Promise Me This: a friends to lovers, slow burn romance (Wilder Family Book 3)

Chapter 5

The hum of noise on a jobsite was a very specific kind of comfort. Air compressors, nail guns, the buzz of a saw, and the ebb and flow of conversation from the crew almost felt meditative when I wasn’t in the mood to be working by myself in the shop.

That was, until my idiot brother opened his mouth.

“Talked to Mom last night.” His eyes weren’t on me when he said it, they were focused on the house plans on the makeshift table, and when my grip tightened imperceptibly on the corner of that table where I’d been leaning my weight, he finally got the balls to look into my face.

God, he was smirking. It took everything in me not to punch him because he was going to be obnoxious about this.

“So. I talk to her all the time,” I said, pushing off the table and giving him my back. I pretended to measure something, but when one of the new kids gave me a look like I was crazy, I snapped the measuring tape back and shoved it into my tool belt. “You want a cookie or something?”

Unfortunately, he did not take the bait. Instead, he kept his voice so smooth and even, like he wasn’t trying to poke the fucking bear. “Harlow moved in with you.”

Leaning over, I snagged a stray piece of wood and chucked it out of the main walkway between the kitchen and the family room. “Doesn’t anyone ever pick up after themselves?” I yelled.

Wade, our longtime foreman, walked past, sparing me a flat look. “That was yours.”

I sighed through my nose, eyes pinched shut. Behind me, Cameron chuckled.

“You know,” he said, and fuck, just by his tone, I was going to hate whatever came out of his mouth next, “it’s kinda like having sex. If you can’t talk about it, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it.”

Arms crossed tightly over my chest, I turned. “Is this payback? For the shit I give you about being a complete know-it-all.”

His eyes gleamed. “Nope. Just your average enjoyment of my brother in an uncomfortable emotional position.” He let out a contented sigh. “I could live on this for weeks.”

Under my breath, I muttered all manner of curse words, including one I’d picked up in London that had him lifting his eyebrows.

Cameron shook his head. “You’re moving faster than I thought. Which shocked the hell out of me because I thought you’d live in your delusions forever.”

I took a step closer, lowering my voice so the whole damn crew couldn’t hear me. “She needed a place to stay, and I have the space, that’s all.”

“Okay.”

My jaw clenched tight. “Do you ever think about the fact that maybe you’re the reason I don’t ever talk about her? It was never like that with us. And you can’t fucking drop it.”

With Cameron studying my face far too deeply for comfort, his best friend Jax approached from behind. He paused briefly, studying the body language between us, then rolled his eyes.

“He can never drop something when he thinks he’s right,” Jax said. “It’s annoying.”

I held my hands out like, I rest my case.

Jax continued. “Except in this case, he is right, and you’re a moron.”

Turning slowly, I pinned Jax with a glare. “When did you form opinions on this?”

He returned my glare steadily. “I have opinions on everything. I just don’t usually find it worth voicing them.”

Jax was, in the most basic terms, a recluse. He’d worked for Cameron for as long as I could remember because he loved the freedom to disappear for a couple of weeks, leave his already secluded cabin, and seclude himself further by … I wasn’t even sure where he went. A tent on the side of a mountain or something.

In fact, Jax was the only person I knew who was even less friendly and more distrusting of new people than me. Being around him made me look like fucking sunshine.

He said what was on his mind, even if his daily word count was about fifty percent less than the average male. And apparently, on this particular day, the first full day that Harlow and Sage were under my roof, he was going to aim those words at me.

Oh joy.

The conversation in the big room ebbed, no longer flowing, and a few of the newer guys pretended they weren’t listening. Cameron, the dick, swiped a hand over his face to hide his smile.

“You asked your hot childhood best friend to move in with you five minutes after you see her again?”

Defensive words prickled at the tip of my tongue, but I kept them leashed. “It was more than five minutes, and I definitely don’t need to explain myself to you.” I arched an eyebrow. “And how do you know she’s hot?”

At my slightly growly tone, Cameron gave his friend a look. “See, I told you. He does the thing whenever you bring her up.”

Jax nodded, humming in agreement.

While I glared at them, I mentally calculated how much money I had in savings if I quit the family business and never worked with them again.

He crossed his arms. “You’re right. You don’t have to explain yourself to anyone. But when it all blows up in your face, don’t say no one warned you.”

“You picking a fight, Jax?” I asked casually. Instead of meeting his gaze, I pulled the measuring tape out and marked my next cut with the pencil wedged behind my ear.

