Page 541 of Lodestar

“Why? Because I’m a poor little rich boy who can’t deal with the bright lights he sought out years ago. What you went through, Star, was hell. Absolute fucking hell.”

The sound of a chair scraping startled me enough to have me hunting for the source of the noise.

When I saw it was Lorelei, when I watched her round the table, when I realized she was approaching me, I froze.

Then, she leaned over me and dragged me into her arms.

For a moment, I didn’t understand what the hell was going on.

Then, she whispered, “I’m sorry, Star. So sorry.”

My mouth trembled.

Once.

Before I tightened it.

Before I let myself be hugged.

Before I experienced the loving embrace of a woman who’d been a surrogate mother to me my whole childhood.

Acceptance felt strange.

But good.

It was like I could breathe easier. As if my shoulders weren’t as weighed down as they’d been just five minutes earlier.

Over Lorelei’s shoulder, I saw Savannah watching me, tears in her eyes.

Somehow, that made this real.

62

CONOR

“What are you working on?”I asked as I propped my chin on Star’s shoulder a few hours later.

Her browser had a bunch of tabs open, over a hundred plus. How the fuck she worked like that I had no idea.

“A hunch.”

My brows lifted. “What kind of hunch?”

I didn’t just glance over the tabs this time, but at the content.

“Something that was said today at the dinner table triggered…” At her hesitation, I pressed a kiss to her shoulder in gentle encouragement. She sighed. “I’m checking bank statements.”

“Whose?”

“Reinier’s.”

“Thought you’d gone through those?”

“I did. I’m just double-checking my work.”

“Are you keeping something from me, Star?” I asked lightly.

She turned her head and pressed a kiss to my cheek. “No. I know I’m wasting my time but I have to check. Why waste yours too?”

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