“You have enough to handle right now.” She raises an eyebrow. Ah, reminding me how my club duties have expanded exponentially lately is a good move on her part. It won’t stop me from doing what needs to be done but it’s a solid play.

“You’re safe with me, Lilly. You know that, right?”

“And I want you to be safe with me.” She bites her lip. “I can’t be the cause of any trouble for you. I’ve already—”

“Don’t.” I glance around the living room. A few taped-up boxes are stacked by the dining table. “Is that all you’re taking down to the house?”

The change in conversation seems to startle her at first. “You said it’s furnished, right?”

“You might want to buy some new sheets and stuff, but yeah.”

She chuckles. “I can do that.” She glances over at the boxes again. “That’s all I need for right now. I told you most of my stuff is still out in California.”

“I might be able to sneak away in a couple weeks to go help you pack up and move back.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yup.”

“Okay. I’d like that.” She takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. “What did you tell my brother? About why Chance needed to stay over?”

“That I wasn’t sure how late we’d be.” Even though I’m not feeling it at the moment, I give her a cocky smirk to lighten the mood. “I didn’t say it was for a fuckfest or anything.”

The wise-ass comment has the intended effect. She chuckles softly. “God, I hope not.”

Maybe it’s stupid, but I’m still curious about her relationship with Ted and her life in California. I’m cautious not to tread on territory that will upset her, though. “What happened…” I’m not sure how to say it. “After?”

She lets out a long sigh and pushes her hair behind her ear. “I was in the hospital for a while. After the way I left my job and dropped everything, I had no insurance so I racked up quite a bit of debt. Ted helped me get a job. Helped me work out something with the hospital. Somehow, we started spending a lot of time together. I felt comfortable around him. He didn’t hit on me or want to date me. I figured out why later.” She laughs softly.

And there goes my last remaining bits of jealousy over Ted. He helped her at the worst time in her life. It should’ve been me by her side. But I’m glad she wasn’t completely alone. “Guess I shoulda been nicer to the poor guy, huh?”

“I warned you.”