Waiting On You (Blue Heron #3)(39)

“So she’s all this and that, right? But I just keep looking at her, she’s so hot, let me tell you, a body that would make Jesus weep, okay? And so all these guys, they’re trying to get her number or dance with her, but I just stare, and she’s all, ‘Hey, what you looking at, ass**le?’ and I’m like, ‘I’m looking at nothing,’ and she’s all pissy now, right, and—”

Mercifully, because these stories tended never to end, a banging came on the front door of the lobby, despite the fact that it was after ten.

“Isn’t that your girlfriend?” Bernard asked. “Man, you been cheating on her or something? Yikes. That, or she’s pregnant, dude.” It was Colleen, clad in a sweatshirt, jeans, flip-flops and a Yankees hat. She was crying.

Lucas ran over, punched in the code for the door, and she hurled herself into his arms, her face unrecognizable with grief.

“Mía, what happened?” he asked, holding her hard.

“I didn’t know what to do,” she sobbed. “I couldn’t talk on the phone...so I just came here, I drove all day...he...my...”

“Is it Connor? Is he okay?” Oh, God, if something happened to her twin, it would kill her. Literally, maybe.

“No,” she managed, her voice strangled. “It’s my father. He—he’s...”

“Is he hurt?” he asked, picturing Smug Pete lying in a hospital bed.

“He’s—he’s...” He heard her take a shaking breath, then another. She pulled back and wiped her eyes with the heels of her hands. “Lucas, he’s divorcing my mom! He has some whore on the side, and she’s pregnant!”

“Gail?” he asked.

Huge. Fucking. Mistake.

She blinked up at him, her face changing. “How...how do you know her name?”

He took a breath. The damage was done—time to face the music. “I saw them at the airport a while ago. He, uh...he introduced me.”

Bernard grimaced and tiptoed a safe distance away to the bank of elevators where he’d probably eavesdrop.

The innocent distress that had painted Colleen’s face a minute ago slid off, and in its place came a horrible nothingness.

She took a step away from him.

“You knew?”

Well, shit. “Yes.”

She closed her mouth. Opened it. Closed it again, then spoke. “You saw them together, and you never told me?” Her voice bounced through the huge, vacant foyer.

“I didn’t know how to break it to you.”

“So you did nothing? Let me sit there like an idiot, thinking my father was the best guy in the damn world, and he was screwing another woman the whole time?”

“Colleen—”

“What was this? A man-to-man agreement or some such shit? You didn’t think I’d want to know about this?”

“Okay, look. I should’ve said something, and I didn’t. I’m sorry.”

“Oh, you’re sorry. Well, that’s fine, then. You’ve been lying to me for—how long? How long have you known? Specifically, Lucas.”

He grimaced. “Since February.”

“Since February?” The last word was a shriek. Bernard peeked around from the elevator banks again and shrugged, male sign language for Dude, if I could help you, I would, but you’re up shit creek, man.

Colleen’s breath was coming in gasps.

“Coll, I think you should calm down.”

Again, such a dickhead thing to say.

“I should— Wow. Wow, Lucas. Months! You’ve known for months! Did it ever occur to you that if you’d said something, maybe I could’ve stopped this? Maybe I could’ve talked to him, and he would’ve seen how wrong this was, and I wouldn’t have a baby brother or sister on the way right now, did that ever occur to you?”

“Colleen, if you’d just listen—”

“I would’ve loved to have listened a few months ago. Now, not so much.”

He took a deep breath. “Look. I know how you worship that guy. Okay? And I didn’t want to say anything, since this is exactly what would happen. You’d get hysterical.”

Dickhead thing to say. He winced and tried to take her hand, but she pulled it away. Folded her arms and looked out the window, her jaw hard. “I’m going home. Don’t call me.”

“Colleen, I didn’t mean to...” Here came the part where he would beg.

“In case it’s unclear, we’re breaking up.”

Her words sucker punched him in the gut. “What?”

“You have to go to law school, my family’s imploding, and maybe we’re not the people we think we are.”

“I don’t even know what that means.”

“It means,” she barked, even as tears spurted out of her eyes, “that I thought you were the kind of person I could trust! But no, Lucas, you’ve been keeping this huge secret from me, and it’s about my family and my father, but you decided who gets to be told and who gets to stay in the dark!”

“Colleen, just—”

“I thought we were close, I thought, despite the fact that you’re struck mute half the time we’re together, that you loved me! But maybe you don’t! Maybe I’m just a habit you don’t know how to shake. Same as my father can’t shake my stupid, oblivious mother, right?”