“Yeah, as ready as I’ll ever be.” I followed David from the apartment, down the stairs and out of the building to his car, which he managed to park directly in front.
He opened the door and waited for me to get settled before he shut it then ran around to climb into the drivers’ seat. He didn’t put the key into the ignition. He sat for a few seconds before he turned to look at me. “Lily, are you going to be all right?”
“If all this was sudden, then I would probably answer in the negative, but it wasn’t. So yes, I’ll be all right. I love my new job and I’ve met some good people there, as well as made some new friends. Part of me is sad that what we had is over, but even though you cheated on me, for god knows how long, I will still remember our time together fondly. You’ve been there for all the good and the bad that has happened in my life and I won’t ever forget that, but it’s time for us both to move on.”
We sat there for a minute or two before David finally put the key into the ignition and pulled away.
Chapter 32
MICHAEL
Standing in the shade at my parents ranch, I watched everyone arrive with their partners and children, and it made me feel lonely as hell. I wanted Lily to be with me, standing beside me. Since her very soon-to-be ex had no idea about us or the fact that Lily was moving out, she’d asked me to be patient for one more day. It wasn’t what I wanted to do, but I’d agreed. One more day couldn’t hurt, right?
“Bro, what are you doing hiding over here?” Sebastian questioned.
“I’m not hiding. It’s hot,” I replied, then drained the beer in my hand.
He laughed.
“You two *’s having your own party?” Lucien asked as he walked around the corner with Ramon and Ruben.
“No, Michael was hiding out here,” Sebastian announced, then got out of hitting range.
“I was not hiding. I was having a quiet drink before I have to be social.” I took the bottle of beer Ramon offered me and gulped about half of the bottle down.
“Are there going to be any hot chicks here today?” Sebastian asked.
“They’re all married,” I replied, causing Ruben to choke on his beer.
“Not all are married. Wait until you meet his assistant.” I was going to kill Ruben.
Sebastian paused mid-drink and looked at me. “Well Michael, you’ve been keeping a secret,” he looked to Ruben, “how hot?”
He looked at me then back to Sebastian. “Curves, lots of them. Long, dark, curly hair and boobs to fill….”
“You better stop right there,” I told Ruben when I actually felt like using my fist.
“It would seem that the hot assistant is already spoken for,” Lucien commented.
“If you’d seen them in the car after Michael’s accident, you’d have no doubt,” then he grinned. “In fact, I’d ask him what they got up to while locked in the hospital room.”
Lucien choked on his beer, while Ramon and Sebastian just stood looking at me. Fuck.
“What?” I asked. There was no way I planned to get into a discussion with my brothers about Lily.
“You’ve been on your own for six years. You’ve finally hooked up with someone and you don’t plan on telling us, is that right?” Lucien asked.
I put my beer to my mouth and froze. Lily was walking in my direction, on her own, and she looked sexy as hell. The sun was behind her, which made her dress transparent. She took my breath away.
“Who the fuck is that?” I came back to my senses at Sebastian’s comment and realized all four of my brothers were standing with me, staring at her. Lily looked up and stopped when she saw the lot of us just standing there, probably with our tongues down to our knees.
“Michael, don’t just stand there, go and claim your girl.” My mother’s words brought me back to my senses.
“She’s mine. You four can keep your hands to yourselves,” I growled out.
As I started to walk towards Lily her whole face lit up. I heard my mother sigh behind me and a few snickers, not to mention Sebastian, who made a comment under his breath.
Before I wrapped Lily up in my arms, I quickly looked around for David and saw him disappear around the barn with his boss’s daughter.
Standing in front of her, I took her face into my hands. “You’re stunning. Hell, I think I’m going to have to beat my brothers up for looking at you and drooling!” I bent down and kissed her gently on the lips. “I’ve missed you.”
She placed her hands on my hips and threaded her fingers through the belt loops on my jeans, then pulled me close, before she sealed her lips to mine.
As soon as our mouths touched, I slipped my tongue inside and fused it with hers. Our bodies started to melt together when I heard more than one throat being cleared behind me. With reluctance, I pulled my mouth from Lily’s and met her eyes. She licked her lips, which dragged a groan out of me.
“You’re going to kill me today, you know that?” I breathed heavily and dreaded having to introduce her to my brothers.