Avery’s smile dropped. “Don’t remind me. I hate that we aren’t there anymore. We miss you guys.”
Lucy smiled. “But Jace is doing awesome.”
“He is.” She beamed, doing a little wiggle as Ashlyn tried to type on the computer keyboard. “It’s hard, though, just me and Boogie.”
“I hear ya,” Lucy agreed. “But at least your man comes home. “
Avery gave her a small smile of sympathy, and Lucy hated that. She didn’t want anyone to pity her. Yeah, she hadn’t dated in a good long while. Yeah, she had cobwebs growing in her vagina, but, hey, she was busy. Or at least, that’s what she told herself. It was probably because she was a total bitch and didn’t trust anything that had a dick.
Well, except her brothers. Those guys were good.
“Momma, I found a sword,” Angie called from down the hall of their small apartment above Lucy’s interior design office. Small wasn’t the right word, really; it was more like tiny. It was one room bigger than a studio apartment and compact. But after her mom moved her boyfriend into the house, there was no way Lucy was still living there. Seeing Coach’s ass once as he banged her mother was one time too many, and it had Lucy hightailing it out of her childhood home.
She’d get a bigger place soon; she just had to make more money.
“That’s great, honey,” she called before shaking her head. “I need to find a man. I need to get laid.”
Avery’s face lit up. This was an ongoing conversation, one that never really went anywhere. “Yes, you do!”
“Whoa, don’t get excited. I was thinking out loud. Let’s be honest, I don’t want a man.”
Letting out a long breath, Avery rolled her eyes. “Then find a woman.”
“Um, no,” she scoffed before shaking her head. “Maybe I can find a one-night stand when Angie goes to Rick’s house this weekend. I need to come or something. I hate life right now.”
Avery laughed and Lucy grinned. It had been a long time since she’d had a true “girlfriend.” It had always been her and her mom, but when she met Avery, something about her just clicked for them. She was a great girl and Jace loved her something insane. Since Lucy felt kind of responsible for Jace, him being the baby and all, she immediate clung to Avery. She loved her other two sisters-in-law, of course, but she and Avery had a bond.
One she needed.
Since she was becoming a hermit.
Shooting Lucy a bored look, Avery said, “But that means you have to leave the house, put pants on, and turn off Netflix. Let’s be honest, your love affair with Netflix is stronger than your desire to go find someone to lay you.”
She shrugged. “This is true, but in all fairness, Netflix has never let me down.”
“It also can’t lay you.”
“No, but it still satisfies me.”
“Not in the way you want,” Avery supplied and Lucy shrugged.
“Shut up, you,” she complained as something hard fell onto her chest.
“Oh my God! Is that a dildo?” Avery squawked, and when Lucy looked down to her neon yellow dildo, horror filled her from the tip of her head to the bottom of her feet.
“No, silly! It’s a sword! Come on, Momma, fight me!” Angie demanded, holding Lucy’s sparkly Edward Cullen vibrator.
“Jesus take the wheel!” Lucy shrieked before snatching the other dildo from her daughter, panic roaring through her system. “Let me call you back,” she yelled before hanging up on Avery and throwing her phone down. “Angie! Stay out of my drawer!”
Getting up, she rushed down the hall with Angie chasing her. “Why? What is that? Isn’t it a sword?”
“No! It’s Mommy’s. Please don’t touch it,” she cried, embarrassment consuming her as she went back into her room. “Please go wash your hands and go watch TV or something.”
“Why? Why can’t I play with your swords?” Angie shot at her, and Lucy closed her eyes.
Lord, please take me now.
“’Cause they are Mommy’s toys. Now, go,” she yelled, and as soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted them.
Like Lucy knew she would, Angie glared. “Why can’t I play with your toys? You say sharing is caring. You’re not caring, Momma!”
At her wits’ end, she spun around and set her rambunctious seven-year-old with a look. Angie’s big green eyes held Lucy’s, her little mouth in a pout, looking every bit like Lucy. Lucy wasn’t sure what Angie got from Rick, but she was thankful her little baby looked nothing like him. God, she hated him. But then, hate wasn’t even a good enough word to describe her feelings toward Rick. She couldn’t even think of a word to express her feelings toward her ex-husband. She did know, though, that if he were on fire, she wouldn’t even piss on him to put out the flames. He may have given her the greatest gift in the world, their daughter, but that was it.
Everything else was pain.
Sucking in a breath, she glared as her mom voice came out in full force. “Angela Lynn, I said no. These are mine, and you cannot play with them. Now, go on!”