Page 44 of The Ruckup
I thought Drake was nice at first too. He said and did all the right things. But it was a performance, and the mask started slipping more and more until he took it off completely around me. Leaving me staring at nothing but an ugly truth.
Leo’s big hands come to curve against the sides of my neck, his thumbs stroking along the underside of my jaw. “I know. You’ll get there.” He leans down, brushing a kiss across my lips.
“Are you serious right now?”
I stiffen at the sound of a snarky voice, my stomach clenching.
But when Leo’s mouth leaves mine, it’s curved into a grin. “Good evening, ladies.”
I turn to see a trio of gorgeous women coming our way. The leader of the pack—the one with the snarky voice—fixes her eyes on Leo. “Don’tgood evening, ladiesus.” She makes a shooing motion with one hand. “This is girls’ night. She belongs to us now, so go sit at home and be lonely without her.”
I…
Didn’t see that coming.
Leo gives the feisty redhead a one-finger salute against his brow. “Yes, ma’am.” He shoots me a wink as he backs up. “Text me when you’re ready for me to come get you, Miss Miller.”
“Okay.” I give him a jerky wave, feeling awkward and a little bad for thinking the worst of these girls.
Leo’s in his car and pulling away when the redheaded woman hooks one arm around my shoulders. “Man. He’s down bad, isn’t he?”
“I…” It’s way harder to converse with them than I expected, so I have to swallow and try again. “He’s just a nice guy, and we’ve known each other for a long time.”
“Sure.” One of the others—a tall, willowy woman with a sleek bob and beautiful dark skin—snorts as she rolls her eyes. “You can keep telling yourself that, but from where I’m sitting, you’ll be lucky if you make it to the end of January before he’s asking you to marry him.”
My stomach does a weird little flip it has no business doing. “I’m technically still married, so I don’t see that happening.”
The third woman, who’s curvy like Leo’s sister Alexis, and sporting an enviable set of deep dimples, wrinkles her nose. “Ew.” She shakes her head, sending glossy dark curls bouncing around her shoulders. “No. You filed for divorce from that creep. Your marriage is done and over with.”
I have to admit, I like the way they look at things.
I also like when they huddle around me as we go to the porch, complimenting everything from my hair to my outfit to my nail polish as we walk. By the time one of them reaches out to ring the doorbell, all the nerves I brought here are long gone, replaced by something I wasn’t expecting.
A feeling of belonging.
The door in front of us opens, and I see the only familiar face here. Alexis stands inside, along with the woman I assume owns this gorgeous house—Hazel, I think Leo said her name was.
Hazel is just as pretty as everyone else. She’s got honey blonde hair pulled up into a messy bun at the top of her head and sports chunky glasses that make her look smart and cool at the same time.
Hazel takes a sip of wine as she looks over the four of us standing on her doorstep. “You guys might want to give her some breathing room.”
The tall Black woman with the swinging bob shoots Hazel a grin from where she stands with her arm around my shoulders. “She might as well get used to it now. We don’t want her to think we’re all as reserved as Alexis.” She gives Leo’s sister a wink.
Alexis angles a brow. “Someone has to be reserved. Can you imagine what would happen if I wasn’t around to be the voice of reason?”
Hazel wrinkles her nose, stepping back so we can come inside. “Then I would be the only one who has any chill. And there’s no way I can keep you guys in line all by myself.”
The redhead at my other side pipes up as we step over the threshold. “Maybe we should kick you and Alexis out. Just for a week so we can get a little unhinged.” She bobs her head at me not-so-discreetly. “Take care of a few things.”
Alexis rolls her eyes. “I think staying in was probably a good idea.”
Hazel snorts as she closes the front door. “Agreed.”
When everyone stops to take off their shoes, I follow suit, and then we all move together, following the hallway to the back of the house. As expected, Hazel’s house is just as stunning inside as it is from the road. The two-story is very much like what I initially thought Leo might live in. But while the lines of the structure are simple, the decor has a huge amount of personality.
The formal living room on my left sports bright red sofas stacked with pillows in varying shades of teal and turquoise. Large, hammered copper panels hang on the walls, along with a variety of different sized paintings in interesting, antique-looking frames. To the right, a dark wood table sits at the center of the dining room, surrounded by lime green chairs. The walls in this room are still builder beige, but paint swatches are stuck in a line, and each one of them is bright and bold.
The back part of the house is made up of a great room and a kitchen with a gigantic island. The marble top of it is covered with stemmed glasses, bottles of wine, and sushi rolls of all kinds.
