Page 131 of Dirty Little Christmas

"Um, hi," I squeak, my heart beating a thousand miles a minute. "It's nice to meet you."

"Why are you here?" Lachlan demands suddenly, narrowing his eyes at Sinclair. And then his gaze drifts to his sister. "And why has your phone been off all day?"

He tried to call her a few times to find out where she was before giving up. He assumed she was with Sinclair, but now he seems suspicious because she’s with Sinclair.

Uh oh.

"She's been with me," Sinclair says.

Lachlan's scowl darkens. "She's been with you?"

"We came to get her stuff," Sinclair says quietly. "She's spending the night at my place."

Lachlan stares at the two of them in complete silence. He doesn't move a muscle. He doesn't even twitch. He just stares.

I place my hand on his arm, sending up a silent prayer that he doesn’t flip out. I don’t even have to ask to know it’ll break his sister’s heart. The truth is written all over her face. She’s in love with his best friend.

"Please say something," she finally pleads.

"How long?" he asks, his voice deathly quiet.

"How long have I been in love with your sister?" Sinclair asks him in her place. "Since I met her. How long since I decided that she was it for me? Just as long. How long has she known? I told her today."

Lachlan glances at Lyric for confirmation.

"It's true," she whispers. "He found a stupid letter I wrote to Santa. It's a long, embarrassing story. But he never touched me until today, Lachlan. He never even told me how he felt until today or kissed me until today."

"She's the reason you're letting me buy you out," Lachlan says as if just putting the pieces together.

"I don't intend to spend my life with her working my ass off."

"You didn't decide this today."

"No." Sinclair holds his gaze. "It's always been the plan, but I needed to do it right, make sure I could take care of her the way she deserved. The house is almost finished. You're buying me out. She'll never want for anything."

“She looks at him the same way I look at you,” I whisper, pressing my lips to Lachlan's ear. “And he looks at her the same way.”

He grunts in response…whatever that means.

"This is what you want?" he asks Lyric a moment later.

"He's what I've wanted since I met him," she whispers.

Lachlan expels a heavy breath and then slides me off his lap before rising to his feet. He crosses the room, stopping directly in front of his sister.

I hold my breath as he stares at her, not speaking.

And then he curses and drags her into his arms for a tight hug. "Then it looks like we're both getting what we want for Christmas this year, baby sister," he says, pressing a hard kiss to her temple. "Because I know exactly how that feels."

She throws her arms around him, sobbing. He squeezes her tight, rubbing her back for a moment before he and Sinclair exchange a glance.

“I’ll take care of her,” Sinclair vows solemnly. “You know I will.”

Lachlan jerks his chin in a nod, and then dips his head to whisper something to Lyric.

She gasps, her head flying up. “What? Seriously? When?”

“A few hours ago,” he murmurs, a soft smile on his lips. “She said yes.”