Page 17 of Hell to Pay

She sounded so desperate it made me a little sad. It wasn’t her fault the men in her life were polar opposites who could barely sit through a meal without coming to blows.

“Sounds good.” For her sake, I hoped I sounded more cheerful than I felt. “I’ll be there.”

“Wonderful!” I could almost see the sparkle in her brown eyes. “I can’t wait to see you.”

“Me too, Mom. See you tonight.”

I hung up the phone with a sigh.

“Hot date?” Lilah said, stepping into the kitchen.

She was wearing boxer shorts covered in ladybugs and a black long-sleeve T-shirt that hugged her perfect tits. Her hair was tousled and loose around her shoulders and I had the urge to sweep her into my arms, carry her back to bed, explore her body before she was fully awake and full of fire.

I still hadn’t fucked her alone, and I’d be lying if I said what happened in Greece had put a pin in my desire. I wanted her as much as ever.

“Yep,” I said. “With my mom.”

She furrowed her brow on her way to the coffee machine. “Is that a backwards ‘your mom’ joke?”

“Nope, I’m really going to dinner with my mom. Well, with my whole family actually, at my parents’ house.”

She pulled a mug down from the cupboard and put it under the machine. “Don’t sound so excited.”

“It’s just… complicated,” I said.

She turned to look at me. “Because of your dad and your brother?”

I’d forgotten I’d told her about them, if only the broad strokes.

“Yeah.”

She waited for the coffee to finish to remove it from the machine, then carried it over to the island.

She slid onto the chair next to me and I leaned over to kiss her. She looked surprised — and I guess I was a little surprised too — but what can I say? Kissing Lilah in the morning felt right.

She took a sip of her coffee. “I’ll go with you.”

I laughed. “I couldn’t do that to you, especially after what you’ve been through.”

I thought about the brand on the back of her neck and had to fight the urge to rage. That wasn’t what she needed.

“It’s the least I can do,” she said. “Plus, I’d rather not be here alone.”

I rubbed my hand back and forth over my head. “I don’t think you know what you’d be getting into.”

“What would I be getting into?” she asked.

“Stilted conversation, awkward silences, and my mom running interference?”

“Sounds fun,” she said.

I laughed.

She reached for my hand. “Seriously, I’m happy to go. It’s not like I have anything else to do. My next shift at Burger Haven isn’t until Wednesday.”

I thought about it. I was almost positive Rafe and Nolan would end up surfing and hanging at Breakers, and I wasn’t thrilled at the idea of leaving Lilah alone in the house, even with all the security. I told myself it made good sense to bring her, which was a lot easier to swallow than the little voice in my head that said I really just wanted to bring Lilah home.

15

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