Pink filled her cheeks and she bit her lip. “G-goodnight Drake,” she whispered and slipped out of the Escalade. I waited until she was out of sight before getting out. I needed the time to calm my racing heart and aching body.

When I entered the house, Shane had gone out—not that it was a big surprise. I shuddered a little at the possible places my little brother could have been tonight. The bottle might have been my crutch, but Shane’s addiction was worse in my book. His constant need to have sex—the orgies, the sex clubs—was going to kill him long before the bottle pickled my liver. Emmie insisted that we all get tested regularly, mostly because of Shane.

Jesse and Nik were sprawled out on the sectional with beers in their hands, and Emmie snuggled up to Nik. It had taken me a little while to get used to the sight of Emmie with Nik. It wasn’t that I didn’t like the idea of them together. It was just hard to see her as anything other than our sweet little Emmie. Now, I was forced to see her for what she was. A sexy woman who was serious with one of my scumbag band brothers.

Her belly was peeking out of her Demon’s Wings shirt, and I cringed at the thought of the little spawn growing inside of her. That little demon child made my Emmie evil at times. When she saw me, her big green eyes lit up and Nik helped her stand. She wrapped her arms around me and wanted to know all about my night out, but I wasn’t ready to tell her about it. For now, I wanted to keep the time I had spent with Lana locked inside, holding onto it for as long as I could before I shared it with Emmie. I hated to admit it but I was probably the least closest with Emmie and it was my fault.

I loved her and would lay down my life for her, but because of what had happened all those years ago, I held a part of myself back, even from her…

Shopping with Lana and Lucy was fun. I was enjoying watching Lana try on clothes that looked as if they were made just for her.

The fun ended when I bought all the clothes that Lana tried on and a couple pair of shoes. She exploded on me and became the fierce little bitch that lurked under the surface of all her angelic beauty. I refused to let my body respond to the sight of how incredibly sexy she looked spitting mad. Instead, I got mad too.

Lana stormed out of the exclusive boutique while I finished paying for the clothes and accessories. Lucy sighed and shook her head but helped me carry the bags to the Escalade. We gave each other the silent treatment while shopping for Lucy.

When I pulled into the driveway a few hours later, Lana jumped out without so much as a word. I followed behind her, and Lucy, weighed down with all the bags from the shopping expedition, walked at a slower pace. Layla met us at the door. Lucy was already talking a mile a minute about the day.

The bedroom door slammed shut just as I entered the guest house, and I glared at the closed door. Even though I was steaming mad, I still wanted to be close to her. And now that stubborn little brat—really she was a bitch sometimes!—hadn’t even let me tell her goodnight.

“Lucy, go watch some cartoons,” Layla told the still bubbling Lucy. “You can tell me all about your day later. I promise.”

“Okay.” Lucy sighed. “Don’t yell at Drake. It isn’t his fault that Lana is so rotten.”

I dropped the bags on the floor. “How was your day?” Layla asked, and I heard the amusement in her voice.

I turned my glare from the closed door to Layla. There was a ghost of a smile on her face. “Your sister is so stubborn,” I told her.

Her lips twitched into a full blown grin. “I’m sure it wasn’t that bad.”

“She didn’t want me to buy her anything. Nothing! Not one little thing. Then, when I bought them anyway, she stormed out of the store and left me there with poor little Lucy. She refused to speak to me the rest of the afternoon…” I broke off, running a hand through my hair and pulling on the ends. I probably looked demented or something, but that was the way I felt right then. “She makes me f…” I stopped before the curse word left my lips and corrected myself. “Freaking bonkers!”

“Give her a little while. She won’t stay mad forever.” Layla assured me with an encouraging smile. “Lana’s the type of girl that doesn’t want material things. She learned the hard way that people trying to buy her affections doesn’t exactly mean that they care about her.”

My heart clenched at her words. Lana had told me a little about her childhood, but like me, she had mostly evaded the subject. The last thing I wanted to do was treat her like some douche bag from her past.

“She would rather you stop and pick her a flower beside the road than buy her one from the flower shop.”

“I wasn’t…I just wanted…” I raked a hand through my hair again, stopping the flow of words that didn’t make sense. I guess I had really fucked up, and I felt a little nauseated that I had hurt Lana, even if it was unintentional. “I’ll call her later,” I muttered.

I couldn’t sleep that night. All I wanted to do was text Lana, but I knew she needed a little while to calm down. To keep myself from picking up my phone, I swallowed a fifth of Jack and let the numbness take me off to nightmare land for the night. I woke at dawn in a pool of sweat and rising bile in the back of my throat.

When I had my shit together, I forced down some breakfast and finally pulled out my phone. My fingers didn’t hesitate as they raced over the keys.

I’m sorry.

I didn’t do that often. There wasn’t much I felt I should apologize for, but I knew I had been wrong this time. I should have listened to her when she said she didn’t want me to buy her anything.

A full minute went by before my phone buzzed. I glanced down to see the message across the screen and felt the tightness around my heart ease.

I’m sorry, too! I was a bitch.

My hands hovered over the keys. Can I come over?

I was hoping you would.

I tossed my cereal bowl in the sink. It took me exactly two minutes to get through the house, cross the patio and small yard, and knock on the front door of the guesthouse. My knuckles barely touched the door before it opened and Lana was throwing herself into my arms. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

Wrapping my arms around her small waist, I held her tight for a moment and breathed in the sweet scent of her shampoo and the lotion she always seemed to be putting on. Lana didn’t do perfume. Her fingers combed through my hair, and I closed my eyes tight, basking in the peaceful feeling of having her in my arms for the first time.