Page 10 of Never Less

He hesitates, and when he tenses up, it’s a reminder that my body is touching his in more places than is probably appropriate. He got into the water to comfort me, but we’re past that now.

Now… I don’t want Marcus to move away from me.

“I hope so,” he says quietly, running a hand over his hair. It’s still brown, but there’s a bit more gray in it than the last time I saw him. “For your sake.”

When he steps back, his hands fall from my body. Even though it’s still plenty warm out here, I miss his heat.

I close my eyes. Get it together, Lily. This trip is supposed to be about you and the man who’s currently sleeping upstairs.

“Liliana? You coming?”

“Hmm?” When I open my eyes, I realize Marcus has already made his way over to the steps. “Oh. Yeah.”

We both get out and dry off, and then I head upstairs while he locks up. After a quick shower, I fall into bed next to Nate, who’s snoring softly. The desire for closeness spreads through me again, but I don’t move to touch him. Not when he barely said a word to me when he came up while I was changing. It felt like he would’ve preferred if we were in separate rooms.

My fingers drift to the star tattoo behind my ear, and I brush them over it the way Marcus did earlier. Then, with an annoyed huff, I drop my hand and roll over.

Don’t even let your mind go there. That’ll only lead to more heartbreak.

Chapter four

Marcus

When Charlotte calls me, it’s just after nine, and I’m in the middle of chopping up potatoes for breakfast. Liliana told me once she loves breakfast potatoes, so I always try to make them at least once when she’s around—same with pancakes for Nate.

“Happy anniversary,” I say, holding the phone between my shoulder and my ear. “How’s everything going?”

“Well, fine for the most part, but we just pulled our tent out, and it has a huge hole in it! Ugh, John thinks some squirrels must’ve gotten into the garage and eaten a hole through it or something.”

“Those damn things. Do you have a backup? If not, you could swing by and grab mine. I’ve only used it a handful of times since Nate’s graduation party.”

“That’s what I was hoping. Oh, thank you so much, Marcus. I’ll come by in about an hour?”

“Sounds good. See you then.”

I dump the potatoes into my frying pan with the onions that are already sizzling. My guess is that Nate and Lily will be down in about a half hour, but if not, I have the oven preheating to a low temperature. If need be, I can stick the potatoes in there to keep them warm until they’re awake.

As the potatoes cook, I do up some dishes and hum to myself. The sun rose exactly like it did yesterday, but this morning, everything felt brighter. It’s nice not to be alone in this house. I love it here, but sometimes it feels so… empty.

“That smells amazing.”

I smile at the sound of Liliana’s sweet voice. Talk about someone who can fill up a room with her smile. “Morning, little star.”

“Morning.”

When I glance over my shoulder, she bashfully avoids my gaze. Her cheeks are tinted a light pink that matches the little crop top she’s wearing. Her hair is down today, falling past her shoulders in waves.

“Sleep all right?”

“Mmhmm,” she says as she sits on one of the stools at the island counter. “You?”

“Pretty good.”

It’s a lie. I tossed and turned all night, unable to get the feel of Liliana’s body under my palms out of my mind. Hugging my son’s girlfriend while she’s crying is one thing. But keeping my hands on her? Keeping her in my arms like that for as long as I did? I crossed a line, and though my son may deserve it, I saw that look in Liliana’s eyes. I don’t want to confuse her or make this worse for her.

Yet here I am, clutching the counter to keep myself anchored and far away from her. Whenever she’s visited, I’ve always found her attractive—her mind and her body—but it was never this hard to keep my distance.

“My friend Charlotte is going to be stopping by in about an hour to pick up a tent,” I say. My voice is tighter than I want it to be.

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