Everything I want: Will Alfie and Lily's love survive?... Read Online Free Page A

he’d tell her that she had nothing to fear with our relationship, but if he did that, I knew he’d also tell her not to mess with it because she’d only get hurt.
    By the time Jack came back, he looked way more relaxed than when he went to the men’s room. “Okay, Lily, dance time.”
    I looked puzzled. “What about Rosie?” I wondered what he was doing and raised one eye brow.
    He looked over at the bar where she was standing. “What about her? If she can’t deal with us, then it’s best we figure that out now, don’t you t hink?”
    I shook my head. “Jack, that isn’t fair to her; you need to consider her feelings too.”
    Jack twisted his mouth, and sighed heavily. “Well, I was thinking about that.” He stared into my eyes. “What do we do? Do we hide how we feel about each other, so that someone else can be happy? What if that made me unhappy? What if I couldn’t ever be spontaneous around you? Or you, with me? Would you be happy with that?” I thought about what he was saying and realized that I had been upfront with Alfie about Jack.
    My thoughts were that Alfie had to deal with our friendship. It wasn’t even an option that I would cut my affection for Jack out of the equa tion.
    I understood how he felt, but it had to be Jack’s choice. I wasn’t going to ruin his happiness so that we could continue to flirt and cuddle. “Let’s put our other flower to the test. Either way, we’ll both know where we stand,” Jack said. It didn’t feel right to me to put Rosie in this situation, but Jack wasn’t giving me a way past this.
    He pulled me onto the dance floor and began dancing with me, his hands on my hips as we swayed to the music. His eyes flicked over to her. “Good sign, she’s not got her gun out yet.” He wi nked.
    I giggled. “You’re a bad man, Jack.”
    He snickered. “Not bad ass enough for you though, eh? I mean, I don’t have a bejeweled dick or anything like that.”
    His smile froze on his lips. “Sorry, honey, that was out before I thought about what I was saying. Don’t let it ruin the night.” I knew that Jack was joking, but he made reference to Alfie’s genital piercing. It was an innocent flirty joke from Jack, but his choice of humor left me feeling more than a little off bal ance.
    “C’mere.” He grabbed me and tugged me into his chest, his big strong arms wrapping around my waist. I inhaled Jack’s familiar scent. It was comforting, and his breath smelled of tequila and limes, as his mouth passed over my face.
    He kissed my forehead as we swayed to the slow music. “I wish I could wipe him out of your memory, h oney.”
    I swallowed hard before answering. “Me too, Jack, but I’m doing fine now.” I smiled up at him.
    “Sorry for the…” I shook my head. “No need, Jack, I know it was a slip.” We finished dancing, and I excused myself to go to the bath room.
    Rosie and Mandy were nowhere in sight. As I went to push the restroom door, I overheard Mandy tal king.
    “You have no idea. If you love Jack, then you’ll accept Lily. She is no threat to you, except if you try to come between them. Jack loves Lily like he would love his own child, with a whole layer of his heart, honey. If you want a layer of Jack’s heart, you’ll love her too. There will be no compromise on that.”
    I heard her use the toilet. “Those two would never cross the line into a sexual relationship. It’s complex but beautiful what they have. Accept it, or walk away, Rosie. Sooner or later you’ll realize that.”
    I pushed the door open and smiled when my eyes met Mandy’s. “Hey guys, what’s happening? Did you enjoy the gig, Rosie?” I could see that she was struggling, so I quickly added, “You don’t know what it means for Jack to invite a girl. You must be very special, Rosie.” She smiled, and I knew we were alright…for now.
    Holly and Brett showed up late to the club; she had gone straight to work after my graduation ceremony. Brett kissed my cheek.