Page 37 of Lillian

“Frasier, there wasn’t a chance in fucking hell of you going to bed with anyone other than me last night.” He’s all cocky confidence.

“Oh, really?” I challenge.

“Really,” he agrees smoothly. “I would have spent double what the buy-in was just to make sure of that.”

Kim’s full-on grinning now as her eyes volley back and forth between me and Lincoln.

“What was the buy-in?” I’m beyond intrigued. Women didn’t have to pay anything to get an invite in.

“Five hundred.” He shrugs.

“Really?” Kim frowns. “That seems kind of low. I thought this was a super exclusive club.”

“Thousand,” Lincoln finishes.

There’s a beat of silence. Both Kim and I absorb the information at the same time.

“What the fuck—” I breathe.

“Holy shit,” Kim mumbles, eyes bugged wide as she stares at him. Lincoln stands there completely unruffled by our astonishment. Like he doesn’t even comprehend how much money that really is.

“You spent half a million,” my voice croaks, “dollars just to get into a club because you knew I’d be there?”

Another infuriating nod. I stare at him, completely at a loss for words. I don’t know whether I want to scream at him, cry, or laugh at the ridiculousness of it all.

We all stand in silence for a few more seconds before Kim breaks it. “Well, I suppose that qualifies you for Sunday breakfast. It’ll be ready in ten.”

Mercifully, she heads for the door again, giving me and Lincoln a second alone. The door barely even shuts behind her before it opens again and her head pops in. “Oh, and bring Sunshine’s blanket.”

The slam of the screen is the only noise in the living room now.

“Who is Sunshine?” Lincoln asks quietly.

“Grace’s stuffy,” I reply just as quietly, not looking at him. The room feels charged with too many emotions now. Too many unspoken truths and unasked questions. Truths I’m not ready to face. Questions I’m not sure I want answers to.

“I don’t have to go, you know. To breakfast.” My eyes bounce up to his, and he looks nervous as hell.

“Are you…scaredto meet my family?” Mirth enters my voice as he shakes his head before I’ve even finished my sentence. “Oh my God. You are. That settles it. You’re coming.”

A breath falls out of him, and he gives me a one-shouldered shrug with a lopsided grin like it’s no big deal. But his eyes give him away. “After you.”

I head out the door first with a smile on my face.

This should be fun.

As we pullup in Kim’s driveway, I do my best to discreetly wipe my sweaty palms on my sweatpants. The irony is not lost on me with the action.

Lillian has had an evil sort of grin on her face since she seemed to realize how this would go for us, or me, rather. Based on the frosty response I got from her sister, it’s safe to say the whole family knows how things ended four years ago and absolutely blame me.

And I can’t even argue with them. Defend myself.

So, I’ll walk into this house with my tail tucked between my legs and take whatever verbal abuse they want to spew at me. Even if it takes four more years, I’ll earn their trust. Show them I’m here for the long haul and how much I love their sister.

Lillian throws the car in park, reaches into the back seat to grab a pink baby doll sized blanket, gives me a wink that is like a punch to the gut, and hops out of the car. Fuck, she’s beautiful.

One big breath in, one slow breath out.

I amble out of the car next and move around to follow her inside. The house looks nice on the outside. A quaint, one-story home with a gray exterior. If my parents ever saw it, they’d turn up their noses at the people who were clearly beneath them. But, despite the penthouse in the city I’m currently living in, I’ve never had their penchant for flaunting extravagance.

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