His eyes are unreadable, but I swear I see a flicker of pain in his eyes. “I know.”
He turns away from me, and I'm not sure what just happened. “I won’t hurt her.” For whatever reason I feel the need to explain, even if it’s to his back. “She knows I don’t want anything serious, and she doesn’t have time for anything serious anyway. We have it under control.”
He doesn’t turn back to me. “Nothing but chaos is coming your way, little brother.” His voice softens as he heads toward the door. “And I’d give anything to save you from it.”
He opens the patio door and leaves me alone outside.
That could have gone worse. I wait for a while outside, staring at the water and the sky as they seem to meet.
I don’t need Linc to save me, but there is someone under that roof who can pull me from the depths of my own hatred.
At least for the moments I allow myself to get lost in her.
38
VIVIENNE
Iuntangle my limbs from Asher’s and climb out of my comfortable bed at Lincoln and Penelope’s.
He didn’t say one word when he came back in after I put Baz down for bed. It was clear he just needed to get lost. And I let him.
I’ll let him again and again.
I stare at him, lying in the bed, his hair a matted, gorgeous mess, gloriously naked.
My heart clenches tight as I place my hand over my chest trying to rub away the dull ache, slipping into my pajama pants and matching shirt. I quietly open the door and close it behind me, knowing I should probably wake him and ask him to go to his room, but I don’t.
I check on Baz and see he’s fast asleep, but as I'm closing his door, I gasp, clutching my chest when I see Lola standing there with two glasses of wine as she smiles and holds one out to me.
“Lola?” I whisper as I take on of the stemless wineglasses.
“Let’s go out there.” She nods to the door leading to a cute patio separate from the pool area. The patio has a fire pit, a classy, chic two-seater chair, and two matching single chairs. She sits down on the chair for two and pats the spot next to her, still clutching her wine glass.
I take the seat next to her and take a small sip of wine, feeling like I'm going to need it.
“I didn’t know you were staying tonight.”
“I thought it would be nice to spend the night under the same roof as my family.” She tucks her shoulder-length blond hair behind her ear and takes a drink, savoring it. “It’s been a while.”
I hate the pain this family has endured. “That’s great.”
Lola is hard to read. Her face is steel, not to say that she’s cold, but she is most definitely strong. She takes another drink, and then her eyes meet mine. “How long have you guys been sleeping together?”
I’m not a fool. I knew that when I moved in with Asher, people would speculate. I’m sure they all had their assumptions, but I also knew that when I came out of the laundry room, the mixture of our hot hookup still between my legs, and my hair a mess, they would all know.
“I...” I falter. Because her eyes are so full of absolute anguish, it nearly breaks me.
“Before you moved in together?”
I shake my head. “No.”
“Before you came to California?”
I study her, her expression still completely unwavering, not giving anything away. “Why does it matter?”
I try not to sound defensive. I care about Lola. I know she cares about Sebastian at the very least, and I don’t want to make her my enemy. She places her wine glass on the wooden rim of the chair and turns her body toward mine. “Because you’re in love with him.”
An astonishing gasp falls from my lips as I stare at her, jolted from her statement. I fight the tears swelling in my eyes and try my hardest to appear strong. “People have sex all the time without feelings.”