Page 4 of Impressing Brett

So am I now. “Off how?” The hairs on the back of my neck are standing on end for some reason. Maybe because I care about Lacy. Who am I kidding? I definitely care about her. Even though I’ve never dated her or even touched her, I have feelings for her.

“She’s not her usual self,” Eve continues. “She flinches every time I step into her office as if I’ve scared her. I haven’t seen her smile. I’ve noticed her hands shaking. She’s distracted. I’m worried she’s more affected by his death than she wants to admit.”

“Makes sense. Everyone grieves differently,” I say. Now I’m worried. I don’t like the idea of Lacy not smiling and laughing. I wonder if there’s more to her grief than she’s told Eve.

“Why don’t you have her over for dinner this weekend?” Colt suggests.

Eve nods slowly. “I could do that.” She pushes her mac and cheese around on her plate with her fork.

I’ve known Eve long enough to know what she’s thinking. Her home is her haven. The place where she practices age play without fear of recrimination. She has plenty of friends in the age-play community that visit on weekends—or she and Colt go to their homes.

Our network of like-minded folks is large and growing, especially since we all belong to Surrender. It’s hard to have someone vanilla come to the house. It disrupts Eve’s regular routine. She is an amazing woman, fully capable of being a bad-ass accountant by day. But when she comes home, she turns her care over to her husband and lets herself relax in the age range she’s most comfortable in.

Colt is a very lucky man. He tips her chin back and meets her gaze. “A few hours, baby. Maybe Brett could come, too?” He glances at me.

I nod, trying not to react. Of course, I will come, but comforting a woman I’m secretly attracted to is going to be rough. What I’d like to do is wrap her up in my arms, pull her onto my lap, and rock her. That’s my idea of comforting a woman. I doubt that would fly with Lacy.

“I think it’s a good idea, Eve,” Colt continues. “Maybe Brett and I can suss out what’s bothering her. Maybe it’s more than just her father’s death.”

Eve nods. “I think it is. I suspect her father’s partner and his son are hounding her about the estate.”

“Did she inherit anything?”

Eve shrugs. “She says no. She says she forfeited any inheritance when she left ten years ago. She says she doesn’t care.”

I furrow my brow. “Sometimes wills don’t reflect what the person might have said in anger.”

Eve sighs. “Yeah. Maybe. I haven’t been able to get her to talk about it ever since she got the call that he’d died. Every time I stop by her office, she pastes on a fake smile and tells me everything is fine. I think she’s fibbing.”

I smile at Eve’s word choice. She may be sharing important adult information, but she still has one foot in her Little space. “Have her over. I’ll do my best to get her to talk.”

“Okay. I’ll see if she’s willing.”

We all continue to eat, and just as we’re finishing putting the dishes in the dishwasher, the doorbell rings.

Eve is still sitting at the table. She’s coloring. She sits up taller, stiffening.

Colt leans over to kiss the top of her head. “You’re fine. Stay here. I’ll see who it is.”

I stay with Eve while Colt heads out of the kitchen, but the sound of a woman’s voice a moment later makes me follow in Colt’s footsteps.

Lacy is at the front door. She’s rubbing her hands together, and she looks distraught. She’s been crying. Her face is red and splotchy. Her eyes are bloodshot. “I’m so sorry to bother you,” she says.

Colt steps back. “Come in. You’re not bothering us at all.” He rubs her arm as he shuts the door. “Did something happen?”

“There was a fire at my apartment. I—”

“Shit.” I step to her other side and wrap my hand around her elbow to guide her toward the couch. I assume Eve can hear Lacy’s voice and knows her friend is here. I also assume she’ll want to change her appearance before joining us. Five seconds ago, when I left her in the kitchen, she was wearing a pink T-shirt that said “Daddy’s Girl” and a tutu over white shorts. Her hair was in pigtails. There is no way she’s going to rush into the living room looking like that.

I get Lacy seated and sit next to her, taking her hand. She’s shaking.

Colt nods toward me. “I’ll go find Eve and bring some water.”

I return his nod, knowing he’s going to need a few minutes to help Eve sort out her clothing and her mindset. Eve is one of the most amazingly adept women I know at switching gears, but she’s accustomed to letting go of her adult the moment she climbs into Colt’s car after work and not bringing that side of her back out until he drops her off outside her office building the next morning.

“How bad was the fire?” I ask Lacy.

She looks tired. Not just from an incident that happened today but bone-weary like Eve described.

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