“Ah, baby, if you only knew, you would be hysterical with laughter, trust me.” Leaning forward, I touched my lips to her forehead before pulling back enough to sign. “I completely believe that Chance said that. But I doubt it was in the same context as you think it was.”
Her brow scrunched up. “How could it mean anything but exactly that? He doesn’t think we should be together. None of your family does.”
“Believe me when I say that Chance wasn’t worried about me when he said what he did. He hates me, and the feeling is mutual for the most part,” I told her truthfully. “We’ve never gotten along. There hasn’t been a single time we’ve been in the same room and not argued or even gone at each other’s throats. Our moms say it’s because we’re too much alike.” I shrugged. “Don’t tell them this, but I think they’re right. There isn’t really a reason for us not to get along. We grew up in houses side by side. I love him, but I hate him. If I’m in a jam, there really aren’t many other people I would want to have my back. But I swear to you, on my mother’s life—and I don’t take that shit lightly, treasure—Chance was most likely looking out for you and not me.”
Her expression turned skeptical. “You’re trying to tell me that he thinks we have no business being together because you’re not good enough for me?” I nodded emphatically, but she pushed at my shoulders angrily. “No. I don’t believe that for a second. That is ridiculous. I don’t care how much you two dislike each other, there is no way that guy was worried for me.”
Frustrated that she didn’t believe me, I scrubbed my hands over my face. “What do you need me to do to prove it to you, babe?” I asked when I looked at her again. “Do you want me to find the little asshole and make him confirm what I’m saying is the truth?”
Her plump lips pressed into a hard line, her eyes narrowing on me angrily.
“I will if that’s what you need.” Fuck, I’d beat the shit out of him and then throw him at her feet—before I made him tell her that was exactly what he meant when he was running his mouth.
“Fine,” she signed, rolling her eyes. “Maybe that was what your cousin meant. But what about your sisters? They obviously didn’t think I was good enough. They tried to confront me, but Nova stopped them.”
“What did they say?” I couldn’t help growling the words as I signed them for her. I loved my sisters, but if whatever they’d said or done caused me to lose my treasure, I would never forgive either of them.
“I don’t know!” She glanced down at her hands for a moment before continuing. “I wasn’t brave enough to stick around to find out what they thought of me. But with the way Nova was reacting to whatever Lexa and Tavia were saying, she wasn’t happy.”
Cursing, I pulled my phone out of my pants pocket. I could have called either of my sisters, but I knew if I spoke to either of them and they admitted to doing something to hurt my girl, I would end up saying something I couldn’t take back. Hitting connect on Nova’s name, I waited.
Two rings later and I heard her voice. “Is Delaney okay?”
“What did Lexa and Tavia say or do to make her think either of them doesn’t like her?” I demanded.
There was a short pause on her end before she snickered. “Okay, I’m sorry. That’s insane. Neither one of them even came close to doing something like that.” I heard a deep voice in the background, and Nova’s voice became slightly muffled as she spoke to Ryan. “Well, I mean… Yeah, okay, you’re right.”
“What?” I barked.
“It’s just that the way Lexa and Tavia came up on us, I guess it could have scared Delaney. They had that fierce look on their faces, and now that I think about it, I realize those two can be beyond intimidating if you don’t know them.” She sighed. “Which Delaney doesn’t.”
“Just tell me everything that happened, Nova.”
“We were sitting there eating, and those two came up to us. I jumped up and told them both not to overwhelm Delaney,” she explained. “They were so excited that you found a girl you care about enough to bring to a family event, and they were really animated. I swear, they didn’t say anything that would make her think they didn’t like her. If anything, it would have been the opposite. But of course, she couldn’t hear any of that. Ryan said while I was trying to contain Lexa and Tavia, that Reid, Elias, and Chance spoke to her. Chance, of course, started running his mouth while Reid was talking to her, and Reid started slapping Chance around.” She made a pained sound. “Ugh, I’m sorry. I should have taken better care of her.”
“No,” I cut in. “I should have been there to take care of her myself. Maybe then she wouldn’t be trying to fucking leave me right now.”
“Do you want me to come speak to her?” Nova offered.
I looked up at Delaney, who was watching me intently, her eyes glued to my mouth. “No,” I turned my head and spoke into the phone, keeping Delaney from seeing my lips as they moved. “I’ll get this straightened out. But make Aunt Gracie understand that if Delaney shows up at the shelter, she needs to tell her they don’t have any beds available.”
Nova gasped. “Max! No. I won’t do it. If Delaney leaves, then she needs somewhere she will feel safe. Right now, it’s obvious she doesn’t trust any of us. I won’t be a part of taking that option away from her.”
“Fine,” I muttered, fighting back a round of curses. “I’ll call Jack and tell him.”
“Stop it, Max,” Nova hissed. “Do you want her to trust you or not? Because if I were her, I definitely wouldn’t at the moment. This is not how you keep people you care about. You’re supposed to be open and honest. And if they don’t want to be around you because they’re hurt or angry, you let them have a moment—or a freaking week—to themselves if that’s what they need.”
She was right, but that didn’t mean I wouldn’t make it harder for my treasure to leave me. I wasn’t known for playing fair, and I sure as fuck wouldn’t change now when I was fighting to keep the one person I knew I couldn’t live without.
“Have fun in New York, Nova,” I told her. “See you at the end of the summer.”
“Asshole,” I heard her grumble before I ended the call.
Instead of calling my cousin Jack, I texted him. Before I even had time to look back at Delaney, I got a confirmation from him that he would take care of it should the situation arise.
Pocketing my phone, I turned my gaze on my girl, only to find her beautiful face had completely shut down. I couldn’t read anything she was feeling in her eyes, her normally expressive face closed off. I knew she couldn’t have heard what I’d just told Nova, and my mouth had been covered so she couldn’t read my lips. I’d kept the screen of my phone out of her line of vision, so I knew she didn’t read the text I’d sent to my cousin or his reply.
“Baby, what’s wrong?”
She pushed me back and got to her feet. “I think I’ll take my chances at the shelter after all.”
“Fuck!” I bellowed, and I was thankful she couldn’t hear me because I probably would have scared her.