Page 123 of The Other Side of Green

“It doesn’t matter. I’m here now, and maybe I’ve been here all along waiting for Lyra. I think I probably have.” His gaze held Luca’s steadily, making the situation between us damn clear.

“But you are still her tutor?”

“I’m a teaching aide, not a damn professor.”

“But you could still get her in major trouble?” Luca countered and I wanted to kick him in the goddamn balls.

Jack focused on the ground and then slowly rose his gaze to mine. He nodded, throat bobbing.

“Jack, I love you. I said I’d leave with you once, nothing changes that.” I reached for his hand and squeezed his fingers hard.

“Some things will.”

I shook my head resolute. They could say anything, do anything. I’d take any price.

“I’m sensing a clanger in this happy ever after.” Luca arched his eyebrows and I wondered for the billionth time just why his face was so punchable. Oh, because he was a dick.

A car came down the road cutting short any more revelations Jack was about to make. Fine, I’d let him hold onto his secrets for a while longer. Then he was telling me everything, whether he wanted to or not.

He turned, a smile on his lips. “I have to say, Lyra, I really hope that bit of shit isn’t your father?”

“You think?”

“When he gets a whiff of how famous you could be, he will stick like a leech.”

Luca smacked himself on the forehead—not quite hard enough for my liking. “That reminds me, and part of the reason for me flying in.”

“You flew?”

“Lyra, New Orleans to Boston is a bitch of a trip. I love you, but I’m not driving that every time we have a family crisis. When I got out from questioning and being held up as a model citizen for protecting a vulnerable woman in her own home, there was a voicemail waiting for me, well two. One was that bat shit crazy Patience wanting to check you’d looked in a box.” He frowned. “What box? And also, one from some man saying he was Grams’ attorney.” His face probably mirrored mine.

“Attorney?” I asked, but that’s all I got to say because the car doors slammed and we were rejoined by Rhian and a slightly scared looking Simon. I was guessing he’d experienced the sharp edge of her tongue judging by the paleness of his skin. I chuckled and went to hook my arm through hers. “Please always be my friend.”

“You bet it, Little Miss Green.”

“Stop calling me that,” I suggested optimistically.

“Never so long as you are the color of freshly printed hard cash.

I turned to Simon and Evan who were muttering together, gesturing at Simon’s cell. “What’s the plan?”

Evan’s smile spread wide and confident. “Time to make you into what you should be.”

“Yeah?” I laughed, slightly off key. “What’s that?”

“A goddamn star.”

Alex passed me my violin which he’d beautifully tuned. “Lyra, this thing is almost falling apart.”

“And your point would be what?” I dabbed at my brow. It might be fricking freezing but the buzz from the gathering crowd, plus the impromptu set Evan was putting together had bought me out in what Grams would call an ‘unladylike glow’. Nothing glowed about it, curls stuck to the back of my neck like velcro.

A small crowd had turned up at opening time. Evan, ever the showman, had given them a sob story about the bar closing. Alex and Eva must have sent the word out to students on campus because a load turned up about four songs in.

I just tried to forget the fact that they were there to watch me sing. Blocked the thought in the back of my mind that they might be waiting for me to fail. I mean why would they? Why did I always think people would be negative toward me?

I knew why. Mom. Being ridiculed or worse ignored, for being a blip in a rainbow of narcotic happiness could do that.

But she wasn’t here.