttercup.” He always had some lame comeback. You’d think someone with his qualifications and potential job offer would be smarter than that.
I folded my arms across my chest. “I don’t need luck. I’ve got skill and the law on my side. No jury would convict me after what you pulled this afternoon.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Me? What did I do? You’re the one fucking my best friend.”
His words stabbed me in the heart. It wasn’t fucking, it was more. Surely Maddox would have told him? We weren’t a one night or two night thing. It ran deeper. I couldn’t help myself. I shot around to his side of the island and slapped him across the face; hard and with more force than I knew I was capable of. The slap echoed around the kitchen.
Andre’s eyes widened as he held his cheek. “You hit me,” he whispered. “What for?”
“As if you don’t know! You practically beat Maddox unconscious.”
“I did not. I wouldn’t. He’s my best friend.”
“And I’m yoursister. You should be happy I’ve found someone.”
“Why did it have to be Maddox Riley though, Lyla? Couldn’t you have fallen for a guy your own age? Or anyone else?” asked Andre, as he massaged his skin. “Why him?”
“I’ve been in love with him my whole life, you asshole. I can’t believe you didn’t see it. Although I guess you were always too busy chasing Willa Harlow around like a lovesick puppy.”
“Don’t talk about Willa.”
“Oh yeah, you screwed that one up as well, didn’t you? What idiot has a one nighter with twins?”
Dre at least had the decency to look embarrassed. It was the one thing I could hold over his head. How he’d managed to mess up his own relationship prospects, being led by his dick instead of his heart. Willa had blanked him and headed off to college without a second glance. I knew it still hurt him to think of her and I was determined to make him feel as shit as I did right now.
“Okay, I deserved that.”
“You did. We can’t help who we fall in love with.”
“How can you be in love with him, Lyla?”
I perched beside him on one of the stools at the island and shoved a chocolate chip cookie into my mouth.Heaven.Mom’s cookies were still the absolute best. “You probably don’t see him the same way I do.”
“Um, no. I’ll admit he’s ripped, but that’s only because we played football together throughout high school and I had to see him naked more times than I wanted.”
I smirked. There was no way I was disagreeing with Andre’s assessment of Maddox. He was ripped.
