Page 97 of Rulebreaker

Her eyes flick over to me. “And is this your young man?”

Despite myself, my lips twitch. “Atlas,” I say, extending my hand for her to shake. “Nice to meet you.”

“We don’t do handshakes, my dear”—she closes the distance between us and enfolds me in a tight hug—“thank you for being here for our Lily.”

Yeah, I somehow knew that I was going to like Sally.

Maybe it’s the power ballads.

Maybe it’s the decades of her being herself no matter what the universe throws at her—and she’s seen a lot over the years.

Either way, it breaks the ice, and pretty soon we’re surrounded by people wishing Lily well, chatting about the business or their favorite memories of Stan.

Some are definitely fishing for information.

Some are figuring out how to best use today for their own benefit–whether for social media clout or for their own careers or just because they want some juicy tidbit of gossip to share with the press.

They won’t get much here.

Or…that’s what it seems like anyway as the soft talking dies down and the minister comes out indicating that the time for the memorial has drawn close.

Conversation winds down and everyone begins to file into the nave, to settle into the pews.

We wait until the vestibule is mostly empty, and then I turn to Lily and cup her cheek. “You ready for this, Texas?”

Her lungs inflate on a long, slow breath.

Then she exhales and nods. “I’m ready.”

Jade takes her arm on one side, Sandy on the other, Willow behind them, and the girls file in.

I watch them go, fighting the urge to bundle Lily out of here, to spare her this–the same damn urge I’ve been fighting from the moment I barreled my way into Stan’s house and found that sleazeball in her face.

But I hold my ground, know that there will be a space beside me at the pew up front.

And that she needs her friends–herfamily–around her right now.

“You’re holding it together remarkably well,” Dash says quietly as we move to follow them.

Royal snorts–probably because he sees how close myholding it togetheris from shattering into a million pieces.

But today isn’t about me.

About what I need.

It’s about Lily–as it should have been from the moment the news hit.

“I’m fine,” I mutter. No, it still doesn’t feel great that she felt like she had to hide the truth, that I reacted the way I did and nearly fucked us up so badly there would be no coming back, nor that she’s here, that she has to deal with all this shit.

But that’s life.

I’m here too. I got my head together, made things as right as possible, won’t fucking hurt her again if it’s the last thing I do.

So yeah, I’ve got her covered.

We all do–me and Royal and Dash, Willow and Jade, Banks and Aspen, Briar and Frankie.

We’re not letting her go this alone.