“He’s a grown man. And because of him you’re in trouble.”
I pull away from her. “Never mind, Gigi.”
Can’t miss work, or I’ll get the boot, can’t miss a gang meeting or Mav and Angel will have my ass, can’t lose Sebastian or fuck knows how mom will react…
If she makes sense of it. But…
“Listen to me.” Her small hands twist in my sweater, stopping me. “You never had a family before, I get it, okay? You want to keep this one even as it’s falling apart. But Rett…”
“No, you still don’t get it. I had a family before. Not once but twice before this one. And I lost them.” I put my hands over hers. My heart is thumping way too fast. “That’s why I can’t give this one up. See, not having something isn’t painful. But having it and losing it… that fucking hurts.”
Her eyes well up. “Rett…”
Jesus fucking Christ. I’ve said way too much already.
Leaning down, I press my mouth to hers. “Everything will be okay,” I lie. One more fucking lie, why the hell not? “You’ll see.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Gigi
“So Jarett is here a lot, huh?” Merc asks me casually a few days later, pretending to be totally engrossed in something on his phone, sipping his steaming coffee at the kitchen table.
I shrug. “Maybe?”
He looks up, puts his mug down. “There’s no maybe, sis. I’m not deaf, but I’m getting there after jacking the music volume to the max not to hear you two going at it every night.”
“Oops.” Heat seeps into my face. “Sorry?”
“It’s fine, you little shit. You know it is. I just want you happy. And out of the house before I lose my hearing.”
“I knew you getting all sappy on me wouldn’t last.” I hide my blush behind my own mug, my favorite, a red one with a teddy bear that Octavia gave me when I was little. “Speak your mind or forever hold your peace.”
“Wow, that was random.” He rakes his fingers through his short blond hair. “Are you guys an item now? That was my question.”
“That’s not what you said.”
He cocks a brow at me. “So? Are you? No reason to be shy. You know I approve.”
“You do?” My eyes bug out.
He frowns. “Why are you so shocked? He seems okay. And you like him a lot, so…”
“I do.” I gather my knees to my chest and give him a curious look. “I like him a lot, but I thought…”
“You thought what?”
“That you wouldn’t approve of him.”
“Why the hell not?”
“Well, for starters, he doesn’t talk all that much. And he bangs your sister.” I crack a smile at Merc. “I thought, you know… that you might be unhappy about that.”
“I’m not a caveman, like the one our sister married.”
I grab a bread crumb and throw it at him. “Go away. You love the caveman our sister married.”
“He’s a great guy. But that doesn’t mean I’ll hit any guy you bring home over the head with my club.”