“Mom, it’s fine. Kylo got me out of the way, and then the brothers burst into the room. It was a tiny situation, and one that won’t happen again.”

Lucy whimpered.

“Jesus, Zion, look what you’ve done. Lucy, darling, our boy is fine. You can see that.”

I heard her sniffle.

“Fucking hell, now she’s crying. You’re going to pay for this,” Gerry yelled. There was a slap, and next Zion cursed. “Comfort your mother, now.”

I listened to his soft, reassuring words to his mom. He was lucky to have people who cared so much about him. I knew I had Boom and Wendy, but I didn’t have anyone for many years of my life, and unfortunately, those years were embedded in my mind.

“Mom, really, Zion is fine. The situation was taken care of quickly, and now I must check his bandage before I go to work.”

“Okay,” Lucy whispered, but her voice rose when she added, “But if you ever put yourself in a position like that again, Zion, I’m going to beat you black and blue myself.”

“Got it, Ma.” Humor filled his voice.

“I love you, Zion.”

“And I take that love and double it back to you.”

The room fell silent. After a few beats, the pantry door opened, and a grinning Gerry stood there. “They’re in Zion’s room. If you rush, you can make it to the spare room. Must be uncomfortable in there.”

I nodded. “It is.” After my thanks, I quietly made my way out of there and down the hall to Lucas’s old room. There was a bed made and ready for someone, and a desk, but that was it for the room. I quickly slipped under the covers and rested back with my hands behind my head. Since it was early and I’d only got a few hours of sleep, it didn’t take long before my eyes drifted closed.

Yet, I was smiling as I fell asleep.

I was smiling because of the fool in his bedroom with his brother.

He was crazy and had managed to worm his way in, to a point I found his actions sweet. It was unbelievable he’d never been with a guy because he did it with me so well.

It blew my mind he’d said we were together in front of his parents, which told me how damn serious he was. He would have brushed my appearance away otherwise, especially to them.

My stomach couldn’t help but flip in the best kind of way. Hell, it was doing it all the damn time whenever I thought of Zion.

He was real. No, he was being real about seeing where this went. I still couldn’t fathom his switch, but I wanted to see where this went. Even if he found out, in the end, this wasn’t for him, being with a guy, and left me with a broken heart. I wanted it all because Zion made me happy.