A quick glance over my shoulder confirmed what I already knew. They were standing where I’d left them, but in a line, to meet my woman.
Lily followed my gaze and started to laugh. “Come on, introduce me to your other two brothers.”
“Do I have to?” God, could I sound any more pathetic. CEO here, not idiot!
Lily slipped her hand into mine and gave a slight tug to get me moving. “I told David I’m moving out and about the apartment I plan on looking at tomorrow. He seemed…. okay I guess. Which was a relief.”
“About the apartment….”
“Hey, get over here and share,” Sebastian shouted.
Lily laughed and walked towards my mother, who held her arms out to her. “Lily, it’s so good to see you again.”
“It’s good to see you again too, Pippa.” My mother pulled away and threaded her arm through Lily’s to introduce her to my brothers. Why she needed to be introduced to those idiots was beyond me.
“Lily, you already know Ruben and Ramon, so this here is Sebastian, you may want to stay away from him.”
As Ruben roared with laughter, he received a dirty look from our mother. She then moved on to Lucien.
Because of his accident, Lucien was badly scarred, from the tips of his fingers, up the back of his right arm, along the back of his shoulder and part of his side and back. I was nervous for her to meet him because he would test her and if she failed he’d be cold, which would probably upset her, and then I’d have to hit him.
“Lily, this is my eldest son, Lucien.” Lily held her hand out to him and of course he held his right hand out to her. She looked down and then back up to his face before she took his hand, wrapped her fingers around his as they shook hands. Lucien was surprised.
“I’m not afraid of you, Lucien,” Lily told him.
“I like you. Next time I’m in the city, we can grab a coffee together and I’ll tell you all about Michael.”
No way was that happening. She wasn’t having coffee with anyone but me.
“I would like that. Don’t forget.” Did she just agree to meet Lucien?
I frowned. “Don’t get your shorts in a wad. I’m not poaching.” With that, Lucien walked off.
My mother still had her arm through Lily’s, like they had been friends for years.
When I looked more closely, mom had tears in her eyes. She turned to Lily and kissed both of her cheeks. “Thank you for being kind to him.”
Lily looked shocked. “I wouldn’t be anything else.”
“It’s just that since his accident, he’s locked himself away in that cabin he calls a home and I worry about him. He needs a friend, and I think he’s chosen you.”
Was what my mother spoke to Lily the truth? Was he lonely and in need of a friend who could accept him just as he was? I hope that was all it was. I really needed to stop being possessive or she wasn’t going to put up with it for long. We also needed to have the ‘will-you-move-in-with-me’ talk.
Chapter 33
LILY
Sebastian and Lucien were both attractive men, and if Michael hadn’t made it clear I was with him, then I was pretty sure one of them would have made a move on me. My guess was that it would’ve been Sebastian, although something about Lucien pulled at me. He was wounded and his mom thought he needed a friend. Well, I could do that, provided Michael behaved himself.
“Lily, I’ve been looking all over for you,” David said as he walked up behind me, putting his arm around my shoulders.
I shook him off. “David….”
Before I could finish, he started to talk. “Lily, Robert is over there and would like to talk to you.” The cheek of him.
“I’ve nothing to say to him.” Robert was my previous boss and I owed him nothing.
“Lily, stop being awkward and come and talk to him.”
“Who are you?” Sebastian asked with a look on his face I couldn’t decipher.
“I’m Lily’s boyfriend, David. And who are you?” David replied.
“Okay that’s enough,” I said. “David, you’re not my boyfriend anymore, so you don’t get to tell me what to do and who I should meet.”
“Lily, we agreed we would come here together,” David argued.
“We agreed to come here together, but not as a couple. Robert’s looking for you, tell him I’m busy.”
“Lily?” He finally realized I had no intention of playing nice, which was just as well, because I could sense the anger rolling off of Michael.
He turned and walked off, and before I could even turn back to Michael, he was being pulled into one of the tents with my ex-boss’s daughter.
“What’s he doing with Lucy?” Ruben asked.