6. June
CHAPTER 6
JUNE
R yan has been gone for almost two hours and, to avoid going crazy while waiting, I decide to clean Mrs. Carpenter’s apartment from top to bottom and bake apple pie, which is my favorite dessert. I promised the boys I would.
The entire apartment smells like a bakery, and the delicious aroma of apple pie would make my mouth water, but I’m too anxious to even think about eating anything. I glance at my reflection in the mirror and wince. I look like hell. I need to shower before they get here. Most women would have spent the entire morning getting ready for their boyfriends’ return. I’m the only idiot who decided to do chores instead.
I run to the bathroom and hop into the shower. I shaved my legs yesterday, and I’m good in the Brazilian waxing department too. I really just need to get clean, and it takes me about five minutes.
I’m wrapped in a towel with my wet hair dripping down my back when I hear a loud crash from the kitchen.
“Hell! What now?”
I fly out of the room and immediately see the broken vase on the floor and the fresh flowers gathered around the pieces of glass. Shit. One of the cats must have knocked the vase off the counter. I’m glad that I put Winston in his crate earlier so I could vacuum the living room.
Apollo is on the couch, leisurely licking his paws. He turns his head toward me for a second before resuming his grooming.
“Did you do this?”
He simply watches me with the condescending look only a cat can muster, but a meow from the other side of the kitchen island draws my attention.
“Eros? Is that you?”
When I get closer, I see red footprints on the floor. Fuck. Eros must have stepped on a shard of glass and cut himself. I start to shake. Taking care of someone’s pets is a huge responsibility and now one of them has probably hurt himself, and I’m freaking out.
“Eros, where are you?” I call out through the lump in my throat.
“Eros is a bad boy,” Admiral screeches.
I give him an incredulous glance. “Okay, I’m not letting you watch Netflix anymore.”
“Bad boy!”
Oh my God. Mrs. Carpenter will kill me when she returns.
Eros mewls again, but I can’t see him. However, his bloody footprints lead underneath the kitchen counter. The poor thing must be terrified and in pain.
I drop to my knees and lean down until my cheek meets the floor. Eros is curled into a corner and shaking. Guilt makes my heart shrivel inside my chest. I shouldn’t have put the vase on the counter. I reach out with my hand, but don’t touch him yet.
“Come here, Eros. It’ll be okay.”
He answers with another cat whimper but remains frozen. It’s clear he won’t come to me on his own. Risking getting scratched or bitten, I grasp him by the neck and pull him out. Mercifully, he doesn’t go feral on me.
I hold him tight against my chest and inspect his paws. As I suspected, one of his front paws is cut, but at least there isn’t a shard embedded in it.
“I’m so sorry, sweetheart. We’ll have to go see a vet and get your paw all better.”
A sudden knock on the door makes my heart leap into my throat and get stuck there. It must be the boys, and here I am, wrapped in a now bloodied towel and with a hurt cat in my arms. At least they already know I’m a disaster magnet. I get back on my feet and walk to the door.
Before I can look through the peephole, Lachy calls my name. In an instant, my heart goes from being squeezed tight with worry to beating at breakneck speed.
“One second. Before I open the door, you have to promise me you won’t freak out.”
“What happened?” Ryan’s voice rises in pitch.
Okay, June. Asking them to not freak only served to do just that. You’re a dumbass.
Instead of answering him, I open the door wide and step back.
Lachy is the first one to walk in, and almost immediately, his eyes bug out. “Lass, are you hurt?”
“No. I’m fine. Eros broke a vase and cut himself on a piece of glass. It’s his blood on the towel.”
Jake and Ryan are already inside the apartment, and now they’re all staring at me. This is not how I wanted our reunion to go. My hair is wet and tangled, I’m wearing only a towel, and there isn’t a smidge of makeup on my face. My cheeks burn, which means they must be redder than a tomato.
Ryan steps forward. “Can I check on Eros?”
“Yeah, sure.” I hand him over to Ryan, who takes the cat to the kitchen counter.
Suddenly, I find myself super vulnerable and awkward, standing in front of Lachy and Jake. I don’t know what to do. My heart is beating so fast now that I’m afraid it’ll burst from my chest.
“Hi,” I say.
“Lass...” Lachy pulls me into his arms and hugs me tight as if he wants to fuse my body to his.
I inhale his heady, lemony scent and let out a shaky breath. I can’t believe I almost lost him. My eyes prickle with tears.
“Don’t be greedy, Lachy. It’s my turn now,” Jake pipes up, already tugging my arm.
Lachy steps back, and Jake takes his place. He hugs me just as fiercely and kisses the top of my head. “I missed you, Junebug.”
I laugh. “Junebug?”
He leans back but keeps his arms wrapped around me. “I owed you a nickname.”
There’s moisture in his eyes, making the green brighter. He’s holding back tears, and that makes it even harder for me to hold back my own.
“Eros will need stitches,” Ryan announces, and the guilt returns.
I break apart from Jake, turning around. “I figured as much. Let me put some clothes on, and I’ll take him to the vet.”
Ryan’s brows furrow before he switches his attention to Jake and Lachy, who are still standing behind me. Then he shakes his head. “There’s no need, Peaches. I’ll take him. You stay here with Jake and Lachy. I’m sure you want to… catch up.”
The upcurl of his lips tells me his idea of catching up is very different than mine.
“Oh, okay. I still need to get dressed though. I’ll be right back.” I run to the bedroom before they can stop me.
It might be futile to put clothes on when I know I won’t stay in them long, but I don’t feel in the least sexy wrapped in a bloodied towel and with tangled hair. In the bathroom, I soak the towel in hot water to remove the bloodstain and then brush my hair.
My face is still flushed, and my freckles are on full display. I don’t want to put on too much makeup and seem like I’m trying too hard, but I do want to minimize the dark circles under my eyes. As for clothes, I pick something easy to take off—a floral dress that buttons up the front. Shoes are a must since there are shards of glass to clean up. With my luck, I’d end up cutting my foot.
If I had time, I’d blow-dry my hair, but I don’t want to leave Jake and Lachy alone for too long. I haven’t properly shown them how much I’ve missed them.
Just as I’m about to return to the living room, the oven timer goes off. Holy shit. My pie! I completely forgot about it. Thank God I remembered to set the timer.
When I return to the kitchen, I find Lachy standing in front of the oven and Jake mopping the floor.
Lachy turns to me. “I think your pie is ready. Should I take it out?”
“I can do that. You didn’t need to clean up the mess, by the way.”
“It wasn’t a problem, June.” Jake smiles, then puts the mop away.
Lachy ignores me and, wearing oven mitts, he takes out the pie and sets it on the counter. “This smells delicious, lass.”
“Well, that’s for dessert. And we need to wait for Ryan to get back.”
Jake and Lachy trade a glance, then Jake says, “Sure. We can wait for Ryan to eat your pie.”
Lachy steps closer. “But we don’t need to wait for him to eat you .”