Cheater (Curious Liaisons, #1)(85)

He paused, his face indifferent. “I figured I’d let you eat first.”

“No.” I shook my head and stared guiltily down at the food. “I mean, that’s fine—we can eat together.”

As if on cue, because the universe hated me, his cell buzzed on the counter, right next to where I was sitting.

Molly.

The food threatened to come right back up.

“Aren’t you going to answer that?” Tears filled my eyes as I pointed at the stupid phone.

“No,” he whispered. “I’m not.”

“But you will.”

“No.”

“Thorn . . .”

“Avery Bug . . .”

Stupid tears. The harder I tried to suck them in, the more they threatened to fall.

“I love you, you know.” Lucas’s words were a direct hit to my heart and my already waning sanity.

“Is it enough?” I asked, more to myself than to him.

“Damn, I sure hope so.” And then he was gone, softly shutting his bedroom door behind him.





Chapter Forty-Five


LUCAS

She was too exhausted to talk. I knew women. Nothing good ever came from a conversation with a woman when she was so mentally and emotionally exhausted that she almost fell into her pad Thai.

Which meant.

I slept like complete shit.

And eventually moved to the couch in a stupidly vain attempt to hear Avery breathe.

Yes. I wanted to hear her breathe.

I would even have welcomed a snore at this point.

I stared wide-eyed up at the ceiling.

It was Sunday—which was usually my sister’s day.

And my mom, naturally, hadn’t stopped calling about the engagement party to ask why my best friend had decided to bring his drama to such a happy occasion. When she asked how Avery was and why she had to leave, I ignored the question and told her to let us deal with everything on our own—and for once my mom respected my wishes.

I apologized and refused to answer any more phone calls.

But today was about Avery.

At eight, I woke up and made coffee.

At nine, she finally shuffled out of her room, looking the way I felt. Dark circles spread beneath her eyes, and her face was pale.

“That.” Avery pointed at the mug in my hands. Rolling my eyes, I handed the coffee over. Some things never change, no matter how angry you are with a person.

“You’re welcome,” I said in a smooth voice.

She grunted, peering over the rim of the mug with irritation.

“Sorry, I forgot, no talking in the morning.”

Avery nodded and then yawned.

“So, I figured we could go to the market today.”

Still no talking.

“To buy . . . food for tonight.”

Her eyes narrowed.

“And the rest of the week.”

Her mouth dropped open.

“I figured it could be a new thing, fresh groceries for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday—”

She held up her hand. “I know the days of the week, Thorn.”

I smirked. “I had a really good plan, you know, a really well thought-out speech.” I sighed. “But, Avery, I can’t take you seriously when you’re wearing a Star Trek T-shirt with bright pink shorts.”

She looked down; her cheeks blushed.

“Is that, uh, my shirt?” I pointed.

“Maybe . . .”

“Hmm . . .”

“What were you saying about the days of the week?”

“Why are you wearing my shirt?”

“I stole it.”

“I was saying the days of the week because I figured I should be really, really clear about my intentions. Why did you steal my shirt?”

She shrugged. “And just what are your intentions, Thorn? The shirt’s comfortable, if you must know, and it smells like jackass.” She grinned behind the mug, and I barked out a laugh.

“My intentions are bad, very bad.” I swayed toward her. “On Mondays I plan on licking my way up and down your body—you know, as an extraspecial hello. And what exactly does jackass smell like?”

“What about Tuesday?” She gulped. “A jackass smells like Lucas Thorn—they’re one and the same . . .”

“Tuesdays are naked days. No clothes allowed. Sorry, champ, but no more stealing my shirts. And thanks for the compliment about my scent.”

Avery set the coffee on the bar and crossed her arms. “What if I don’t want to be naked?”

“I voted, and you already lost. You missed the entire meeting, so you don’t get a damn say.”

She took a cautious step toward me. “Do you have plans for every day then? Is that what this is about?”

“I fixed my schedule.” I locked eyes with her. “Wrote you in on every day, with marker nonetheless—and you know how I hate crossing things out.”

“Because you’re a freak.”

“Yes.”

“Every day, you said?”

I swallowed my nervousness. “Night and day.”

“OH WOW—I get nights too? This is surprising, since nobody is normally allowed in Lucas Thorn’s bed. Gonna move me out of the guest room, are ya?”

“I made an exception,” I whispered. “And that one exception ruined me for all other days—all other women.”