Page 90 of My Three Hometown Alphas

“What doyou want to do today?” I ask Lyla, trying my best to mask my sadness over this being our last day together.

I shovel another spoonful of cereal into my mouth, trying to focus on chewing rather than the way my heart is aching.

At the beginning of the summer, I would eat breakfast before making my over here. Lately, I’ve been finding myself eating most of my meals here, eager for any excuse to spend more time with all of them.

“Can we paint my room?” she asks.

I forcefully swallow, coughing a little. “You want to paint your room?”

She nods before spooning cereal into her own mouth.

“Do your uncles know about this?” I ask.

“No, but we’d have to go to the store anyway to get the paint.”

I think about it for a minute. Hell, if that’s what she wants to do on her last day, who am I to rain on her parade? I also don’t think the guys will care as long as it’s not neon yellow or something else migraine-inducing.

“What the heck? Let’s do it,” I say.

A huge smile spreads across her face. “Really?”

“Really.”

“You’re the best,” she squeals.

“No, you are,” I say, pressing a kiss to the top of her head as I walk into the kitchen to put my empty bowl in the dishwasher.

“Do you think we can get it done today?” she asks.

Her room isn’t that big. We’ll just need to move all her stuff into the hallway, but I think we can get it done.

“I think we can manage if we work together.”

“Good thing we make a good team,” she says, sliding her bowl beside mine on the rack.

She’s right. We do make a good team.Perfect, actually.

I almost want to laugh at the apprehension I felt at the beginning of the summer before meeting Lyla. I was worried she wouldn’t like me, or we wouldn’t get along.

Now I’m worried for a completely different reason. I have no idea how I’m going to go about my life without this feisty little ray of sunshine brightening my world each day.

The thought of not getting to see her grow and change through this coming school year and each one that follows makes me physically ill.

I take a deep breath, attempting to clear my head. I need to focus on today and just be present. I need to enjoy all these little moments because they’re all I’m going to get.

“So, what color are you thinking?” I ask, walking toward the front door.

“You want to do what?” Will asks. His eyes narrow in as they dart between Lyla and me.

Miles snorts out a laugh at his side. Owen stands on his other side with a barely veiled smile ghosting his lips.

When we went searching for them at the hardware store, we luckily found them all in the back room together.

“I want to paint my room,” she says. She stands up a little straighter, obviously changing tactics mid-argument. Even though it isn’t much of an argument, given the look on their faces. “I mean… Would it be okay if we painted my room?”

This makes Miles laugh even more. All three of them are smiling now.

“What color are these walls going to be now?” Owen asks.