Page 74 of Skin Deep

Chapter24

Harrison

Ihung up the phone, relieved.

Lach had called to tell me my brothers were in on renting the house from me, until he could swing buying it. He liked the place, but his money was tied up because of the Craig situation.

I wanted to start looking for places with Georgina soon. Her name sent my eyes to the clock. She had run into the city to do some shopping with Stella. I was expecting her home any time. The woman had only been gone for a few hours, but it felt like days. The more time I spent with her, the more time I wanted to spend with her. But she didn’t come here with much, and she needed things. She said Gus did, too. And she wanted to spend more time with Stella before she left for Modica.

Gus ran toward the door as a car pulled into the driveway. The smile on my face from thinking about Georgina lingered. It grew when I realized it was my sister. Mari was with her.

We hadn’t talked since her wedding, and I knew things were going to be awkward between us. I’d made them that way. Which was why she probably held up her hand instead of hugging me like we used to do. She offered me a high five instead.

Since everything was in perspective now, I wasn’t sure how to fix what I’d done. I didn’t even know what to say to her.I thought I loved you, but I was wrong?And I was caught off guard by my sister bringing her here. I hadn’t even been thinking about everything that happened before her wedding. With Georgina around, and the shit going on with my brothers and Cash Kelly, life before seemed like a million years and a different man ago.

Gus came running out from behind me, wanting to check out the new meat. Or maybe looking for his mamma. Mari smiled and sat down on the porch, letting him lick her. She started to laugh, and he started to go at it harder. Maybe we should have named him Romeo.

“Lupo!” Mari said.

“Wolf,” I translated, feeling smart.

“That’s what he looks like.” Mari smiled at him. “A little wolf. It’s Capo’s middle name.”

“Georgina named him Augustus, but Lach, Declan, and Owen call him Gus.”

“Augustus!” Mari said, and he sat for her. “It’s regal, and it fits you!”

Hold the fuck up. Georgina had suggested naming our dog after Macchiavello? Nah. That couldn’t be right. I slid it to the back of my mind where it would probably fester, because another situation hit me.

Georgina.

She was going to be home soon. I remembered her face when she’d found the butterfly painting on the wall. I had thought about painting over it, but it almost felt like hiding someone’s childhood. Mari didn’t have the best one, and I knew how much it meant to her. Someone who didn’t understand the meaning behind it could do it, but the house didn’t mean that much to me.

I didn’t think Georgina could understand that, though, even if I tried to explain it to her. She’d assume that it was because I still had feelings for Mari. And I had no idea what the deal was between Georgina and Mac. If there had been something going on—did Georgina feel like she’d lost Mac to Mari?

The hug between them at the gates came to the forefront of my mind. After Georgina had left me.

I had to tame my anger down, though, set it aside. When the time was right, we’d talk about it. But I wasn’t sure how she was going to feel if she pulled up and Mari was here. It just wasn’t the right time for my sister to start patching things up. Not when everything was already too fucking complicated.

Mari stood, trying to keep Gus down, still smiling. “Can I use your bathroom?”

I waved my hand toward it. What was I going to say? No? Even though the thought of Georgina finding her inside made me uneasy. She didn’t see Mari as a friend—because she didn’t believe that it was only her that I wanted. It was going to take time. That was fucking fine by me. I had the rest of my life to prove it to her.

Keely put her hand on my arm. “Hey, I have something for you.”

She went back to her car before I could tell her to wipe the pity from her voice. My mood had nothing to do with Mari. She dug around for a second, then came back with a frame. Behind the glass was my old glove and my jersey. I hugged my sister, because I appreciated it, but I was pissed at her meddling.

“You had to bring her here?”

“Why not? All this awkward shit needs to come to an end. Mari’s married—so what? She’s pregnant, too. But she’s family. We’re all she has.”

I turned around for a second, making sure Mari wasn’t standing behind me, then ran a hand through my hair. My sister’s intentions were good, but sometimes she had to realize that her timing was not right for everyone else. When I met her eyes, I could see they were guarded, worried that the news had hurt me. I was happy for Mari—over the moon that she was happy.

She nodded and then touched her stomach, like I hadn’t heard her. Then she reached out a hand to me, but I waved it off.

“This isn’t about Mari,” I said. I couldn’t go into detail about why I didn’t want Mari here, out of respect for Georgina’s privacy, so I had to skirt around the truth. Besides, my sister didn’t tell me about every detail of her love life. And she didn’t like Georgina because Georgina didn’t like Mari. It was a complicated fucking web. “You have to let things be.”

“I don’t have to do shit! I know what this is. Gigi doesn’t want you around Mari because she’s jealous of her! She makes you smile, but I can see how controlling she’s going to be. She’s used to getting her way, but not around here. She wants you all for herself!”

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