Chapter 39
MALLORY
“I can’t believe she didn’t give you any notice,” Lindy said, her voice on speaker.
Bridget and I were in her kitchen eating straight from our own cartons of ice cream.
She leaned against the counter by the sink.
I was beside the fridge facing her. I had to leave soon to go get ready for the shift at the bar, but for now, we were snacking.
We could see Dex’s game on the flat screen in the great room.
The game was in Boston, so Lindy was alone at their apartment in Denver.
Since Silas and Theo left, Mav headed with Scout to the job site. The James Inn was getting close to being done. The last I heard the interior decorations were being done now.
“She got engaged. It’s not like Maggie knew when it was coming.” I sighed, jammed the spoon into my container of mint chocolate chip. “I have until the end of the month to move out. I just don’t want to listen to them having sex all the time between now and then.”
I was such a hypocrite for saying that, considering I’d forced Lindy’s old next door neighbor to do the very same thing with me and Theo.
“You’re welcome to stay at the house for as long as you want,” she offered. “Dex has a game on Thanksgiving in Phoenix, so I’ll go with him and enjoy the amazing weather. But we’ll be up for Christmas, at least for a few days.”
Which meant I had a few weeks to get my shit together, although I really didn’t want to stay that long.
I glanced at Bridget, who was licking the Rocky Road from her spoon.
“How did you even know I was there?” I wondered. I hadn’t thought about it before. “I was going to call and ask if I could crash for a day or two, but–”
But I was busy having sex with Theo.
“The alarm system.”
She’d had it installed before she moved to Denver. Since the house was going to sit empty, she and Dex thought it best if it was monitored. Which meant, so was I.
“And like I said, stay as long as you need. You know you’re always welcome.”
Gosh, that was such a mom thing to say, and it made me blink back tears.
“The alarm system’s supposed to text me when a door or window opens,” Lindy continued. “It worked, so thanks for testing that for me.”
“Glad I could help,” I muttered. Then I wondered what else that alarm system monitored, like emergency calls to the address.
Suddenly, I was done with my ice cream.
If Lindy found out… gah, if Bridge found out about me and Theo, then I was screwed.
Literally, by Theo himself, but figuratively because they couldn’t know.
Why? Because what was I going to say? I was casually and thoroughly sexing it up with Mav’s brother? That I was using him for his dick?
I couldn’t tell them that Theo didn’t want more. I wouldn’t put them in the middle if he wasn’t interested in me for anything but sex. Clearly, I wasn’t worthy of a relationship. Why would I be? I’d been told all my life I wasn’t enough, that I’d never be enough. Without words, Theo proved that.
Didn’t that fudging suck?