Chapter 25 #2
I shook my head and ran a hand down my face.
The closer it got to her leaving, the more panicked I was.
“Yeah? What’s that? Because I live in the real world.
Where guys like me stay single because they’re damn good at it.
A world where you need to keep your job so you can pay your bills. I don’t live in a fairy tale, man.”
He chuckled, but it was sarcastic in a Cage kind of way.
“I sure as shit don’t live in a fairy tale, brother.
I’m raising a fucking toddler on my own, and somehow, she’s turned out to be a little angel.
I haven’t ruined her yet. I have to pencil in sex, which is my favorite thing to do outside of spending time with Gracie, and I have to coordinate my sex life around our mother’s social calendar.
So don’t talk to me about fairy tales. You’ve got a shot at the real deal.
I see it in your eyes, whether you want to admit it or not.
And you’re not going to screw it up. You’re the most reliable guy I know. ”
“Look at my track record. I wouldn’t have the first clue how to make this work.”
He sighed and reached for his beer, taking his sweet-ass time to respond.
He set the glass down. “News flash. No one has a fucking clue how to make it work, brother. When Dad met Mom, he’d never been in a relationship.
They figured it out because they loved each other.
No one knows what they’re doing until they find someone worth doing it with. ”
“Awfully wise for a guy who hasn’t had anything serious in years.”
“Right. And I have a four-year-old daughter who came from a woman I spent one night with. So, you aren’t talking to the poster child for relationships. But I’ve been in love, and I know what it looks like.”
Presley Duncan.
The name we never spoke of anymore. Hell, I was surprised he’d brought it up.
“And what does it look like, ole wise one?”
“Take a look in the fucking mirror, smartass.”
I chuckled. “I don’t even know what this is or how she feels.
We made a deal. We’d have a little fun for a while.
Hell, she’s never been with anyone else.
This could just be her testing out the waters before she finds the right guy.
I hardly think anyone looks at me and sees forever. Because I sure as fuck never have.”
“Until now.” He smirked. “Listen, I’m here to tell you that you’re lucky to feel it once in your life. We all love to give Dad shit, but he’s right. It’s a one-and-done situation most of the time. I know that it happened to me at the wrong time, so I blew my shot. But you’ve got nothing to lose.”
“I’ve got everything to lose. If I fuck it up, I lose her.
If she doesn’t feel the same way as I do, I lose her.
If she wants this job in Chicago the way I think she does, I lose her.
There are very few scenarios where it works out.
So why risk making it awkward and pissing off Travis, putting Lila in an uncomfortable situation to tell me she cares more about her job than me?
Or that she was just having some fun this summer and wants to go back to being friends? ”
“Do you think there’s some sort of class that dudes take that suddenly makes them ready to take a shot?
” A cocky laugh escaped, and seeing as I was fluent in Cage’s sarcasm, I knew it was his way of telling me that I was being a dumbass.
“I got news for you, brother: Nobody knows what the fuck they’re doing. ”
“That’s your advice?” I downed the rest of my beer.
“You don’t need advice. You’ll either let her go without taking a risk and spend the rest of your life regretting it, or you’ll just wake up and realize that you’re being a dumb fuck, and you’ll go for it.”
“That was riveting. It’s amazing you aren’t a therapist.” I smirked.
“Well, I hope like hell that you come to your senses and do something about it.”
“Why is that?”
“Because I can’t wait to see the infamous Hugh Reynolds running around town like a pussy-whipped motherfucker who can’t live without his girl,” he said with a chuckle.
“Never going to happen. I’m going to stick to the plan.
Let her go chase her dreams while I go back to my unfulfilling life of meaningless sex and mind-numbing conversations with people I don’t give two fucks about.
And Lila can go take over corporate America and marry some preppy intellectual asshole who wouldn’t know good sex if it slapped him in the face. ”
Cage looked down, searching for something on the floor beside his feet before he snapped back up and raised a brow. “Sorry. I must have lost my tiny violin, you dramatic motherfucker. Stop being a coward and man up.”
I sucked in a breath because that insult struck a fucking nerve with me. “If one more person calls me a coward, I swear to God, I’ll snap.”
“I wouldn’t mind seeing you snap and doing something about it.
” He shrugged. “Listen, I need to say this to you. I know that you gave up your dream to be a big, fancy sports agent in the city to come back here and help out Dad. It was stand-up of you. But if this isn’t what you want, we can sell it all.
I’ll help you. You deserve to be happy, brother. ”
I squeezed the back of my neck with my hand because this conversation was wearing on me.
“I love what I do. It wasn’t the plan, but I’m not complaining.
I needed to do it, and I made it work. I’m fine with that.
But asking me to ask Lila to do the same thing for me—never going to fucking happen.
She’s not some big fish in a little pond. ”
“Neither the fuck are you. So that’s it, isn’t it? You don’t want to ask her to stay. And with how insane Travis has been about her leaving here, I get it. I know she has a big opportunity back there. But why not ask her? Let her make that decision for herself.”
“Because she’ll feel bad. It’s who she is.
She wants to take care of the people she loves, and I won’t be an obligation.
What, so she can resent me in twenty years?
No. If she wanted to be here, she’d tell Travis to fuck off, and she’d be here.
