King (Sydney Storm MC 7)

I reached for my bag. “Thank you for getting her to her tutoring this afternoon. I owe you.”

Grinning, he said, “I’ll take some of your famous roast chicken the next time you cook it.”

I laughed and then grimaced as pain shot through my face where Marley had hit me. “God, this is going to hurt like a bitch, isn’t it?”

“Hate to break it to you, but yeah.”

“It was totally worth it,” I said before exiting the room and making my way to the bathroom to clean up my face.

On the way, I ran into Cherie whose eyes widened as she took in my face. “Shit, what happened to you?”

“Your friends, Marley and June, got into it with me.”

As I tried to walk past her, she placed her hand on my arm and said, “Marley and June aren’t my friends, Lily.”

I stopped. “Well, whatever they are to you, they are far from that to me. And to be quite honest, I’m not interested in talking about it.”

“Fair enough. But I hope you won. Those girls could do with someone putting them in their place.”

That surprised me. “Well, I hope I did. It was my intention.”

She smiled, and it felt like the most genuine smile I’d received from any other women here other than the ones I was friends with. “Don’t let those two bring you down. There’s a lot of us here who are on your side.”

“I didn’t get that vibe from you the other day.”

Her smile disappeared. “Yeah, about that, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have voiced any of my worries about Wolf.”

Going completely against what King had said to me about this being none of my concern—because basic human kindness was my concern—I said, “You should feel free to share your struggles, Cherie. I’m always here if you need someone to talk to.”

She glanced down for a moment before meeting my gaze again, tears in her eyes. Biting her lip in what seemed to be an effort not to cry, she said softly, “Thank you. I don’t have many friends, and I feel like everything is out of control at the moment with my family. With Wolf. And I’m really worried….”

When she dissolved into tears, I put my arms around her and hugged her. “Do you want to tell me what’s going on?”

Pulling away, she wiped her tears. “His father committed suicide three weeks ago and he’s going under. He needs help, someone to talk to, but he refuses to get it. Says he’s fine and doesn’t need to share his shit with anyone. He fights with me over everything and he’s started not coming home some nights.” She madly wiped her face again. “I just don’t know what to do.”

My heart broke for her and her family. I didn’t know how to help her right now, but I would find a way. For this week, I knew Wolf was in Brisbane with King, so I said, “Do you and the kids want to come over for dinner tomorrow night? I’ve got the day off and I’m going to cook a roast.” Cherie worked full-time, so I knew she’d probably appreciate a night off cooking. “Maybe after dinner, we can talk some more.”

If there was one thing I recognised in another mother, it was pure gratitude, and that was exactly what I saw in Cherie’s eyes then. “I would like that. A lot. Thank you.”

I pulled her in for another hug before letting her go and nodding. “So would I. Come any time you want tomorrow. I’ll be home from about four.”

On the drive home, Zara looked at me and asked, “Why are you smiling like a crazy woman?”

I smiled even harder. “No particular reason. I’m just happy.”

She rolled her eyes. “You are the weirdest mother I know.”

I didn’t know why it meant so much to me that I’d made a friend in Cherie, but it did. Women needed to stick together as far as I was concerned. Those catty bitches could fuck off; I wasn’t giving them another second of my time. But the women who stuck by me? I would do anything for them.

As I was going to bed that night, King called. It was after midnight, so I hadn’t expected a call. Not after he’d sent me a text earlier.

“Hey, you,” I said around a yawn, snuggling under the covers. It had rained all day again and the winter chill meant it had been freezing as well, so I had multiple blankets on me tonight. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah.” His deep rumble touched me everywhere. “Is everything okay with you?”

“Yes. Why?”

“Heard you got yourself into a fight today. What’s going on?”