Page 5 of Tangled Rose

Chapter 5

Feeling very unsure of myself, I plaster on a confident smile before leaving the room to wander down the hall in hopes of finding my way to the stairs without getting lost.

When I get to a stairwell, I stop at the top, confused. This isn’t familiar. But it is a way downstairs, so I quickly jog down the steps.

A gray-haired woman I haven’t met yet looks up from the kitchen island where she’s prepping dinner when I enter the room. “Oh, hello. You must be Lyla.”

I give her a nervous smile, color infusing my cheeks. “Yeah, hi. I, um, got a little turned around upstairs and came down the wrong way.” My eyes travel the room, and I’m gobsmacked once again. Besides the massive island, the kitchen has floor-to-ceiling pristine white cabinetry and the stainless appliances are, no doubt, state-of-the-art. They’re shiny and pretty, unlike the ugly mustard-yellow appliances in our trailer.

“No worries at all. I’m Darla. And you can use those stairs as much as you like. In fact, it’s a more direct route to the back of the house, where your room is located.” She studies me from head to foot. “Dinner will be ready in about fifteen minutes. Have you met the boys yet?”

I shake my head. “No. I unpacked first. Um …” Do I even ask? I guess I have to. “Am I dressed okay? For dinner, I mean.”

“You’re fine. This household is pretty casual.” She huffs out a quick breath as she turns to pull a dish out of the oven. “And they’re good boys, Beau and Griffin. For the most part.” She winks.

I get the feeling she knows them really well. “How long have you worked here?”

“Oh, goodness. Going on twenty years now. I was here before Carissa had the boys. They’re right out there, through the patio door. Their friend Micah is staying here right now, too.”

She’s not so subtly nudging me out to meet them. I get it. But for some reason I’m dragging my feet. This is a little harder than I’d anticipated. I’m Lyla Taylor, dammit. I can handle a bunch of boys. “Okay. I guess I’ll see you in a while, then.”

She nods, so I wander through the arched doorway and into the living area that I was in before, only now I’m at the other end of it. Carissa and Mike have left the room, so I take a quick second to glance around before I head toward the patio doors. My eyes roam over huge abstract paintings hung on the walls, expensive-looking knickknacks, and a whole wall of shelves holding someone’s beautiful pottery collection. Someone around here is a little artsy. Maybe Carissa?

Through the window, I see a blond guy outside point in my direction, then wave at me. I assume he must be Griffin because he looks a lot like Beau only with lighter hair. Hesitantly, I hold up a hand, waving back. I guess it’s now or never. I hurry to the double doors and let myself outside.

I take a quick breath as I turn around. Holy hot guys. Does Rosehaven have a monopoly on all the cute guys in the area? Are the girls at the local high school stuck with all the average Joes? Because each one of these guys is totally droolworthy. Crap. I’ve got to get my head screwed on straight if I’m going to be around them all the time. They’re a distraction waiting to happen.

I give them a half-smile as I come to stand near where they’re lounging, each one with a bottle of water in hand. “Hi. I’m Lyla.”

The blond winks at me. “I’m Griffin, this is my brother Beau, and our friend Micah. He’s staying with us for a while, too.”

I smile at Micah, realizing I thought he was the second brother when I went into spy mode upstairs. “Hi. Nice place to crash, I guess, huh?” He’s why I hadn’t been prepared to find Beau in his room. I hadn’t known there was a third guy living here. His room must not be anywhere near mine because Carissa hadn’t mentioned it.

He has a super deep voice to match his size. “Hey. Yeah, it’s not bad here. I appreciate good friends with parents who don’t freak out when extras constantly eat all the food in the house.”

Griffin laughs. “It’s not like you weren’t over here half the time already. It’s only a minor change now that you’re crashing here. Besides, I think Darla and Greta like you better than either of us, anyway.”

My brows raise. Interesting. The Danbrooks seem very generous… or maybe they aren’t around enough to care? Maybe both. Or maybe they like having a bunch of teenagers around. I guess it doesn’t matter, and it’s not my business anyway.

“So, what’s the deal?” Griffin asks, directing his question to me. “Did your parents not want you in the dorm?”

“We were told the dorm was full. They offered this arrangement instead. My parents didn’t object.” I shrug as the lie rolls off my tongue.

“Maybe they liked the idea of someone looking after you.” He shrugs. “Can’t say that will be our parents—they aren’t super hands-on. They’re more go-with-the-flow, look the other way. You’ll probably see Darla more than anyone. Do you have siblings?” Griffin asks.

“No. It’s just me.” I chew on my lip, not wanting to expand on the topic.

I feel Beau’s eyes on me and eventually I can’t help but let my gaze slide in his direction.

“Have you been able to check out the house yet?” He quirks a brow, knowingly.

Nice. He’s toying with me. Asshole. I nod, biting the inside of my cheek. “I saw a few things.”

“Did it seem … big to you?”

Oh, ha-ha funny guy.“No. It’s not huge. But maybe I didn’t get a good enough look.” I shoot him a smirk that says Get over yourself.

Griffin and Micah exchange a confused look.

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