Page 22 of The Wrong One

“Then I’m going to yell at your dad,” I said. “You’re not in a building with security.”

“We knew it was you!” Lily laughed.

“I’m going to be talking to him,” I said. “Show me the way. Show me your castle.”

Lily led me through every single room of the house that was absolutely massive. She explained every detail. I loved that she was so excited for her new home. Ramsey had been looking for the right house to move his daughter into for months. Hell, longer than that. I had been dragged through one house after another in search of the right place. Ramsey had been worse than Goldilocks. Houses were too small or too big. Some were too far outside of town. Others were too close to the city. When we pulled up to this monstrosity, he said he knew it was the right one.

“Look at my very first desk,” Lily said and ran her hand across the surface.

“Is this your laptop?” I asked with a frown.

“Yes.”

“In your bedroom?” I questioned.

“I can’t do anything,” she said with exasperation. “Dad put protection stuff on it. I can’t get on Instagram or anything like that.”

“Good.” I nodded.

Poor Lily had two dads. Ramsey was the first line of protection, and I was the safety net that caught everything that might have slipped through the cracks. We were kind of rotten kids and slightly rotten men. We knew what we did and didn’t trust the little shits nowadays to treat our Lily right.

“Let’s see outside,” I said to Lily after she showed me her room.

“Wait, I want to show you something in the kitchen,” she said and took my hand.

“I hope you’re not going to make me peel potatoes,” I joked.

She giggled. “I don’t know how to peel potatoes.”

“Oh, your dad is slacking,” I said. “We need to get you some cooking lessons.”

“I’m only eight,” she said.

“Never too young to learn,” I told her. “I was your age when I had to learn to peel potatoes.”

“No, you didn’t.” She giggled.

“I wasn’t born rich, little lady,” I told her. “Me and your dad had to work hard to buy houses like this.”

“I want to learn how to cook,” she said. “I’ll make you and Dad dinner.”

“I’m here for it,” I said.

I heard laughter from outside. It was Izzy. I was doing my best to avoid Izzy and her boyfriend. When Ramsey told me they were flying in for the housewarming party, he didn’t say it with much excitement. I was just doing my best to avoid them. I didn’t want to be a dick, but my facial expressions spoke louder than words.

“Look,” Lily said and opened a cabinet in the corner. “This is the best hiding spot ever.”

I laughed. “If you tell me it’s your hiding spot, it’s not so good anymore.”

“You’ll forget,” she said confidently.

I laughed. “You’re probably right.”

She closed the cabinet and was completely out of sight. That gave me an idea. “Hey, Lily,” I said.

She pushed open the door. “Yes?”

“I’ve got an idea.”

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