Chapter 6
Chapter Six
COLE
The steady thump of my feet against the road fills the quiet morning air. Sweat drips down my back despite the cool fall breeze. Running has always been my way of clearing my head, and after the way Lily looked at me this morning, I definitely need it.
For a minute, I forgot that she’s off limits. My best friend’s ex. What kind of asshole breaks bro code? Matt never deserved Lily, but regardless, I’m trying to respect that boundary. Sometimes it’s hard, though, especially when her cheeks turn that delicious shade of red.
I round the corner to the driveway, catching sight of Lily’s car pulling to a stop.
My eyebrows pinch. She’s back so soon? I slow to a walk, pulling my earbuds out and wiping sweat from my forehead with the hem of my tank top.
She doesn’t see me at first, too focused on wrestling something out of her trunk.
The set of her shoulders tells me everything I need to know. She’s pissed. Or hurt. Maybe both.
“Hey.”
She jumps like I’ve fired a gun, nearly dropping the box in her arms. A scream tears from her throat that would make you think I’m some kind of serial killer.
My eyebrows shoot up, and I have to bite back a laugh. “Jesus, Lily.”
“Jesus, me? Jesus, YOU! You scared the shit out of me.” She presses her free hand to her chest, breathing hard.
I chuckle, unable to help myself. “Am I really that ugly?”
Her gaze sweeps down my body, taking in my sweaty shirt and joggers, before she swallows hard and looks away.
The reaction has heat shooting through my veins.
The temptation to make a bad decision is within reach.
I swallow and look at her trunk. Don’t read too much into it.
She just broke up with Matt. The last thing she needs is another complication.
“Is that everything?”
“Appears so.” Her voice is clipped, frustrated.
I glance at her. “What about the furniture?” She brought a lot more than a handful of boxes when she moved in.
Her eyes flutter closed for a moment, defeat settling over her features. “I’m leaving it.”
The primal urge to protect her rises to the surface. With how much time I spent over at Matt and Lily’s while they were dating, I know he probably picked a fight with her. Sometimes I really don’t fucking understand him. I grab one of the boxes from her trunk without asking.
She starts to protest. “Cole, I can handle it.”
I ignore her, carrying it inside and setting it in her room before heading back for the last two.
Lily passes me on the way, smiling tightly.
She doesn’t want the help. Too damn bad.
She doesn’t need to be carrying all this by herself.
When I come back with the last of the boxes, I find her standing by her bed, looking lost and small and so fucking tired it makes my chest ache. I set the stack down by the others.
She turns, eyes bright with unshed tears. “Thanks.”
I set the boxes down carefully and approach her like she’s a deer that’ll spook at a twig cracking. “Are you okay?”
That breaks whatever dam she’s been holding back. “No.” The word comes out broken, and in a rush, she’s talking. Fast. Like if she doesn’t get it all out now, she never will.
“No, I’m not okay. I’ve been working two jobs to try and make ends meet but I’m failing.
So much so that I just agreed to a third so I could get a solid lead because the other realtors are hoarding them and Mom’s housing expenses are astronomical.
Oh, and on top of that, my credit cards are maxed out and every rental I apply for rejects me because my credit score is fucked.
And Matt—” Her voice cracks. “Matt is the biggest waste of time and piece of shit who won’t give me my things back. ”
She catches herself, sending me an apologetic look. “Sorry, I’m not trying to bring you in-between us.” Then she covers her face with her hands and sits on the bed. “Oh god. Did I say that all out loud?”
I want to tell her that her ex-boyfriend is a fucking asshole and we all know it.
I want to say that she deserves so much better than the way he treated her.
Instead, I sit down next to her, careful to leave a respectable amount of space between us.
“For what it’s worth, you don’t need to apologize for calling Matt what he is. ”
She peeks at me through her fingers. “He’s your friend.”
“Yeah, well, friends can be assholes sometimes.” I lean back on my hands. “And Matt’s been a grade-A asshole for a while now.”
A choked laugh escapes her. “Just a while?”
“Okay, a long while.” I bump her shoulder gently with mine. “Listen, you can stay here as long as you need. The guys won’t mind. I don’t either. There’s no pressure, no timeline.”
She shakes her head immediately. “Oh no, I couldn’t. You guys have done enough, and I don’t want to impose.”
“Lily.” I wait until she looks at me. “You’re not imposing. We like having you here.”
I like having you here way more than I should.
“Matt—”
“Fuck Matt.” The words are harsh, but honest. “This isn’t about him. This is about you needing a safe place to stay, and us having the room.”
She studies my face for a long moment. I can practically see the internal debate happening behind those green eyes. Finally, she shakes her head. “I can’t. It’s too complicated. You’re his friends, and I’m his ex, and it’s messy.”
I want to push. Every instinct I have is screaming at me to convince her to stay, to let us take care of her. Though the way she’s holding herself, so carefully contained, tells me that pushing will only make her run faster.
“Okay.” I stand up, shoving my hands in my pockets to keep from reaching for her. “But the offer stands. If you change your mind.”
