“I missed you, too, Tallin.” She glanced around the grand foyer. “Something smells delicious. Riley’s cooking, I take it?”
“Yeah, he wanted to make tonight nice for the reunion, even if it’s not a happy get-together.”
Tallin sounded so torn, something she rarely saw from him. He’d always been the strong, alpha friend, the bad boy that didn’t let his emotions be known. Right now he wasn’t trying to hide how much he was hurting.
She took her coat off, hung it up, and followed Tallin into the kitchen. Once in the big, open room, Tallin leaned against the wall, crossing his big arms over his chest while watching her. She drew her gaze to Riley, whose back was to her as he worked at the stove.
It was clear he was unaware they were standing there. He turned around, his blond hair cut close to his scalp. His thin glasses made him seem scholarly and intellectual, both of which were true.
She couldn’t stop her smile at seeing him again after so long.
He grabbed some ingredients off the counter, his gaze momentarily flickering to her and then back down. His head snapped up a second later, the emotion on his face clear as he stared at her.
“Lilly,” he said her name softly, his voice deep.
She smiled and looked between the two men she loved so much, her chest seizing when memory after memory tore through her. It was just like old times, except Christian wasn’t sitting at the table with a beer in his hand telling his corny jokes.
That was all it took for her emotions to strangle her—finally seeing their faces, being back in Burkett, and not caring if they saw her breakdown.
She couldn’t hold back any longer, not as she glanced between them and then at the empty table, wishing Christian was there, smiling at her. She hunched over, the pain coursing through her, stealing everything from her.
The tears spilled over as she finally let the grief she felt for Christian wash through her.
Riley and Tallin were by her in the next instant, wrapping their arms around her and saying soft things, but she couldn’t hear them, didn’t understand their words over the beating of her heart and the pain that encompassed every part of her.
Strong, heavy sobs wracked her, and if it weren’t for them holding her up, she would have fallen to her knees, let her feelings take her down.
“Sweetheart. Please don’t cry, Lilly. It breaks my heart,” Riley whispered against her hair.
She let them lead her out to the living room and onto the couch. Tallin handed her a box of tissues as he sat down next to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her in close to his big, hard body.
She wiped her tears away. Riley moved beside her and sat down next to her.
Lilly had wiped her tears, but she continued to cry, a torrent, a physical show of her emotions.
“It’s okay, sweetheart,” Riley said, rubbing her hand that rested on her thigh. “Let it out.” He sounded in pain, and when she looked at him she saw the worry on his face as he watched her.
Her chest heaved as she squeezed her eyes shut and tried to calm herself in front of the two most important men in her life.
“It’s okay to cry, Lilly. We’re here and not going anywhere,” Tallin said, his hand on her back, big, steady, warm.
She nodded, but didn’t want to break down in front of them. She looked down at where Riley’s hand rested on hers. She brought her gaze back to his face, his brows drawn together with concern and sadness.
She looked into those amber-colored irises and saw love and kindness reflected back, understanding and compassion. She turned and looked at Tallin, his jaw set tight as he tried not to show his emotions.
“I’m going to miss him so much.” She lowered her head to stare at the ground for a second before squeezing her eyes shut again. Hot tears tracked down her cheeks.
“We all will, sweetheart. We have to get through this. Christian wouldn’t have wanted us to cry over him. He would have wanted us to stick together, to keep each other strong.”
She nodded more to herself than at what Riley had said. She knew he spoke the truth, but she didn’t know if she would be able to let her grief pass.
“Let her get it out, Riley,” Tallin said and started rubbing her back.
“I didn’t even get to see him before he passed away.” She choked up on the last few words. She clenched her hands into fists, curling her fingers into her palms.
She was so angry with herself for not being able to hold it together, especially in front of Riley and Tallin.
“Don’t beat yourself up, Lilly,” Riley said and grabbed her hand in his, giving it a squeeze. “We didn’t get to see him before he passed either. It was weeks since the last time we saw him. I talked to him a week ago, but it seems like forever ago now.”