She’s excited for this opportunity, and she deserves that. ”
“Do you remember how I said I’d be staying in Los Angeles after vet school? I’d enjoyed city living, and I had no intention of coming home.”
“I remember.” I nodded.
“But things change, Hugh. You came back to help Dad, and you don’t regret it. And I found myself deep in diaper duty and not doing exactly what I thought I’d be doing. And guess what?” he asked.
“What?”
“I wouldn’t change a fucking thing. I may have lost Presley all those years ago and managed to fuck that up.
But I got a second chance the day Gracie was born.
And I’d move to a deserted island if it meant she’d be happy.
So, I changed course. I came home, and I don’t regret it.
It’s okay to change your mind. You did. Maybe she will, too. ”
I looked away as I thought it over.
She wouldn’t.
Lila James had always known what she wanted, and she went after it.
“All right, I appreciate you talking this through with me. I’m going to enjoy these last two weeks with her, and I’ll move on once I know she’s settled and happy.”
“That’s the plan?” he asked, looking completely disgusted.
“That’s the plan. Don’t judge it, brother.”
“Fine. I’ll be here when you realize you fucked up.” He shrugged as we both pushed to our feet.
“And this stays between us? I don’t need Georgie and Brinks in my business.”
“Of course. I’m a vault,” he said.
“Thanks. All right, I’m going to head home. How about you?”
“Gracie is sleeping at Mom and Dad’s tonight. I’m going to meet a friend for a drink at the bar.”
“I’ll bet you are. I’ll call you tomorrow,” I said.
“Yep. Thanks for dinner.”
I gave him one of those half-bro hugs and clapped him on the back before heading out the back door. I’d left my truck at the house, and it was a nice night to walk home.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I saw a text from Lila.
Snow
Hey. Just left my dad’s and got back to the house. You want to meet me at the cove for a little skinny dipping and a trip down memory lane?
I chuckled.
Hell, yeah. On my way now. And this time, you won’t be grinding on my dick. You’ll be riding it.
Lila
Promises. Promises. I’m almost there.
Just as I slipped my phone into my back pocket, it buzzed again. I continued walking toward the cove and looked down, surprised that this text wasn’t from Lila.
Cage
Hugh’s in love, and he’s too much of a to do anything about it.
Georgia
Awww… Did Hughey finally admit his feelings?
Finn
Is he in love with Mrs. Runither or Lila?
Brinkley
I’m guessing Mrs. Runither, right?
What happened to you being a vault, dickhead?
Cage
There are no secrets between the Reynolds siblings, right? And if I can’t get through to you over the next two weeks, then hopefully one of these fools will be able to make you see the light.
Finn
There are no secrets between said fools? Should I tell Hugh that you’re the one who told Mom that he wanted a journal last Christmas so he could document his feelings every night?
Cage
No. That one was actually supposed to stay in the vault, you loose-lipped bastard. And it made Mom happy. I swear Hugh got hives when she pulled him aside and told him how proud of him she was that he was getting in touch with “all those feelings.” #winningthesiblinggame
I thought it was Brinks who pulled that one. You’re just scoring all the points tonight, brother. #onceadickheadalwaysadickhead
Brinkley
Hey, Cage, since we’re confessing… Georgie was the one who scraped all the paint off your fancy, black Lexus last year, and we let you think it was one of the Wilson teens.
Georgia
Why are we confessing? It was better to let him be disgusted by “some loser, stoner teenager” than to know his sister doesn’t like to look over her right shoulder when she backs out of the driveway.
I turned down the path toward the cove and had to stop walking for a minute because I was laughing so hard.
Finn
Why can’t you look over your right shoulder?
Georgia
I have a permanent kink in my neck. I think it’s genetic.
Cage
I think you’re being lazy. Who the hell doesn’t look over their right shoulder? You scraped all the paint off my new car. That was expensive to fix, Georgie! This is the shit I’m talking about.
Georgia
It was an accident. Humans make them sometimes, or didn’t your alien leaders teach you that?
Brinkley
You could just do one extra Botox appointment for a hamster, or put a nice set of hair extensions on a sloth, and that would totally cover the expense for the paint job. #lifeofasmalltownanimaldoctor
Georgia
Yeess. Good idea. I’m here for that, Dr. Judgment.
Cage
I’m with a woman, and I’m putting my phone away because you’re all aggravating me.
Finn
Is she real or a blow-up woman?
Finn
Before you insult me, you had it coming for calling us fools.
Georgia
He actually called you a loose-lipped bastard. Gotta go. Dikota wants to watch a silent film, so I’m putting my phone away.
Fucking Dikwich was on my last nerve. I didn’t know what she was doing with that dude. I pushed a shrub out of the way, and when I came around the corner, the water just a few feet away, Lila James stood there wearing a white sundress.
“You wanted to come back to where it all started, huh?”
She slipped both of the skinny straps off of her shoulders, and her dress pooled at her feet. She wore nothing beneath it.
My mouth watered at the sight of her.
Standing there stark naked, looking like the goddess she was.
“I still think about that night all the time, Bear.” She chuckled. “But this time, I intend to do what I wanted to do that first time.”
I moved toward her, almost predatory, and reached behind my neck for the collar of my tee, tearing it off as I closed the distance between us.
I couldn’t get to her quick enough.