Surrendering Series Box Set

“Shut up,” I said, and we shared a cab back to our apartment. Lucah was at his place, packing his stuff back up to start bringing it over to my place. It felt weird to be fitting him in, but it also felt right.

Oh Jesus, where was I going to put my shoes?

~*~*~

Lucah came over with a few boxes and had dinner with Sloane and me so we could talk about the apartment situation.

“On the one hand, I’d get to start over with a brand-y new place. On the other, I’d have to move all my shit. So. Do you mind if I stay here? I’m kind of attached to this kitchen.”

“The kitchens are identical,” I pointed out.

“I know, but every stove is different. I like this stove. We know each other and we get along.” She went over and stroked the stove and then kissed one of the knobs.

“She really likes the stove,” I said to Lucah and he just shook his head at her.

“Well, you can keep the stove. So I guess that means we’re moving, huh, Sunshine?”

“Guess so,” I said. That was going to be a bitch, but hopefully Sloane would help us? Yeah, probably not.

“Maybe I can commandeer my brother to come and help us.” I swore Sloane’s ears perked up at the mention of the brother.

“Is he a ginger as well?” She tried to sound uninterested, but definitely failed.

“Yes, he is. Sort of. It’s more brown with red highlights. And yes, he is single and no, he is completely off limits. My brother is a time bomb and you don’t want to be around when he goes off. Trust me.” Lucah was smart, but he didn’t know Sloane. The fastest way to get Sloane to do something was to tell her not to do it. If he had just kept his mouth shut about Ryder, Sloane probably would have lost interest, but now . . .

Sloane’s eyes sparkled at me, and I gave her a warning glare. She just skipped back to the table with a satisfied look on her face. I texted Lucah.

You have no idea what you’ve done.

His phone buzzed and he read the text and then typed a response.

She doesn’t want him. Trust me.

“You’d better not be sexting with me right here,” Sloane said and we put our phones away.

“You’re insane,” I said to Lucah, because he still wasn’t getting it. He just smirked back at me. This was going to be a disaster.

~*~*~

“So, I have a question,” I said that Sunday at dinner with my parents. I felt bad for asking Dad when he was so tired. I’d never seen him look so worn out. He wasn’t as young as he used to be and I wondered if the drama had taken more of a toll on him than he would admit.

“What’s that, Rory?” Mom said.

“Well, I need a favor. I want to bring four dates to the Ball.” I didn’t look up from my plate to see their reaction.

“Four dates?” Mom was the one to drop her fork this time. I glanced up and pretended like it was no big deal. “Who on earth are you bringing?”

“Sloane, Chloe, Marisol and Lucah,” I mumbled, especially on the last name.

“You want to invite all your friends?” Mom acted like this was a ridiculous request. “This isn’t an eighth grade sleepover. This is your work event.”

I glanced at Dad and he looked like he was thinking.

“I know it’s a work event. So do they. I just thought it would be nice to invite them. They’ve always wanted to come and I want to invite them.” It wasn’t the best reason, but I didn’t have a whole lot of ammunition to fight this battle.

Mom opened her mouth to protest, but Dad put his hand up.

“She can invite them if she wants.” He smiled at me and I smiled back. “If my daughter wants to bring her friends to her work party, then my daughter can bring her friends.” I wasn’t going to point out that it was actually my three friends and my boyfriend. I hadn’t told them that Lucah and I were seeing each other, but they were smart people.