Rushing the Goal (Assassins #8)(49)

“Hey, Hart, what’s up?” he asked, fist-bumping her before she opened the door enough for him to come in.

“We’re homeless. My grandma is gutting her house, so we’re staying with my uncle and aunt till our apartment is fixed,” she said happily as she shut the door and skipped up beside him. “What are you doing here? You homeless too?”

He laughed. “Nope, came to drop your mom’s bag off. She left it at my house.”

“Aw! She got to come play with you?”

Oh, kid. You have no idea.

Swallowing hard, he smiled. “She’s gonna design my house.”

“Supercool! My mom is the best, isn’t she, Aunt Baylor?”

He looked to the left to see Baylor sitting in a chair, her leg propped up. “She is. Hey, Benji.”

“Hey, didn’t see you there. How are you feeling?”

“Okay, today. Thanks for asking,” she said as Jayden came into the room, scooping Angie up and putting her on his shoulders.

“Hey, BP. Lucy’s in the shower,” Jayden said, but Angie smacked his head.

“She’s been out like for twenty minutes. Mammaaaaaaaaaaa,” she yelled, and Benji met Jayden’s sheepish gaze.

“Told you she was in a shitty mood,” Jayden said simply and Benji grinned. “She told me to lie.”

“It’s fine. I’ll be—” But he didn’t get to finish his sentence because as she came out of the back room, Lucy’s eyes met his and he was rendered speechless. Completely speechless. Her hair was wet, falling down her shoulders onto a white tee that was short in the front but long in the back, showing a bit of her belly. The same belly he had spent most of his time admiring last night. Her jeans were all but painted on and she had no shoes on. She looked exactly like what he imagined he would come back to after a long road trip.

She looked like home.

As his heart went wild, she moved her fingers through her hair, pulling it up into a wet bun. Looking over at Angie, she smiled. “Yeah, baby?”

“Benji is here. He has your bag.”

Still not looking at him, she nodded. “Oh, wow, thanks for bringing that over. You didn’t have to do that.”

He willed her to look at him as she came toward him, reaching for it. But when she didn’t look up, he held it tighter. “It’s no problem. Wanted to check in with you.”

She held the bag, pulled it once, and then pursed her lips. Letting out a sigh, she finally looked up. Just like that, everything stopped.

Did she feel that too?

Swallowing hard, he smiled as she blinked vacantly up at him. “Hey, Lucy.”

“Hey,” she said faintly, sucking in a big breath.

“Everything is in there,” he said, his brows waggling at her, and her face deepened with color.

“Thanks,” she said shyly, looking away as he let go of the bag. She set it on top of the couch and then crossed her arms. Looking around the room at her daughter, her brother, and his wife, she nodded as she cleared her throat. Not meeting his gaze, she tucked her hands into her pockets.

The silence made him nervous and everyone was staring at him, so he blurted out, “I tried to get your number from Jayden, but he told me you’d get mad.”

She blinked at him. “He’s dumb and was dropped on his head a million times as a baby,” she said quickly and Jayden protested.

“I was not!”

“Yes, you were. I dropped you,” she seethed back at him and Benji’s eyes widened.

“You did not!”

“Ask Mom. Why do you think one eye is lazy?” she shot back and he glared.

“Don’t listen to them, Benji. They are always like this,” Baylor said with a laugh and Benji smiled.

“Yeah, she’s always mean,” Jayden spat at her and she glared.

“My grandma says that if they didn’t fight, they wouldn’t talk. But I heard Jayden whisper he loved my mom a lot, more than everyone else, to my aunt Baylor,” Angie said sweetly, hugging Jayden tightly.

“I lied,” he protested and Lucy growled at him before turning back to Benji. Her hands were shaking, and the nerves were coming off her in waves. Why was she nervous? Did she think he’d out them?

“Anyway, I’ll get with you about your house later. I think Jayden told you about my current shop status. I should know more tomorrow, and I’ll make sure my assistant gets back with you. So, yeah, bye. Thanks for stopping by and dropping that off. You shouldn’t have.”

Oh, so she was trying to blow him off?

“Jeez, Lucy, he can come in for a drink or something,” Baylor teased and Lucy’s eyes flashed with anger. “Or he can leave,” she laughed and Jayden’s brows rose.

Looking to Benji, he said, “What in the world? He’s my friend, not yours. Wanna come in, bud? I’m getting them settled, but you can sit with Limpy over there until I’m done.”

“I just yelled an expletive at you in my head,” Baylor said and he grinned.

“I do that a lot,” Lucy muttered, and Benji laughed.

These people were crazy.

Grinning at only Lucy, he shook his head. “Actually, I need to talk to your sister.”

Jayden’s brow rose again as he looked around. “Oh, go ahead.”