“Trust me, there is nothing more I want to do than to getthe fuck outta here,” I say, mimicking his tone, “but I came here with Alicia, and I’m not leaving her alone.”
“She’s with her family, you asshole.” He pushes my chest. “She’s not alone.”
I clench my jaw, trying to refrain from a lot I want to say about his family and him, but Alicia is a part of it, so I’m trying to be good.
“Get out.” He points at the way we came.
The temptation is strong. I longingly look at my truck, and I’m about to make a move toward it when the entrance door bursts open, and a firm “Justin” snaps me back. Alicia’s standing at the threshold. She took off her coat and is left wearing black leggings and a huge, fluffy sweater. She looks cozy, and my chest begins to ache.
“Are you—” Justin clears his throat. “Are you wearing leggings?” His voice is weirdly raspy, and I give him a second glance.
“Well, yeah.” Alicia shrugs one shoulder and fixes her loose hair behind her ear.
“And your hair’s down,” he declares, and I turn to look at him. What’s up with these weird questions?
“Yeah,” she says, a little shy, and my head snaps toward her. Alicia’s cheeks pinken, probably because of the cold, and she looks even more beautiful than I thought possible. A dull ache in my chest intensifies with every blink of her eyes, and I bring my hand to rub on it.
“All right. We’re coming.” Justin plants his palm on my shoulder, nearly knocking me down—and I’m no small boy—and pushes me forward, his intentions clear. I throw him a questioning look, but he stares ahead. I swallow the dry lump in my throat and start walking toward the door.
Alicia folds her arms across her chest and uncomfortably wobbles from foot to foot. At the steps, Justin moves past me, grabs Alicia in a side hug, and walks inside, leaving the door open. Thank fuck. I don’t remember when I felt so unwelcome before but still stuck around. Should have taken Ghost with me so he could bite his ass, and I could blame all of it on him being “just a dog and doing doggy things.”
ChapterTwenty-One
MARK
As I walk inside the house, a shorter version of Alicia flies out from the kitchen. She’s like a foot shorter, but her face resembles Alicia’s so much. But that’s where the similarities end. Where Alicia is guarded and reserved, her mother is bubbly and extraverted.
“Hey there!” She wipes her hand on her apron and offers it to me. “I’m Mary, Alicia’s mom. And this…” She points at the tall, balding man who just walked in from another room. “Is George, her father. Well, and you met Justin.” She waves at the stoic figure by the door.
I shake her hand and move to her father, who’s hesitant to offer his. I find his eyes and stretch my hand, mentally praying he doesn’t start anything right now. Clearly, he heard about my “disagreements” with his son, and he is not happy to see me in his house. I can’t even blame him. If I had kids, I’d be on their side no matter what. I bet he wants to throw me out, but he doesn’t want to look like an evil bastard in front of his wife and daughter, judging by the looks he throws them every other second.
When he finally grabs my hand to shake, he gives it an extra-hard squeeze, and I let him. My palm is twice his size, and I could easily crash his hand in mine, but he’s Alicia’s father, and no matter how tempting, I chose to behave and be an adult. I’ve never met anyone’s parents before, but I want Alicia’s to like me—even though I have a strong suspicion it will be the first and the last time I’m in this house.
“George.” His voice is clipped.
“Mark,” I manage to say.
“I know,” he answers quietly and lets go of my hand.
I step back and nod in acknowledgment of the situation that’s escalating with every second.
“You didn’t tell me he’s so handsome!” Mrs. Attleborough whispers so loud, people in the trailer park on the other side of the town can hear her. I feel my cheeks heat up and then I hear a snort. A moment later, Justin walks by me, knocking into my shoulder. I’m taller and bulkier, and he almost managed to move me half an inch. Such determination.
“The table is set!” Mrs. Attleborough says and claps her hands, clearly not reading the room. “We’re not at a full set today.”
Thank fuck for that.
“Jakey is… away.”
Well, that’s a nice way to put that the asshole is away in rehab, as rumors have it.Jakeyis a tool, and I hope he’ll be fired from the police because he doesn’t deserve to be one. Since Kenneth became sheriff, life became somewhat bearable—until Jake was hired as anofficer of the law.
“It’s the first Thanksgiving he’ll be away, but it’s good for him, you know?” She’s watching me with hopeful eyes, and I nod to make her feel better.
But I don’t agree with her. The asshole deserves to lose everything for using his position of power. And him being related to Alicia? Well, she’s right. If I knew it from the beginning, I’d be biased as hell, and there’s no way our relationship would have gotten anywhere. I’d be avoiding her like the plague.
I feel curious eyes on me and find Alicia’s baby blues trained on my face.
“Are you okay?” she asks quietly.