“No. Neither is your brother. But you’re nuts if you think this won’t wreck your friendship with her.”

That had my head lifting slowly. If I could see my own face, I was quite sure my eyes were also a little bit hot now. “And when did I ask your opinion of my friendship with Harlow?”

“You don’t ask anyone’s opinion on anything,” Cameron pointed out.

Helpful.

With a level glare aimed in his direction, I let him know exactly how helpful I found it.

“If you had,” my brother continued, “maybe we would’ve told you to think this out a little bit more. Why not offer her the guesthouse on Mom’s property?”

“You mean the house Erik and Lydia have been staying in whenever they come back? I swear, they’ve been here three times since Dad died.” The measuring tape clicked shut with a press of my hand on the side, and the noise echoed in the room. That’s how quiet it was now. “Or where Greer and Beckett and Olive stayed last week when they were here?”

Cameron conceded that with a grimace.

Only Cameron, Poppy, and me lived in town, so whenever any of our other siblings came home, there was always at least one family staying in the small guesthouse not far from the main cabin. That was no place for Harlow and Sage to feel comfortable.

My gaze swung to Jax when I’d sufficiently quieted Cameron. “You don’t know Harlow, and you definitely don’t know what my friendship is like with her. This won’t wreck anything. Last night and this morning were great. Easy. The same relationship we’ve always had.”

Jax studied my face. “What’d you have for dinner last night?”

His question had me blinking. “Ordered some takeout from the diner while they unpacked. I had a cheeseburger, Sage had a grilled cheese, and Harlow ordered a chicken salad.”

“You buying?”

“Yes, I told them I would. What’s your point?”

“And after dinner?”

I settled a hip against the framing of the nearest wall and stared him down. “They unpacked. I was doing some yard work. When they finished, we played a game of Uno, and then Sage did her homework before going to bed.”

Jax’s face was inscrutable. “And then?”

Cameron gave him a quick look, but Jax ignored it.

“I don’t need to recap every fucking minute of our night, Jax. Turns out, it’s none of your business.”

“What was she wearing when you got home? Or don’t you notice things that your friend wears?”

My jaw clenched. “Clothes.”

If he heard the complete and utter bullshit in my answer, he didn’t call me out on it.

She was wearing black leggings and a stretched-out black tank top with Miss Piggy’s face on it, and the crisscrossing straps of her sports bra underneath were petal pink. The only reason I noticed was because the lightly muscled definition in her upper arms took me by surprise.

The Harlow I knew hated exercise, would only run if a serial killer was chasing her, and it was one of the first moments when I felt a tug of desperation about the time we’d missed.

I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. “Jax, cut the bullshit. If you have something to say, just fucking say it.”

He crossed his big arms across his big chest. “When’s the last time you had sex?”

I threw up my hands. “This is ridiculous.”

“That long, huh?”

At his dry tone, I narrowed my eyes dangerously. “If you have a point, I suggest you make it.”

“I’m not judging if it’s been a while,” he said. “But it does make a difference. A man goes six months. A year. More? You put him in a situation like this with a beautiful woman who knows him, you like each other. Trust each other. Give it long enough, Ian.”

My molars were going to be ground to dust. “You can’t know that.”

“Sure I can. It’s dark, you’re talking at night. It’s just the two of you.” He shook his head. “This’ll change your relationship with her, mark my words.”

“You saying you wouldn’t offer Cameron a place to live if he was in a bad situation?”

Jax quirked an eyebrow. “I don’t have any desire to sleep with Cameron.”

“Thanks,” my brother answered dryly.

“I don’t want to sleep with Harlow,” I said calmly.

Okay, fine, I didn’t say it calmly. I yelled it. And when I yelled it, my brother got this god-awful, satisfied look. I took a deep breath because this was my karma. It had to be. I gave him so much crap when his girlfriend, Ivy, moved into town, and now I was paying for it.

“No? You’re telling me even back in high school, you never thought about it?”

My jaw tightened. Once. I’d thought about it once, and I felt like a total jerk afterward because we’d never crossed lines. Never even flirted with the lines.

She’d come out of a dressing room in her prom dress, a tight, silky thing in black that made my best friend look sexy and sophisticated. And for the briefest of moments, I’d had a flash in my head of what her body might look like underneath. What it would feel like to hold her on a dance floor when she was wearing it. What her skin would feel like under the impossibly tiny straps that held it up.

