Page 66 of The Exception

He nodded at the splint on my thumb. “There’s tape. That’ll work.”

No reason to turn down such an enthusiastic offer, so I held out my thumb and Lucas left me a scribble of a kitten covered in spots. “Why do I get a cat and he gets a dog? Not that I’m complaining.”

“Because that’s who the two of you are.” Lucas made it sound like the answer was obvious.

Which made me wonder if asking how he figured was appropriate.

We finished work, and Lyndsay told us all we could do now was watch and wait and counter anything that came up. Austin had to stick to his story no matter what.

Lucas headed out, and Lyndsay left a short while later. She could be heading home, but I suspected she was going to see Cash, based on the quiet smile playing on her face as she walked out the door.

Kandace stayed with us the rest of the weekend, but the mood was subdued. Still, having her here, having Austin here, made everything better. Even if we weren’t touring the town or doing weird and wild things or fucking, their presence made me smile.

How incredible would it be to spend most of my weekends this way? To come home to them at night…

I didn’t dare dream, but I also couldn’t make myself stop. My brain insisted getting involved with Austin again was a mistake. Falling for a woman like Kandace who had a whole other world she belonged to, could mean heartache in the end.

But my heart was willing to take both chances to find something wonderful.

Monday morning on the set was as hectic as any other filming day. When Andrew called my name, I was happy to join him away from the chaos.

We made some idle chatter about the weather and generic comments about our weekends. Ridiculous to brush over it, given the text exchange we’d had.

“You still sticking it to my sister?” Andrew asked. “Bow-chica-bow-wow style?”

I raised my brows. “Do you really want to ask me that?”

“No. But the question makes you more uncomfortable than it does me.” His answer came easily. “I actually have a great deal of respect for Kandace. She’s one of the best people I’ve ever known.”

She really was great. “You don’t have to sell me, I’m already hooked,” I said.

Andrew snorted a laugh. “I’m not selling you—of course you like her. I’m telling you don’t hurt her. Ever.”

“That’s the last thing I want.” I meant that more than I’d meant most anything in my life.

Andrew’s phone rang and he glanced at the screen. His teasing frown became a genuine scowl. “Hang on,” he said to me before answering, “Talk to me… I did. I—… No, I don’t think that… I don’t plan for anything to change… Why would you—… No… In that case, fuck you very much.”

That went downhill fast.

“Fucking asshole.” Andrew jammed his phone back into his pocket.

“What was that about?”

He let out a long sigh. “One of our bigger investors just pulled out. And not even in a sexy money-shot kind of way. Says I’m associated with Joystick, and they can’t be associated with me in that case.”

“Ouch.”

Andrew shook his head. “Nah. We’ll find a way. I don’t need any of that judgmental shit backing me anyway.”

It was great that he felt that way, and I respected him that much more for it, but I hated watching everyone go through this. Especially knowing that regardless of what kind of smile Austin wore, he would hate that this was bleeding into other people’s lives.

24

kandace

Before Lucas came along,and after he moved out, I’d lived alone. It wasn’t a big deal—it was just the way things were.

But walking into an empty house Sunday night was one of the hardest things I’d ever done.

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