Page 83 of Just a Little White Lie

“Mav’s got one chance left.”

“Think he can manage it?”

I close my eyes with a heavy sigh. “Oh man, I hope so. They all look up to him.”

“I don’t get why,” Jack murmurs, and I bolt upright again.

How could he say something like that?

I frown at him, wishing he could see Maverick the way I do.

“He protects them, Jack. That’s what he was doing today, protecting Alexia when Ronan pushed her. They trust him. They know he’ll do anything for them. If we lose him, I honestly don’t know if they’ll compete, and they need this. They need this chance to succeed.”

He watches me for a minute, his expression lifting into a sad smile as he rests his hand on the side of my neck and rubs his thumb along my jawline. “I guess you’ll just have to make it really clear to him.”

I close my eyes, focusing on the comforting touch as worry eats me.

How am I going to reach Maverick?

How will I make him see?

“You can do it,” Jack whispers against my cheek. “You’ll find the right words.”

“You sound like you believe in me.” I scoff, shaking my head.

“I do.”

I open my eyes and look at him. “No one does that. I’m the self-absorbed girl who screws up all the time.”

“No.” He shakes his head with a grin. “Look at what you’ve done with these kids. You’re not selfish. You’re giving them your all, and you’re winning. And you’re gonna keep on winning. You’re gonna look Maverick in the eye and tell him what you need, then tell him that you have faith in him.”

“I do,” I whisper.

“I know.” His grin grows a little wider, and he coaxes me forward.

I kiss his lips with a little smile, so grateful for his kind words that I could just about cry. Thankfully his tongue gliding into my mouth—slow and easy—completely distracts me from my tears. I sink into the languid kiss, moaning into his mouth when he glides his hand down, splaying it over my back and pushing me against him.

Running my fingers into his hair, I fist those curls and am about to straddle his lap when a shocked “What the hell?” is shouted from my doorway.

JACK

Oh shitballs. Here we go.

I cringe as Luke storms into the room. Lightly gripping the back of Lauren’s shirt, I share a pained look with her, then let out a short, weary sigh when Luke stops beside us and keeps shouting.

“This is not okay!” He flicks his arms up. “How long has this been going on?”

Do we tell him?

I kinda don’t want to.

Running my hand up Lauren’s back, I share another quick look with her.

“Stop touching her!” Luke smacks my hand away and scores himself a dark look. He can’t tell me not to touch my girlfriend.

If that’s what she actually is.

We’ve never had the official talk, but we act like a couple whenever Luke’s not around, so I guess that’s what we are.

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