But that moment passed, and I went to prom with my date, she went with hers, and I made sure to be nowhere near her when the music shifted to anything slow and sweet. I knew better than to ask her to dance.

“Nothing ever happened between us,” I said smoothly.

“Maybe not then,” Jax said. “If you keep playing house every night, it’s only a matter of time. First, you’ll notice the little things. Then the big things. And then she’s all you can think about.” He took a step. “You ready for that, Ian?”

Something simmered underneath his words, and I tried to pluck out what that might be.

“You projecting your own shit onto me, Jax?”

The big man went quiet, and now it was his turn for his jaw to clench.

Cameron held up his hands. “All right, enough.”

“Your concern, while touching,” I said, “is unwarranted. But I’ll consider myself warned.”

After another long look, he walked out of the room, and Cameron watched him with a thoughtful expression.

“What was that?” I asked.

My brother shrugged. “No clue.”

“You two been gossiping about my living situation?” I asked. “Here I thought Mom would be the one who nagged me the most.”

Cameron smiled a little. “Not gossiping. But we were all a little surprised you jumped right into this. It’s not like you to do things impulsively.”

Except with her, I thought.

“Except with her,” Cameron added a split second later.

My face gave away nothing because there was no way I’d give him the pleasure of knowing he was right.

After Jax’s exit outside, the crew slowly got back to work, and the volume increased to a dull hum. Pops of a nail gun punctuated the air, and someone pressed a saw down onto a piece of wood. Cameron stepped a little bit closer to me so he didn’t have to yell.

“I remember watching you two,” he said. “Dad had just married Sheila. All of us kids were figuring out our place in this new big family, but you had her. And I never realized how much that relationship meant to you, but you never really tried to get close to Sheila’s kids. Not at first.” He studied my face. “Because you had Harlow.”

Thoughts crowded my mind, and I could hardly make sense of any of them. I’d never thought of it that way, but he was right. She needed me more than any of my siblings did because they had each other. But in her family, she was alone. Which meant she was always my priority.

In our new, blended family, I wasn’t the oldest brother anymore. Erik stepped into that role for everyone. Cameron and Greer and Adaline formed a little trio that was still the closest in our family. Parker was looked after by everyone as the youngest, and once Poppy joined the family, there wasn’t some big empty space waiting for me. The roles were so clearly defined by then, it didn’t really bother me.

I had her, and that was all that mattered at the time.

“I guess,” I managed. “You think it’s stupid too?”

Cameron’s face betrayed only the slightest flicker of surprise that I was asking. He might have been younger than me, but my brother had stepped up with our family, with Sheila and Dad in ways that usually only the oldest child would.

“Stupid isn’t the word I’d use,” he answered carefully. “I can understand why you’re doing it. You’ve always looked out for her.”

Don’t ask, don’t ask, don’t ask.

But I was an idiot, so I asked.

“What word would you use?” I asked. The question came out like I’d chewed up nails and spat them out.

His mouth hooked up in a grin. “Predictable.”

I rolled my eyes. “What everyone wants to hear about themselves.”

“I think you got caught up in old roles with an old friend because it was easier than you thought to see her again. But she’s a different person, Ian. So are you. If you think about it, you’ve both had an entire lifetime apart from each other.” He slapped a hand on my shoulder. “Just give it breathing room. You two can figure it out, but it’s not going to be the way it used to be between you two. That version of your friendship is gone.”

His words hung over my head for the rest of the day, and even though I wasn’t usually a worst-case-scenario thinker, unease churned in my gut the rest of the day. The absolute worst thing that could come out of my offer was that Harlow and I as roommates was the iteration of our friendship that might cause lasting damage.

And that wasn’t something I could live with, not now that I just got her back.

I pulled out my phone and shot off a quick text.

Me: Told my mom I’d help her with some stuff tonight, so she’ll probably feed me. You and Sage can do your own thing. Don’t worry about me for dinner. I have a bunch of new orders anyway, so I’ll probably be putting in a lot of extra hours at the shop.

Harlow: Okay. I was planning to grill some steaks tonight, so there will be leftovers if you change your mind. Mashed potatoes and corn too. I just left the grocery store.

Me: I take it writing is going well today.

Harlow: If you start harping on my daily word count, Wilder, we’ll have issues.

Me: Consider me warned. I’ll leave you alone.

The words felt ominous as I typed them out, but I didn’t hesitate when I pressed send. She didn’t answer right away, and I took a deep breath and tucked my phone away before I got back to work.