He squeezes his hazel eyes closed and shakes his head, dragging one of his hands through his shaggy dark hair. “You know better than I do that she’s already changed her number.”

I nod my head in acknowledgment and swallow hard, nearly choking on a piece of my doughnut. “Did you try to call her before she changed her number?”

“No. What the fuck would I say?”

“Sorry is a good start.”

He snorts. “Sorry doesn’t even begin to cover what I did to her, Kylie.” Sitting upright, he checks his watch before giving me a pointed look. “DMV opens in twenty minutes. Let’s not bullshit, so we don’t have to stick around there all day.”

“I didn’t ask you to take me,” I say in a heated voice as I pull up Heidi’s number on my iPhone.

She answers drowsily on the third ring. “Ah, shit.” She yawns, and I hear her roll over in her bed. “I worked late and forgot to set my alarm.”

“It’s okay! Lucas is here to take me to get my new license, but I’ll stop by your place tonight or something.”

My best friend is quiet for several seconds, and I imagine she’s just as stunned as I am about my brother showing up at my apartment. “Um, okay. Let me know how that one goes.”

I glimpse over at Lucas as he’s rubbing the pads of his thumbs against his temples in frustration. “It should be interesting.” After I promise Heidi that I’ll call her the moment I’m done taking care of my personal business today, I end the call.

Lucas stands up, taking his car key out of his pocket. “You done?” His voice is sardonic.

I hold back a sharp reply as I nod and close the doughnut box. “I’m ready.” As he heads to the front door, I grab my folder of paperwork from my desk and start to join him, but then I stop. I glance down at my ring finger, which has started to scab. There’s no point in me going to the DMV just to get another license that says Kylie Martin. “Hey, Lucas?” I call out.

“Yeah?”

“How long does it take to do a name change on your social security card? Is it right away?”

Even from the other room, I can hear him make a frustrated noise. “Google is your friend. Look it up yourself.” Even though he can’t see me, I glare daggers in his general direction, literally biting my tongue, as I sit behind the desk and open my laptop.

After a few minutes of research, I discover that getting a new social security card will take several days. Since I obviously can’t wait for a new license, I make myself a note, so I’ll remember to take care of the name change another day. The sooner, the better.

***

Instead of using the parking garage, Lucas has left his car on the curb, and I lift an eyebrow as we walk down the steps toward the brand new Audi. This is the first time I’ve seen it. I didn’t even realize he had bought a new car.

“Sam get you a gift with your money?” I ask.

He narrows his hazel eyes into dangerous slits. “Kylie, I swear to God—”

I climb into my seat, cutting off his threat by slamming my door. As I wait for him to get inside the car, I turn toward the driver’s seat. He’s still glaring at me when he closes his door and presses his fingertip on the push start.

“Maybe this was a bad idea,” he growls, but I shake my head. The more I think about it, Lucas randomly picking me up is a very good thing.

“No, this talk has been a long time coming. I can’t believe I waited so long before saying something, but I am now.”

In typical Lucas fashion, he automatically gets defensive. “You want to talk about Wyatt then? Since we’re sharing our feelings.”

I press my lips into a thin line. Of course, I don’t want to talk about Wyatt. It hurts like hell to even think about that man, but I know it’s something that I’ll eventually have to acknowledge. Just because he lied to me doesn’t change the fact that I still love him. Just because I walked away from him doesn’t change the fact that I’ll have to see him again when I’m working.

“Ask away,” I tell my brother, squaring my shoulders.

He pulls the Audi into traffic. “Alright. What happened?”

“Why would you assume something did?”

He gives me a hard stare. “Because he called me and wanted to know if you were okay. Apparently, I’m the go-to guy on all things Kylie Wolfe.”

My chest tightens as I run my fingers through my hair nervously. “And?”

“I lied. I told him I saw you yesterday morning, and you were the happiest I’ve ever seen you.”

For what seems like an eternity, we sit in traffic, completely silent. Once I digest what Lucas has just told me, I clear my throat. “I’m not sure if I should say thank you or be irritated.”

“Irritated because I finally stepped in and tried to do something to stop you two from hurting each other?”

“Yeah, irritated that after eight years, you’re just now showing an interest in your kid sister’s personal life.”

“You don’t think I give a shit about what’s happening with you? You’re my sister. Don’t ever think for one second that I don’t love you, you got me?” When I nod, he adds, “I just want you to be happy.”

My throat constricts, and I clench my fists. “Thanks, Lucas.” My voice is hoarse, and he turns his head slightly, giving me a sad smile, as he touches my shoulder. “I love you, too,” I say.

Even though I want nothing more right now than to stay with him in the car and talk to him about Samantha, he pulls the Audi into the DMV lot, parking the car in the farthest spot from the entrance.

“Lucas,” I say before I get out. He cocks one of his thick eyebrows. “When I’m done in here, we’re going to talk about you.”

He doesn’t move or say anything, but he doesn’t have to. I know that I’ll be able to get something out of him even if it’s not the absolute truth.

***

Since I have all the documents I need to get a new license, the whole process from start to finish takes less than an hour, which is like a miracle for the DMV. My brother looks surprised when I slide into the Audi.

He tucks his phone back into his pocket. “Let me guess, you’re missing shit?” he demands. I shake my head and flip open my wallet to show him my new card. He moves his head from side to side incredulously as he starts the car. “And I can bet money when I have to come in and get my renewal, it’ll take me all day long.”

During the short drive back to my apartment, I think of several different ways to approach the subject of Sam with Lucas. It’s so ridiculously easy to ruin my brother’s mood that I want to approach it carefully.

Then, I look at him. I study the way his shoulders sag and how his hazel eyes just seem tired. And I realize that there’s no way in hell I can ruin his day any worse than he already has.

“We’re a fucked-up pair,” I say quietly after he parks near the curb.

He releases a strangled laugh. “Yeah, we are.” He leans his head back against his headrest, inhaling and exhaling deeply. “I wanted to make things work with her so fucking bad,” he says, referring to Sienna.

I nod. “You still can, but you’re going to have to let go of whatever it is Sam’s got on you. You know that, don’t you?”

“It’s not that fucking simple.”

“Then, let me help you. Tell me what she has on you, so we can figure it out together,” I plead. He shakes his head, refusing me. “I promise I’m not going to stop loving you.” When he doesn’t reply as he stares straight ahead through the windshield, my chest clenches. “Lucas, it’s not something that will make me stop loving you,” I say again, but this time, it sounds more like a question than a statement.

He’s quiet for much longer than necessary, and when he answers me, my heart aches so much more for him. “No, it’s not, but only because it’s not in you to stop loving someone.”

Chapter Eighteen

For the next week, Wyatt calls my cell phone twice a day, once in the afternoon and then again at night. He doesn’t leave messages, and he doesn’t send texts. I’m sure he knows that I’m purposely missing his calls every time I send him straight to voice mail. It’s so hard to do that to him because each time I hit the top button on my iPhone to ignore the call, it feels like a hole is being burned into my chest.