Page 35 of Four Times Taken

"Yup, we're fast learners." Ryan stepped in the doorway, and his voice triggered pulsation beneath my skin as if there was a sensor built in there, especially for him. Guilt swept up my neck as I looked away from him and back at Eric to see whether he caught me almost swooning over Ryan's heavy voice.

Chapter 25

Ryan

"You just have to accept it, Lily. We come as a package deal. If you're dating Eric, you're..." I let my words trail off. Best not to finish that thought since I'm doing my best to put my own desire aside and do what best friends do. Which is apparently to help him get laid and become his girl's assistant.

No, the real reason I'm here when I could be anywhere else is because I love Eric, and I care about Lily. I wasn't lying when I said I understood her. The girl needs a break. It's like fucking community service. All right, there's distancing language, and then there's distancing language. Community service? Really?

Whether I'm overjoyed by it or not, the role I've been allowed to play in Lily's life is friendship, and you know what, it's an honor to know her. It's going to take a while to accept though. Attraction doesn't just go away, especially when you're hanging around the person every day. Yeah, I'm going to have to find excuses to get away and be with my one true love, photography. It won't be every day, even if it feels like it now. After all, I have a life too.

One that won't include Lily in it the way I'd like it to, but well, there's nothing to be done about that. There's no competing with the way they look at each other. A part of me burst with happiness for Eric as they held each other; the other part of me threw up in my mouth as she gazed in his eyes as if he were the only one in the room. No wonder I had to dash into the kitchen to get away from it all.

"So, where do you want me?" I sighed, throwing my arms open and groaning inwardly when her eyes flashed with heat. Interesting.

No. Nope. Not interesting at all, Ryan. Leave it alone.

Clearing my throat, I looked at my feet because if I kept looking at her, I'd see something I wanted to see, I'm sure of it. That look just now. I've seen it before. At the wedding. At the park. Now.

So, why did she agree to date Eric? This is just a magnet for messiness.

Maybe, dumbass, it has to do with them being each other's first loves and all that shit. The audacity. You think that IF she MIGHT have a thing for you, that she should throw what she wants with Eric out the window? You do not compare. Humble your ass, my mind stepped in to set me straight.

"I've already done the dishes, so I mean, is there anything else you want me to do?" I pointed my thumb behind me, before dropping my hand to my side, growing increasingly uncomfortable in my own body.

"I think we should all step out of this tiny room first. The heat in here is maddening..." She fanned herself, stepping past all of us. We did our best to dodge each other in the doorway, and I forced myself to ignore the way she avoided me the same way I avoided her, as if we're afraid that if we even brushed against each other, the intensity would be too much to handle.

Okay, now I'm sounding delusional. It's probably all just one-sided anyway. How embarrassing for me if it is.

Lily

"So, I was thinking that if it's okay with you, it'll probably help you feel better if we install some cameras around the place? That way, when you leave, you can still check in on your mother on your phone," Matt suggested, standing next to me.

"I can't afford that," I said, handing Ryan the comb and brush. He had said he wanted to comb her hair. The sight was less amusing once I realized that he knew what he's doing. Her hair was long and gray, from the stress rather than age. He's gentle in the way he handles her, and I had to look away to stop myself from finding another reason to be attracted to him.

"Money isn't an issue," Matt assured me, bringing my attention back to him. Eric stole it by waving me over.

"I won't feel comfortable letting Ethan do that," I argued.

"What? Oh." He laughed. "Right. Because he's the billionaire. Don't worry about it. He won't be the one picking up the bill."

"You?" I asked in disbelief, regarding the thin, gray shorts and white T-shirt.

"What?" He looked down at himself and back at me. "You think I can't afford it? That's hilarious." He grinned.

Eric pulled me into his lap as soon as I got close. "Matt's pretty well off himself," he chimed in, hearing the latter part of our conversation.

"Oh," I gasped. I'd gone from knowing no rich person to having two in my hellhole of a house. Great. This wasn't uncomfortable at all. "Well, I can't let you do it either."

"I insist," Matt said.

"Insist on what?" Eric asked. Matt filled him in. "That'll help a lot, won't it? If you won't accept it from Matt, will you accept it from me?"

"What? I don't know," I bristled, overwhelmed. It's one thing accepting physical help for one day. It's another thing accepting money. Money often comes with debts and expectations. People don't give money away for nothing.

"I think the issue is, you don't think you deserve this." Matt echoed my thoughts as if they're playing aloud from a mini speaker in my head. "Let me do this for you. I give money away to causes all the time."

I gasped, "So, I'm a cause?" It's almost insulting, and I didn't understand why. Because it's no different from giving to the Women's Shelter. Except, they're helping hundreds of strangers. I'm taking care of my mother. It's my responsibility to take care of her needs and the house. It feels wrong accepting a stranger's money for help. But we could use it.

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