Page 119 of Any Second Now
A player. A hook up guy.
And this season, Lachlan and I will go back to being our old selves. Barrett will happily join us. Maybe we’ll even rope Harley in, now that he’s inexplicably single.
I’ll forget about Raleigh Hayes.
And that will be that.
CHAPTER 25
Say It Again
RALEIGH
“You’re back! Why didn’t you tell me??” I run the last few steps to Lucy and throw my arms around her body, squeezing tight.
“I mean, I tried calling, but you didn’t answer,” she says with a strangled voice.
“Oops. Sorry, I’ll let you breathe.” I step back and look at her. Lucy’s red curls are mostly held back with a big scrunchie. Her green eyes—so much like Atticus’s—sparkle in the bright afternoon sun. Man, I really missed her. “I’ve been a bit scatterbrained.”
“And then I figured I’d just surprise you. We’ve changed our return flight a few times, so I figured you didn’t remember my latest date and time.” She scrunches her mouth to one side. “Or maybe I didn’t tell you. Either way, six weeks was enough time away from Fort Collins. And Kellen missed his daughter, even though she spent time with us in London.”
“Well, I missed you too.” Even though we don’t live in the same place, being on different continents was too much.
Lucy glances over at the mural. “Wow. That’s gorgeous.”
I nod, a lump still in my throat.
“Your neighbor was telling me how there’s been some artist here all week working on this.”
“Yeah. Atticus arranged it.” I sigh and pull at my hair. “A surprise.”
The best surprise.
Lucy intakes a breath sharply and turns to me. “Oh no, Raleigh.”
“Oh no what?” I turn to her, my brow furrowed.
“The way you just said his name.” Lucy crosses her arms and chuckles.
“What way? I said his name.”
“Say it again, sis.”
“Fine.” What did I do the first time? “Atticus.”
“See? You did it again.” Lucy shakes her head, a smirk on her freckled face.
Shit. Yeah. Even I heard that. His name came out of my mouth more like a sigh than a three syllable word. Like something treasured and reverent.
Someone loved.
“Damn,” I whisper.
“Did you seriously come here and fall in love with my brother?”
“What?” How did she already figure that out? What the hell? Am I that transparent?
No. But she’s my best friend. It’s probably written all over my face, and she knows me like no one else.
