Page 34 of Lore
Lore stands up and stalks away, heading inside the clubhouse. I hear a loud bang and something smashing, like a bottle or glass breaking.
“Shit,” Ora mutters.
“No, it’s fine. All of this should come out so we can move forward, right?” I glance down at Dove. “Would you mind watching her?”
“Of course,” they both reply, and Xanthe moves into my spot as I stand up, so she is closer to Dove. I glance over at Rider, now holding a hammer and frowning.
The twins give me matching thumbs-up when they catch me watching. “He’s fine!” one of them calls out.
I nod and head inside, finding Lore sitting on the couch with his shoulders slumped and his head in his hands. “I should have been there with you. You were alone. Who the fuck gives birth all alone?”
“It’s not your fault,” I remind him.
“That doesn’t make it any easier to hear. You deserved so much more than that, Butterfly. I’m so fucking sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry,” I whisper, resting my head on his bicep.
“You were having our son, alone, while I was…” he trails off, lifting his head and looking me in the eyes. He turns to me and palms the back of my head, pulling me closer to rest his forehead against mine. “You’re never going to have to do anything alone again.”
“Lore—”
He kisses me, catching me off guard. Before I can process what’s happening, it’s over.
“No matter what happens between us, I mean that. I’m here for all three of you.”
Okay, that was sweet.
The guarded wall around my heart cracks a little.
“No matter what?”
He moves back to press a soft kiss to the corner of my mouth. “No matter what. Now come on, let’s go see what our kids are doing.”
Our kids.
Our…
Fucking hell.
He’s not making this easy, is he?
“Lore—”
He stands up and catches my wrist, pulling me up as he slides his hand to hold mine.
It’s almost enough to forget the little situation outside with Rose bringing him a drink and flirting with him.
Almost.
LORE
“Why are you both looking at me like that?” I ask Ora and Xanthe, who are sitting there with their arms crossed, staring daggers at me. Atiana went up with the kids to give them a shower after they jumped in the pool, and when I offered to help, she told me she’s fine.
“Do you want Atiana?” Ora asks.
“Of course, I fucking do.” I’m not sitting here with blue balls for nothing. I used my hand this week—my hand. I can’t remember the last time I did that. It must have been before I started dating Atiana.
“Then why did you flirt with Rose in front of her?” Xanthe asks, frowning.
