Page 53 of Lace 'em Up

I know I should be the kind of man who doesn’t offer but just does it—takes a pillow and blanket and crashes on the floor, not makes a request hopeful that it’ll be turned down, that she’ll invite me to share the bed.

I know I should be those men.

But I’m not.

I come out with fresh teeth and a decent-smelling body, and I crawl right into bed next to Rory.

She gasps softly, but I don’t withdraw.

I don’t push it any further either.

I just settle on my pillow, several feet between us, even though I also want to be the kind of man who crawls into bed, draws her against me, and fucks her senseless, morals or the right thing to do be damned.

But she’s not ready for that.

It’s been a week since the non-wedding—or tomorrow will be, anyway.

She needs time.

So, I just roll on my side, face her, and ask, “What are you thinking?”

She surprises me by not prevaricating, not shutting me down. Instead, she sighs and rolls to face me, hands tucked beneath her head. “That your mom is really nice and I feel like a giant jerk for even suggesting that we lie to her.”

My heart squeezes. “It’s a little lie.”

Her brows lift. “An engagement is a little lie?”

Okay, she has a point, so I don’t argue further. “I’ll fix it when she goes off to visit my brother.”

“Which brother?”

“Actually,” I admit, “I’m not sure. I know she’ll be with Jakob for Christmas, because he’s the only one of us with kids, and she’ll want to be there for the holiday, but otherwise she goes where the wind blows her.”

“Jakob’s wife doesn’t mind her coming for the holiday?”

I bite back a grimace. “His ex-wife is currently fucking her trainer in Hawaii, so she doesn’t really get a say in the matter.”

Rory winces, her deep green eyes contrite. “Damn,” she says. “I’m sorry.”

“Nothing to be done for it,” I mutter. “I can’t say that we liked her all that much, but the way she imploded Jakob’s—and the boys’—lives and I can honestly say that I wouldn’t mind her getting a severe sunburn in a very sensitive spot.”

Lips twitching, Rory huffs out a laugh before her face goes serious. “She cheated then?”

“With that trainer.”

“Oof.”

“Yup.” I shake my head. “Cheated and then decided she didn’t want to be a mom any longer, leaving Jakob a single dad to five-year-old twins who”—my mouth curves—“are more than a handful on a normal day, but even more so after all of that happened.”

“Poor babies,” Rory murmurs.

“Yeah,” I agree. “That’s not something they’ll easily get over.” Some traumas slice too deep, create hurts that can’t be fixed, no matter how much time has passed.

“Luckily, they have you and your siblings.” Her expression gentles. “And your mom. The big happy Bang family.”

I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. “The dramatic, chaotic insanity of the Bang Brothers, you mean?”

“Yeah. That.” She grins, but it’s cut off by a yawn.

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