Page 57 of Pieces of Us

Dad smirks, knowing I’ll be blowing a gasket in less than five minutes.

‘You.’ I point to Lincoln and snap my fingers. ‘Come with me.’ Pissed off, I pass him in a huff, expecting he’ll just follow me.

My heart is hammering as I feel him hot on my heels, and I can sense I’m not the only one who wants to burst.

When we’re far enough away from where Dad can hear us, I whip around to meet his cold stare.

‘Well. Have something to say, do you?’ I purse my lips across my sour expression.

‘You did this on purpose,’ he grits out.

‘What?’ I hiss, continue to glare at him.

‘We didn’t even work out where to go from the other night, and now you’re basically flaunting other men in my face to make me…’ He stops to contain his emotions and takes a breath.

‘To what? Make you jealous?’ I finish for him, unbelieving his audacity. ‘You have some nerve, Lincoln Hayes, to accuse me of making you jealous.’ I stab him in the chest with my finger to emphasise my point.

‘He’s just a friend. How many more times, or in other languages do you want me to say it? Our relationship is nothing like the one you’ve been carrying on with Billie and the hoards of women you’ve fucked over the years, so don’t you dare insinuate otherwise.’

I am beyond offended.

‘You know what? I don’t need this shit. Excuse me.’ I attempt to stomp upstairs, but I’m stopped by his hand on my arm.

He gently moves me back to him, each breath becoming shallower with all the ways my body is touching and coming into contact with his.

I feel his mouth press against my ear as he takes a deep inhale as if he’s committing my scent to memory again.

‘I’m sorry, Hart,’ he murmurs, brushing his nose against the shell of my ear. ‘I’m so sorry.’

Pausing, I close my eyes. The rush of emotions eclipse me. All the fight I wanted to direct towards him vanishes in an instant at the sound of his husky confession.

After a moment, he pries his hands from my body and walks towards the door without another word.

Chapter 24

My Father’s Son

Lincoln

‘Tell me what your endgame is here, son?’

I dropped into Dad’s straight after leaving Uncle Mark’s. He immediately knew something was up and instructed me to change into workout clothes.

Each punch to the bag is therapeutic—especially because, in my mind, I’m pummeling fuckface Jagger. There is every chance the pro ball player could knock me out with one punch, but I evict those thoughts from my mind.

I take a break, running a glove through my sweaty mess of hair. Staring at the ceiling, a mixture of envy and turbulence courses through me.

There is so much I don’t know about Amity’s life, including who her people are. It’s natural for me to hold a grudge against the guy my girl is pictured with almost weekly. She says he is just a friend, but a picture says a thousand words. How can I misinterpret her sitting on his lap, or them holding hands, or her body pressed up against his at a club, her head in the crook of his neck? Then there are the almost naked photos of them frolicking around the world. He’s like a bad smell, leeching off her whenever they’re pictured together.

It doesn’t help that I stalk their every move with my set-up Google alerts. I know my mind is speculating about their status, but how can it not when the hottest girl on the planet—and arguably the hottest guy on the planet—look like the picture-perfect couple? I think I’d feel less bothered if he was pictured with other chicks, but the prick never is. He is only ever coupled up with Hart. My heart.

‘I can’t tell you, Dad. I want Amity and I to be endgame, but I don’t know the way forward. We’re up and we’re down and we yell and we apologise. Then we’re just exhausted, not knowing the way forward.’ I bow my head. ‘Somehow, I always fuck it up.’

‘So, where do you want it to go? I have to admit, it’s good having my daughter back again, and shit out in the open.’

‘I know. I fucking know, Dad. I’m elated to have her back, too, and so is Jas. Everyone around the office seems to gravitate to her, as they should. She’s always had that aura. Damn, Ella won’t stop going on about her new BFF.’

‘So what’s the next step?’

---