Page 93 of Trusting You
It’s also as far away from Locke as possible in this small space.
I don’t hear the door open but notice through the dark strands of my hair two lithe legs clad in denim shorts moving inside.
“Hi!” I say over the noise of the dryer. “I’ll be with you in just a sec.”
Astor says something, but I don’t hear it. I straighten, smoothing my hair with a paddle brush while I wiggle the blow dryer around my head.
Now that I’m right-side-up, I notice Astor, casual in an off-the-shoulder tee and her short hair fashionably pinned back, tipping a can of seltzer to her lips.
I flick the off switch to the dryer. “Hi,” I say again.
Astor’s gaze rakes over me. She’s leaning against the kitchen counter, a little too near for my liking, and is sizing me up like a lioness.
She and Locke really are twins.
“You look amazing,” she says.
There’s no duplicity in her tone—or meanness.
“Thank you,” I say. “I’m kind of improvising here since there’s only one bathroom and very few mirrors.”
Astor laughs. “Spoken like you’re living in a true bachelor pad. Where’s the munchkin?”
“Asleep, but she should be awake any second.”
“Excellent. I’ve missed her.”
“How come you haven’t been around?”
I ask it before thinking, or remembering, that my and Locke’s confrontation happened because of what Astor confessed to me. Had I not known and simply found a bottle of painkillers on Locke’s floor, I would’ve believed anything he said, including that it was simply leftover from his surgery.
The thought numbs.
Astor’s answering smile isn’t genuine. “Locke…keeps to himself a lot these days.”
“He’s a vault,” I agree, unplugging and wrapping the cord around the handle. Before I lose my nerve, I ask, “Anything else I should know about him?”
She wavers. I see it in the way her eyelids lower. “I think I’ve done enough, don’t you agree?”
I’m right. Astor and Locke are fighting over what she told me. “I’m sorry I’m coming between you and your brother—really, I am. But if there’s anything I need to know, for Lily’s sake, please say it. I’ll find out regardless.”
I dump my hair stuff on the counter, then fold my arms. Astor may think she’s intimidating—and she sure as hell is—but all I have to do is remember that I have to leave Lily behind, that she’ll no longer have me—and suddenly, no deadly weapon can keep me from knowing the truth, never mind another woman’s warning glare.
“My loyalty is to my brother,” Astor says. “I like you, but I don’t know you. But, I want to assure you, Lily’s safe. He’s not hiding anything on that, and I wouldn’t help him. So, anything else you want to know, you’ll have to ask him.”
I shake my head, readying to argue.
“Or ask his friends,” Astor adds, with a raised brow. She maintains her stare with me as if she’s offering a clue, as Locke makes noises behind us. He wanders into the main room, a towel slung low on his hips.
“You’re here,” he says to Astor as greeting.
“Yes, brother, I’m here, as you’ve beckoned. Now give me my niece, the real reason I’ve arrived instead of seeing your sorry face.”
“Uh-huh,” he says, using a smaller towel to rub at his face and hair. “Go get her, then. I hear some squealing going on.”
Astor claps her hands and bounces off the counter, actions I’m not used to seeing on such a composed, well-postured lady. The woman has layers, I’ll give her that.
She departs behind Locke, disappearing into the nursery.