Lola & the Millionaires: Part One (Sweet Omegaverse #2)(67)

Not a very good idea after all, I thought.





Twenty-One





Lola





I kept my face buried in the pillow long after waking. I had a slight pinching headache from drinking more than usual the night before. Mostly though, I had a serious case of ‘never going to look anyone in the eye again’ for how the dinner party the night before had ended.

A warm hand stroked up my back beneath my t-shirt, the bed sinking under added weight.

“So are we hiding in here all day?” Rake asked, curling up against my back.

I was in Leo’s room, sprawled out on his mattress. I’d felt Leo get up out of the bed earlier in the morning, but I’d been pretty determined to be ignored. Not that I could reasonably expect Leo to let me just waste away in his bed for days on end.

I rolled over and winced at the sun. Rake pulled a pillow from the pile behind my head to lay over my eyes.

“I should go back to my apartment,” I said.

“Hey. No. I’m not here to drag you out of bed, okay? I just wanted to see what was on the agenda for the day. You want something for your stomach, or coffee for your head?”

I swallowed hard. “I want everyone to stop feeling like they have to see if I’m okay all the time.”

Rake was quiet for a moment. “Really? Because this seems like a pity party. And those usually like a bit of extra coddling.”

Fuck. I threw the pillow off my head and sat up, trying to ignore the pound in my head and the wobbling churn of my stomach. I glared down at a smirking Rake, and a moment later my lips twitched in answer. Sneaky omega had called me out. And he was right too.

“Okay, fair,” I said with a slight nod.

“So ginger ale or coffee?”

“Both. I’m gonna go brush my teeth eight times in a row.”

“Want me to bring it up to you?”

“No, I’ll come down. I want to apologize to everyone,” I said, moving slow and careful to the edge of the bed.

“Lola, that didn’t call for an apology!”

I waved my hand back at Rake as I jogged for the shower. I loved Leo’s shower, a deep blue tiled corner of his bathroom with a waterfall shower head and more thick glass tiling for the wall to let light in. I grabbed the spare toothbrush I’d been using while I spent the night and stripped quickly, turning the water on just shy of scalding before stepping under the spray. I’d gotten more used to having Rake’s scent on me, but I went ahead and used the scent cancelling products Leo had in the shower for me. Rake didn’t seem offended when I did, and they helped clear my head when I was feeling shaky.

I wrapped a towel around myself and stepped out of the shower to find Leo sitting on his sink counter waiting for me, a can of soda in one hand and a mug of coffee in the other.

I opened my mouth, and he shook his head. “Don’t do it, gorgeous.”

“You don’t even know what I was going to say!”

“Yes I do,” Leo said, arching an eyebrow.

I swallowed hard and crossed to him, stepping in between his open legs and letting him pull me to his chest, my chin resting on his shoulder. “But Carolyn… I should explain.”

“Matt took Carolyn back to her place last night, and no, you really don’t need to do that. Carolyn was trying to antagonize Rake or Matthieu, or…I dunno. She didn’t realize what she was stepping into, and I’m sure if she were here she’d want to apologize to you too. So just let it go.”

“All right.”

“All right. Now, everybody wants to see that you’re okay for themselves, and Wes went and got groceries first thing this morning, including those seasoned potatoes you’re weird about—”

“Potatoes are a vital corner of the food pyramid,” I said, leaning back to defend my spuds.

Leo grinned and shook his head. “They don’t have their own corner, Lola.”

I reached up between us and made a triangle with my forefingers and thumbs. “The three main food groups are noodles, pizza, and potatoes. The chunk in the middle is your baked goods.”

Leo leaned back with his loud laugh. “I’d be really worried about you if I hadn’t seen you eating asparagus like it was going out of style last night.”

“I’m an equal opportunity eater. And you’re a really good cook. Now let me finish getting dressed. I need to chug this ginger ale and belch in private.”

“That’s my girl,” Leo murmured, pecking my lips and then sliding away and out of the room.

I sighed and stretched as the door shut behind him. Keep it together, I thought, staring at my own reflection. For Leo, Rake, and the pack, if not myself. I could crack when I was alone like this, but I was sick of making Leo patch me up when I was wobbling.

When I made it downstairs, dressed in a t-shirt dress and my hair a wet mess on the top of my head, I found that Caleb had brought up the flower arrangements from dinner. Wes and Leo were at the stove, and I moaned at the perfect morning smells of grease and meat and good rye bread.

“Hey there, sunshine,” Cyrus said from the counter, beaming at me and holding out his arm.

I hesitated for a moment and then tiptoed forward, accepting the half hug, his dizzy scent bringing back the bright, happy buzz I’d had the night before without the same queasiness. He released me quickly, but warmth prickled over my skin. Caleb passed behind me, his hand touching my shoulder briefly as he leaned around me and left another ginger ale fizzing in a glass in front of me, along with a plate holding two crispy strips of bacon.