My phone buzzes with a text.
Hudson
Meeting at the office in twenty. A new client wants to discuss a vacation home remodel.
Perfect timing. I need to get out of here before I say something I shouldn’t. Like how watching her hurt makes me want to hunt down everyone who’s ever made her feel like she’s not worth fighting for. Doesn’t she realize how amazing she is?
“I have to go.” I gesture toward my phone. “Work stuff.”
She nods, not meeting my eyes. “Thanks for helping with the boxes.”
I pause in the doorway, looking back at her surrounded by the remnants of her life with Matt. “Lily?”
She glances up.
“You’re worth more than he ever deserved. Don’t let him make you forget that.”
I leave before she can respond, heading upstairs to grab a quick shower and change. But as I stand under the spray, I can’t stop thinking about the defeated set of her shoulders or the fact that I shouldn’t feel anything for her if I were a good friend.
The asshole in the over-pressed suit finally pulls away in his shiny Tesla and I stand outside our office building, waving like he’s an old friend while internally giving him the middle finger.
I watch his taillights disappear around the bend before I turn back to Gage and Hudson, who look about as thrilled as I am.
“What an asshole.” The guy barged in, laid out his list of demands, and didn’t even humor a discussion.
“Remind me why we take this business again?” Hudson asks, his jaw tight with frustration.
Gage shakes his head, running a hand through his beard. “Six individual cabins. He wants them all gutted and ‘reimagined’ for the luxury market.” He makes air quotes, his voice dripping with disdain. “But like your dad says, the money we earn from this work will help us reinvest in Big Ridge.”
“In other words, if we want to continue to help out the community, we cater to the rich assholes that turn Big Ridge into a tourist town.” I kick at a loose stone, watching it skitter across the pavement.
I really hate it, but let’s be honest, if it wasn’t Hudson’s dad’s company, it would be someone else.
We’d rather see that money going back into things like repairing the library roof or fixing the railing of the ramp that goes into school free of charge.
“We need the work,” Hudson says quietly, echoing my thoughts. He’s been taking on more responsibility, taking client meetings like this, to show his dad he can handle full ownership.
Gage sighs. “Well, at least this job will help out Nate.” Our friend and electrician only gets so much work from Big Ridge’s local community.
I glance at them, appreciating that I’m not in this alone. If it were me, I’d never work with dickheads like the one who just left, but it’s what we do to help out our neighbors. Even if it means working with the sharks, that’s what matters the most.
Speaking of helping neighbors. . . “We need to talk.” I lean against my truck, crossing my arms. “About Lily.”
Hudson’s head snaps up, suddenly alert. “What happened?”
“She might need a place to stay longer than she thought, and I told her she was welcome to stay with us.”
“Oh?” Gage asks, barely hiding his curiosity.
I tell them about how she was going to pick up her things, how she came back with close to nothing, and her little rant about her debts and struggling to get a rental application approved. With every word, Hudson’s face gets darker and Gage starts looking like he wants to hunt something.
“What the hell is wrong with Matt?” Hudson asks, rubbing his jaw. “He treats her more like property than a person.”
We all saw the signs whenever we went over. Matt treated her like shit, but it’s not like we could force Lily to leave him. At least if we were there all the time, we could make sure things weren’t too bad.
“So we agree then. She can stay with us indefinitely?”
Hudson shifts uncomfortably, his focus dropping to the ground. “I don’t know, Cole. That’s complicated.”
“Why?” I already know the answer. I can see it in the way he won’t quite meet my eyes.
“Because . . .” Hudson drags a hand through his hair, messing up his usually perfect man-bun. “Fuck. Because I like her, all right? I’ve always liked her.”
“Yeah, we know,” I say with a shake of my head. He’s had a crush on her for twenty years.
Gage lets out a low chuckle. “Well, shit. Guess we’re all screwed then.” His eyes dance with mirth. “I’m right there with you.”
My eyebrows rise. When did that happen? Maybe around the same time I started staring at her for too long while we were meant to be hanging out with our best friend. They both look at me, like they don’t already know she has me hook, line, and sinker, and I exhale.
“Yeah,” I admit, my voice rough. “Me too.”
Silence stretches between us, heavy with implications.
We’ve shared women who were into that kind of thing, tourists with no strings attached, simply good times all around.
But this is different. Lily’s not some random hookup from the bar.
She’s sweet and funny and way too good for any of us, let alone all three.
“So, what do we do?” There’s a glint of determination in Hudson’s eyes. I know him as well as I know the back of my hand. Checking with Gage, I see that same look. Shit. We may as well already be crossing the line.
If Lily stays, we’ll do everything we can to keep her. “Well, for right now, we give her a safe place to land,” I say, decision made. “Show her how she’s meant to be treated.”
“And then?” Gage asks, though we already know where this is heading.
I meet both their gazes, a familiar rush of certainty shooting through me that comes when the three of us are on the same page about something important.
“Well, then we see if there’s something there.”