Her Marine Next Door - Aliyah Burke Page 0,79
your life because of this.”
Pain pierced her. She is supposed to be on my side. “I can’t watch them with her—”
Ryliee coolly lifted an eyebrow as she put her black currant vodka to her perfectly made up lips and drank. After she swallowed, she placed it down with the same slow, dangerous action.
“I believe this is my time to talk.”
Skylar drank a large swallow. Great, now I have more reason to cry.
“Better.” Ryliee leaned forward, resting her arms on the table. “When you first called me and told me he had gotten you to give this insane idea of his a chance and pose as fiancée and let this hot-ass marine, who you’ve had naughty sexy dreams about, into your life, I was on the fence. Cheering like hell because you were coming back to me. Back to life. But still, on the fence. I even reached out to Lesli, and we both agreed it was wonderful you were coming back to us.”
She leaned forward and captured Skylar’s hand with both of hers.
“Then you mentioned Cullen and I was freaking out. Honestly, I was thinking I needed to come back to the States. The ages, so close to who you’d lost. I heard it in your voice. You fell for him. And every second you spent with them it grew deeper. Also a wonderful thing to hear.”
Ryliee squeezed her hand. “You grew and were back. I had my girl back. Then something changed. I won’t lie and say I wasn’t worried as fuck.”
Skylar looked away and pushed her toes deeper into the sand.
“You love this man.”
Instinctively, she started to deny it.
“Don’t.” Ryliee was sharp. “Do us both a favor and don’t lie about it. You do not need to be or feel guilty about this. I need you to listen. Really listen to me.” Another squeeze. “Are you listening? Now is the time for you to talk.”
“Yes.”
“Good. You’ve paid your penance, Skylar. You are allowed to move on from the pain of your past. Happiness found you. This man and his son make you whole. Yet you’re running from it. You’re using whatever fucking excuse you want because of your survivor’s guilt.”
“He’s fucking her,” she bit out, trying to pull her hands from Ryliee’s grasp. Lesli had spoken some similar words to her a while back, but it was different coming from Ryliee. Always had been.
She held tighter, eyes hard and uncompromising. “Do you know this for fact? Did you walk in on them fucking? Did you see his cock going in her? Or is this because your husband cheated on you, and you’re lumping them all together because they have dicks?”
More pain shoved into her. “No, I haven’t seen that. But she answered the door in his shirt.”
Ryliee gasped, dropping her hands and clasping hers over her chest, eyes wide. “Oh no,” she drawled with a deep, syrupy tone. “You mean the conniving bitch who didn’t tell him about having a son for three years and lies to his face answered the door in his shirt? Thank God we can trust her not to try to ruin whatever is between the two of you. Oh wait, she has been trying to weasel back into his life. Thankfully, you’re letting her win and get what she wants.”
She flattened her lips. “No need to be so fucking sarcastic.”
“Really? I see a huge, gigantic fucking need to be. I’m not your best friend because I’ll lie and sugarcoat shit for you. This is the time for you to grow up. Tell me, are you ready to give up on the man and his son because some bitch is trying to start some shit? What happened to the woman who stood beside me and punched a boy in the face because he made another girl cry? Or the one who beat the snot out of a playground bully because she’d pushed a little boy off a swing? Where is that Skylar, the one who stands up for herself and isn’t afraid to fight for what she wants?”
“Ryliee—”
“No, I’m not finished yet. Because if you’ll pull your head out of your ass and be honest about it, you’ll see you love him and he’s the one. Your one. Is he worth it? Or was it just sex you can get from a battery-operated toy or another man? If he is, which I think he is—but this is about you, not me—get off your fucking ass and goddammit, go fight for him.”
…
Parker swore and kicked