35. Will
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Will
Lyla’s dramatic groaning is the first thing I hear when I walk through the door. “No,” she says, dragging the word out. She flops backward from where she’s sitting on the floor in the living room. She throws her arm over her face to cover her eyes.
Wow… someone give this girl an Oscar.
Avery starts laughing from her spot on the opposite side of the coffee table. “You win some. You lose some,” she says, moving a few pieces around on the game they’re playing.
“I’m not a fan of the losing part,” Lyla groans, still laying on the floor.
“No one is,” Avery says. “Get back up here, and maybe you’ll beat me next time.”
I know Avery’s noticed I’m here, but with her antics Lyla hasn’t. As quietly as I can, I slide out of my wet boots and leave them by the door. I’m soaked from head to toe because of the storm rolling through outside.
I tiptoe around the couch until I’m standing over Lyla. Her arm’s still draped over her eyes, so she doesn’t see me reach down and tickle her.
Her hand flies up, hitting me in the face. She screams, trying to squirm away from me. I grab her, pulling her in for a hug.
“No!” she continues to scream. “You’re all wet. Let me go!”
“No, I need a hug,” I say, holding her against my chest.
“Avery, help me,” Lyla squeals.
I turn to look at the other woman in the room. She’s smiling over at us with warmth in her eyes that wasn’t there before.
“If she comes to rescue you, she’s going to get it, too,” I say.
“Fine by me,” Lyla says, still trying to wiggle out of my hold.
“Wow… thanks,” Avery says, rolling her eyes at my niece.
Lyla goes dead weight and manages to get free. She sprints toward the kitchen, hollering something about getting candy as payment for getting wet as she disappears.
When I crawl over to Avery, I expect her to try to get away, but she doesn’t. She willingly leans into me as my arm wraps around her.
My damp clothes and all—she doesn’t seem to care.
“You okay?” I ask, leaning back against the sectional behind me.
“I’m alright. I just really like your hugs. I guess Lyla was right about them.”
I can hear Lyla banging around in the kitchen still, so I know we have another minute of privacy. I press my lips to her forehead.
She shifts her head so she can look up at me. “I missed you today.”
“I missed you, too.”
If I miss her this much when I’m gone for a handful of hours and know I’ll see here when I get home, I don’t even want to contemplate how much I’m going to miss her when she’s gone for good. My brain can’t even fathom that right now.
“Aves, you want some candy?” Lyla shouts.
Avery laughs. “No, I’m good, sweetheart.”
I hold her against me for another breath before we both pull back. “Sorry if I got you wet.”
She shrugs. “I don’t care.”
I start to stand. “I’m going to go shower. I’ll be back down in a few.”
A flicker of heat passes through her eyes. “Think of me,” she says, biting her bottom lip.
“Every damn time,” I say, walking toward the stairs.
Avery groans, letting her head fall back against the couch.
Good.
I won’t be the only one hot and bothered while I’m in the shower.
While I do think about her in the shower, it isn’t the type of thoughts I was aiming for. I can’t fully appreciate the sexy thoughts because the worry and sadness I have over her rapidly approaching departure from our lives takes over.
She’s leaving in a matter of days. We don’t even have weeks anymore. It’s down to days.
Frustrated, I shut off the shower and quickly get dressed in sweatpants and a hoodie. I try telling myself I’m wearing comfy clothes because of the gloomy weather outside and not the gloominess I’m feeling inside.
Making my way downstairs, I find both ladies still in the living room. Lyla is now laying on the floor building something with her magnetic tiles, while Avery is sitting on the couch with her laptop on her lap.
I try not to look at what’s on her screen, but I fail. It looks like it’s information from the people she’ll be working for soon.
I shake my head, rounding the couch. It’s none of my business. I shouldn’t have been looking in the first place.
I sit down beside her and notice her eyebrows are scrunched together as she reads. “Is everything alright?”
“It’s just some onboarding stuff for my internship.”
“I’m happy for you,” I tell her. “You’re going to do amazing. You deserve this.”
She nods, giving me a smile that almost seems forced.
I don’t know what it is, but her reaction seems off. Maybe she doesn’t actually want this job opportunity.
Nah. Maybe she’s just masking her excitement because of the messy situation we’ve all found ourselves in. That has to be it. It has to.
There’s a part of me that wants to beg her to stay here instead of leaving for the internship. And I’m not going to lie—that part is growing louder by the day, maybe even by the hour at this point.
I have to fight the urge to do just that, though. I would never do something that could hurt her in the long run. I love her too much to ever do that, even if it puts myself and my brothers in the crosshairs.
She deserves to go out and live her dream in the big world out there with her shiny new degree in hand. There’s nothing in this tiny town for her.
I just need to accept that.
If only it were that easy and my head and my heart could get on the same page. Because right now they aren’t even in the same book.