Page 24 of Double Trouble

“You’re gorgeous.”

“Huh?”

My heart stops. “Uh… nothing.” That was a close one.

The corner of her mouth lifts, and she settles her helmet on her stomach. She turns the power off on the camera, then lets her finger slide over the protective covering.

“Before we get into my drama, can I ask you something?”

I drop my phone onto my stomach and settle a hand under my head. “Go for it.”

“Are you… like… okay?”

My brow furrows, and I give her a confused grin. “Uh, yeah…”

Her head shakes in one sharp motion, and she briefly shuts her eyes. “I meant with Candace. The engagement and all.”

I jerk back from the sideways punch of a question. I haven’t thought about Candace in that way in so long it’s hard to think that I did. She was cute and entertaining to work with, and I wanted a shot at taking her out, holding her hand, kissing her goodnight… much like I want with any girl I fall for.

But now, especially after truly falling for someone, I see how empty that attraction was. Candace is too set in her ways. Sure, Pete can get her to give in a little, meet him halfway, but I have no patience for that. We would’ve been a disaster, and my heart would’ve been left even more broken.

Also, now that she’s my boss, I’m a little scared of her.

A chuckle pops from deep in my gut, and I stare at that dying light above us. “Your brother’s been dating Candace for over a year.”

“I know.”

“So I’m good, Brink. I got over Candace a long time ago.” I roll my head to lock eyes with her. “But thanks for looking out.”

She lifts a shoulder. “You’re always checking on my mental state. Thought I’d return the favor for once.”

“Speaking of…” I let my hand fall between our bodies, trying to ignore the pops that zap each arm hair on its end. “You said something about drama?”

She rumbles her lips and shakes her head at the ceiling. “You sure you want to hear?”

“Hit me with it.” I want to hear anything and everything that runs through her gorgeous mind.

Her shoulders lift as she takes a deep inhale. Her words sputter out on the exhale, her eyes locked on the flickering bulb above us. “I was completely ambushed at dinner tonight. My parents, Dem, and even Pete all came at me.”

“About…?”

“Pete’s moving out after he gets married. I mean, obviously. And my dad’s getting cleaned up. Mom says she’ll look for work…” She taps her fingers against the helmet sitting on her stomach. “They don’t think I can do it without Pete’s help.”

“Do what? Take care of Dem?”

She nods, her eyes falling closed. She eases out a shaky breath through puckered lips. “They want Dem to move back home.”

Shit.

Mad’s family is at the top of her passions, followed closely by boarding and Star Wars. I watch her as she struggles to keep her shit together, trembling from the effort to keep her tears from falling, her fists from punching something, her feet from running. I want to reach out and hold her steady, let her know she can break apart with me, and I’ll do my best to catch all the pieces and put them back together.

But I stay where I am, too terrified to reach for her. “Wait… Pete, too?” Pete was a major player in getting Dem out of the house in the first place, away from their toxic parents.

“Y-yeah,” she says, a crack in her voice. She traces the design on her helmet with her pointer finger, still trembling. “He actually proposes the idea, with some caveats, of course.”

“Such as?”

“My dad has to be clean for two months and attend the addiction meetings, and my mom has to have a job before Dem can live with them again.”

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