Page 58 of Shameless

“Yeah. Les had too much to drink at the clam bake and he didn’t get up in time for the quail hunt. The housekeeper confirmed that they were in their bungalow all night and until midday. They kept asking for ginger ale and saltines for Les’s hangover.”

So their alibis are ironclad if the house staff kept bringing them room service.

“Look,” I squeeze Lula’s hand. “How about we have something to eat while we talk?”

Lula sighs, resting her head on my shoulder for a long moment.

If she’s looking for physical contact, she can’t be thinking about dumping me. Right?

“I’m hungry, but I’m also exhausted,” she says. “I’m not really up for going out.”

I wrap my arms around her, inhaling the scent of Lula’s floral shampoo from the top of her head. My heart clenches in my chest with love. It’s always been like this with her, since I can remember. I love Lula so much that there’s nothing I wouldn’t do to make her happy.

“How about one of my world famous grilled cheese sandwiches? We could go eat it on our secret spot on the roof and watch the sunset while we talk.”

She lifts her face from my chest, her eyes so huge, the green more intense than usual. “That sounds good, Stef.”

“Can you bring a couple of blankets up to the roof while I make dinner? It’s breezy today and once the sun goes down, it’ll be chilly.”

She nods. “You got it.”

“Meet you on the roof in ten,” I say, following her back inside the house.

13.Always By Your Side

Stefan

I’m on the roof in record time.

I’d be lying if I said that I’m not a little anxious about what Lula wants to talk about.

Ok, a lot anxious.

“Hey, let me help you.” Lula takes the plate I’m carrying as I lower myself on the blanket she arranged on the flat surface of the roof right above her room.

“I know this was just meant to be a service area,” I say, looking around the square space surrounded by a wrought iron railing. “But this is my favorite spot in the entire house.”

Her lips curl up in a soft smile that, if possible, makes her look even more beautiful. “Mine too. No matter how bad things ever got, this has always been my safe space. But in the years Tiffany kept me away from Star Cove, I realized something.”

“What’s that?” I ask.

“It’s not the secret spot on the roof, Stef. It’s you. You’re my safe space.”

Fuck.

How am I supposed to stand a chance in hell when she says stuff like this?

“If you came here to dump me,” I chuckle nervously. “You aren’t off to a good start, Jumps.”

“To dump you?” Lula gasps. “What are you talking about?”

Hope invades my preoccupied mind, but I want to be one hundred percent sure. “You didn’t ask me to talk to end things between us?”

Lula laces her fingers with mine. “I love you, Stefan. I always have and I always will. Knowing that you feel the same way about me and exploring the attraction between us, has kept me sane in the worst moments this summer.”

God, just when I thought I couldn’t love her more, she slays me with the sweetest words anyone has ever said to me.

“I love you too,” I whisper, tucking her dark hair behind her ear.

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