Page 56 of The Last Days of Lilah Goodluck

“You free at all this weekend?” Gael asks me.

“No. She’s busy. And I told you to stop flirting with her,” says Alistair, cranky as can be. The thrill that goes through me at the sound of his growling brogue. Some of the noises he makes ought to be illegal. Or at least confined to the bedroom.

I keep my legs shut tight and my smile serene. This is fine. Everything is fine.

Gael laughs. “I mean all of us. We’ll all get together and watch it. Why are you being so uptight?”

Alistair is not convinced.

And with good cause. Because the next words to me out of Gael’s mouth are: “So, Lilah, what would you say you’re looking for in a relationship? Just out of interest?”

I don’t mean to choke on the champagne. It just happens.

Alistair rubs my back. Guess he also gives his friend another foul glance, because Gael says, “What did I do now? Lilah, babe, you okay?”

“Donotcall herbabe,” rumbles Alistair.

“Why? You got dibs on that endearment? Were you planning on calling herbabe?”

Alistair frowns at me before saying, “That’s none of your business.”

“Shane,” I say, a little louder than intended. All the back-and-forth was cute for a while, but now I am done. Hoping I mean something to him is starting to hurt. A diversion is needed. “Would you mind showing me the game now?”

Shane gives his two friends a chastising look. “Sure thing.”

“What are you doing?” asks Alistair.

His friends have just left. Things calmed down after Shane and I modeled appropriate adult behavior. Not being fought over by a pair of dueling idiots improved my night tenfold. We played the game for hours. Or rather, I played it while three men shouted advice at me and gestured wildly at the screen. Then they started discussing different technical aspects of the game. Notes were taken on new ideas for updates and extensions. It was interesting seeing them work together as a team.

But back to the here and now. My cell is in my hands. “Ordering a car.”

“I’ll drive you home.”

“It’s fine. Thanks.”

“Lilah,” he says, stepping closer, “look at me.”

“Hmm?”

His blue gaze takes me in, and he sighs. “You’re still upset about earlier. I’m sorry about Gael. He doesn’t mean any harm, but he gets carried away sometimes.”

“It’s fine,” I repeat. “Gael apologized for the shenanigans when he kissed me good-night.”

His brows descend. “He kissed you?”

“On the cheek. Shane did too. Your friends are nice. I like them.”

The frown remains in place. “If it’s about me telling them about you, I—”

“I have chosen to take you talking to your friends about me as a compliment. Though it does sort of feed into the larger issue.”

And the frown still remains. “Which is?”

“This here,” I say, pointing at the deep line embedded between his dark brows. “This is the problem, Ali.”

“What do you mean?”

“You just... I amsoconfused.”

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