Page 16 of My Three Hometown Alphas

She nods.

“Then, that’s what you are.”

“At least in your eyes,” she says, but she’s smiling again.I’ll take it.

I’m not about to tell her what else I see through my eyes when I look at her. Beauty. Intelligence. Fierceness.

And something I don’t want to look away from.

“I’m going to be more of an assistant,” she says, an almost blank expression on her face. “For a little while, at least.”

I don’t say anything because I can tell she isn’t done.

“I have an internship lined up for this fall as a legislative assistant in California,” she continues, but her tone is lacking any emotion I would assume would accompany such an achievement after years of working toward a degree.

“I can’t tell how you feel about that,” I admit.

She smiles. “Neither can I,” she says with a shrug. “Maybe I’ll figure it out this summer.”

I stare into her hopeful eyes. “I hope you do.”

CHAPTER SIX

Avery

Lyla bounds down the stairs,dressed for the day, as I’m sliding the last of our breakfast dishes in the dishwasher.

“Can you braid my hair like yours?” she asks, motioning toward the two Dutch braids I did in mine this morning before coming over.

“Sure. Go grab all the stuff from your bathroom, and I’ll do it down here,” I tell her. She turns around, darting back up the stairs.

I really didn’t know how all of this was going to go, but the past two weeks have gone surprisingly well. Lyla and I bonded right away. She’s the perfect blend of sweet and spicy, which I adore.

I was worried things would be awkward with Owen, but other than a few knowing looks exchanged here and there, things have been pretty friendly. I don’t really think that term is applicable, though, because I can vividly remember the feeling of his cock buried deep inside of me.

It’s working, though, so I’m not about to rock the boat.

There’s something different about Owen now compared to the version of him I met four years ago. Back then hewas heartbroken by his sister’s diagnosis, but now there’s a blankness in his eyes that seems to always be there.

I can’t imagine what it’s like losing a sibling, let alone your twin. I fear a part of him left this world when Olivia did. I wish there was something I could do to help him find himself again, but I don’t know if that’s even possible.

Will and Miles probably know what went down between Owen and me, or at least some version of it, but they haven’t brought it up at all. For this, I’m extremely grateful.

Lyla skids to a stop in front of me with all her hair supplies piled in her arms. I laugh, taking some of it from her.

Setting everything down on the table, she sits backwards on one of the chairs. She knows the routine after doing this more days than not lately.

While I’m running the brush through her hair, she keeps her head down. Her eyes are trained on her hands, which she’s wringing together.

I can tell there’s something she wants to talk about, but she’s nervous to bring it up. Not wanting to push her, I start sectioning off her hair in silence.

I reach the halfway point with the first braid when Lyla finally speaks up. “Your mom died when you were a kid, too. Right?”

I take a deep breath, focusing my attention on her hair. “Yeah, she did.”

“That sucks,” she says before I can add anything else.

Chuckling, I say, “Yeah, it really does.”