Page 90 of Patio Lanterns

“Robbie?” Aidan’s jaw dropped. “Holy fuck.”

“Robin!” Lark roared.

“In the flesh.” Her cheeks fiery, her bedhead of unruly curls defiant against her bare shoulders, she looked bold, sexy, and entirely ready for the insurgence. “If you’ve got something to say, then say it to us both.”

“You lied!” Lark seethed. “You lied right to my face about Aidan’s father.”

“Because I knew you couldn’t handle it, and the second you found out, you’d lose your freaking mind,” Robin fired back. “It appears you’re right on time.”

Rick tried reasoning with Aidan. “Look, son, I wanted to tell you, but I was waiting for the right—”

“Is she… the one on your phone?” Aidan gaped. “Miss July?”

“Miss July? Oh gawd!” Lark guffawed. “And… wait, wait, don’t tell me. Could it be we’ve found your mystery drug dealer?”

“Drug dealer?” Rick questioned.

“It’s a long story, don’t worry about it,” Robin told him before taking a deep breath. “Well, at least now it’s all out in the open, and there’s nothing to hide anymore. Rick and I have been seeing one another.”

Lark slammed her hand down on the banister. “He’s old enough to be your father! He’s old enough to be my father.”

“He is my father,” Aidan added.

“He’s also a man with wants and needs who is still hot as fuck,” Robin declared, grasping Rick’s bicep as she nestled in closer. “And we are both consenting adults.”

For the first time, both Lark and Aidan were silent. The devastated look on Aidan’s face, the one Rick had desperately wanted to avoid, delivered a gut punch. God forbid it meant their relationship was down for the count.

“Aidan, I know this comes as a shock. So please, give us a minute, and go pour yourselves a stiff drink,” Rick calmly implored. “We’ll be right down, and then we will talk.”

30

Robin

Now redressed, Robin sat opposite Lark at Rick’s kitchen table. Aidan was seated to Lark’s right, placing him directly across from Rick. Either the four of them were about to square off or play a really fucked-up game of Bridge.

Lark pointed at Robin but directed her anger at Rick. “You do know how old she is, don’t you?”

“Yes, I’m fully aware that she’s twenty-eight,” Rick said. “She’s also a grown woman.”

“Who is capable of making her own choices, by the way,” Robin chimed in.

Lark scowled, and a deep crease formed between her eyebrows. Someday, she’d regret getting so worked up, probably while on the business end of a dermatologist’s needle. “Clearly, you’re not because then you’d know what a colossal mistake you’re making.”

Robin searched Lark’s eyes. “Look, I get it. On paper, it might not make sense, but it does to us.”

“It’s not like we went looking for it. It found us,” Rick told her. “And now, here we are.”

“Here we are? This is not a map on a mall directory.” Lark boiled. “Your decisions led you here.”

“And I don’t regret any of them except one,” he said. “I’m sorry, Aidan. I wish I’d told you everything earlier. Believe me, I wanted to.”

Aidan didn’t speak, so Lark piped up. “There’s got to be at least thirty years difference between you two,” Lark said.

“Twenty-six, actually, but who’s counting?” Robin snarked.

“What could you possibly have in common?”

Aidan held up his hands and crudely fucked his fist with his finger. “I think I have some idea.”

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