Page 125 of Beneath the Stands (Sugarlake 2)

I don’t know why I’m surprised.

Right now, I’m at Chase’s place on the edge of town, getting ready for dinner with him and Lee. She’s no longer mad at me—she’s always been too forgiving for her own good—but this time, that forgiveness came with conditions. Number one being that I had to accept Chase in her life. Turns out he never really cheated on her in the first place. Not physically anyway, but that’s a conversation for another day.

It’s hard for me to trust him, especially after being the one who cradled Lee while he was destroying everything that mattered. But I can’t deny it’s been a long time since I’ve seen Lee look so happy.

There’s something magical about watching them together. A magnetism between them, one where she moves, he follows. You can’t see it, but it vibrates through the air so strong it’s impossible not to feel. It’s always been there, even when they were kids, but it’s changed. Matured to the point where it’s awe-inspiring to witness.

They aren’t showcasing their love. They aren’t putting on a show.

They simply are.

There’s so much beauty in the way they effortlessly lift each other up, and that makes it impossible not to soften toward Chase, just a little.

“So.” I smack my lips. “When are you gonna give up that tiny studio and move into this beauty?” I pivot from where I’m sitting at the island of the kitchen, waving my arm toward the spacious living room.

Lee’s eyes widen, her knife pausing from where she is chopping vegetables.

Chase chuckles, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind and kissing her neck. “As soon as I convince her to.”

She glares at me and I laugh. “My bad, Lee. Just an honest question.”

She smiles, her eyes narrowing. “Since we’re talkin’ about honest things, let’s talk about you, Eli, and Florida, hmm?”

I gasp into my wine, the liquid flowing down the wrong pipe, burning my esophagus as it chokes me.

My hand flies to my chest, eyes watering. “We’ve already talked about that.”

“Well, we’ve” —she points the knife between her and Chase— “already talked about when I’m movin’ in.”

I throw my hands in the air. “Point taken.”

She nods, her attention going back to her salad prep. I watch the slice of the knife as it slides through the tomatoes, the juice splattering on the cutting board. Chase grabs meat from the fridge and walks out back to grill.

“There is somethin’ we wanted to tell you, though,” Lee says without looking up.

“We?” I raise a brow, glancing at the back door.

“Okay, I did… but Chase knows I’m tellin’ you.”

“What is it?” I sit up straighter.

Her eyes flick to me, but she never stops chopping. “Chase hired someone to look for Lily.”

My heart stutters from how fast my stomach drops.

Lily.

I haven’t thought about her in a long time. Haven’t let myself. She was a big part of my teenage years, and although she was closer to Lee than she ever was to me, I still felt her absence when she disappeared. Still dealt with the aftermath of her choices affecting everyone she decided to leave behind.

Fuck Lily.

She didn’t care enough to stay so why the hell would I care about her?

Even as I think the words, anger brews beneath the surface when I hear her name.

I feel hurt. The kind that chomps at your very essence and punctures your lungs with its teeth.

And then those feelings flow out and slingshot back, punching through my chest and cracking my heart in half, because I realize that everything I’m feeling, all the ways I’m upset at how she could just leave without a word…

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