Chapter 17
17
Conrad Strauss
“ W hat time do we have to be at Will’s?”
Flipping through the clothes in my closet, not bothering to look back at Whit where I know he’s sitting on the edge of my bed, I murmur, “Six. We should probably leave soon.”
“I picked up a bottle of wine at the store while you were in the shower.”
Grabbing a black button-up shirt off the hanger, I toss it on the bed as I unbutton the flannel I’m wearing. “We didn’t need to bring anything.”
My pulse races, blood pressure through the roof. I’ve been on edge since running into fucking Reggie in Cheyenne. Of all the people we had to run into, why the fuck did it have to be him?
“It’s respectful to bring something when someone invites you over to their house for dinner,” Whit says, annoyance flickering in his tone. What the hell does he have to be annoyed about?
“What the fuck was that back there?” I spit out, unable to ignore the elephant in the room any longer.
Whit’s eyes narrow. “What was what , Conrad?”
“Oh, don’t play coy, Whit,” I bark. “You know exactly what I’m referring to. Why the hell didn’t you tell me you and Reggie broke up?”
He rears back, eyes widening as he scoffs. “Because it’s none of your damn business, that’s why.”
Laughing dryly, I rub a hand over my mouth, sending up a silent prayer for some goddamn patience. “Given the circumstances, I think I deserve to know.”
Standing off the bed, Whit folds his arms over his chest, jutting out his chin. “How do you figure? My relationship is none of your business, Conrad, nor does it affect my ability to keep up this ridiculous charade with you.”
“You still should’ve told me,” I grit out.
Whit’s brows pinch, head cocking to the side. “You mean, kind of like how you should’ve told your nana that we got divorced? Pot, kettle, Conrad.” Seemingly deciding that he’s done with this conversation, he brushes past me, calling out over his shoulder, “Let’s go. We’re going to be late for dinner, husband .”
He says the word with a sneer, tossing back what I called him earlier, in a way that I know he thinks will piss me off, but it does nothing except light a fire inside of me. A need to hear him call me that again and again. To remember who he’s always belonged to, who he was always meant to be with.
The drive over to Will’s is filled with chatter from my nana in the backseat. I love her, but God, she never shuts up. She’s spent this entire day talking about everything and nothing all at once. There is nothing wrong with a little quiet time every once in a while.
Whit’s sitting beside me, a bottle of wine on his lap, leg bobbing a mile a minute as we inch closer to Will’s house. I have so much I want to say, so much more I want to ask, and this dinner really couldn’t have come at a more inconvenient time. Pulling into the driveway, I park behind Colt’s truck, and Whit’s out before I even have time to turn off the car.
“What’s up with him?” Nana huffs from the backseat.
I grit my teeth, grab my keys, and open my door, not bothering to respond to her because what is there even to say? Oh, he’s pissed off because I went full caveman at the market when his ex-boyfriend showed up, who I didn’t realize was his ex, because, oh yeah! We’re not actually married! Surprise!
“I see you’re both in a mood,” she chides as we follow Whit toward the front porch.
Whit must hear her because he tosses her a look over his shoulder before he glares at me, like it’s my fault.
The door yanks open. “Well, howdy,” Colt chirps, Roger’s blond, long-haired dachshund in his arms. “Come on in. Oh! You brought wine?”
“Yes, let’s open it,” Whit drawls as he brushes past him into the house.
Colt looks from him to me, humor dancing in his eyes. “Uh-oh, what did you do?”
“Colt, shut the hell up.” Walking farther into the house, I turn back toward them. “Nana, this is Colt, a royal pain in the ass. He’s Will’s boyfriend.”
“Well, aren’t you a nice lookin’ young man,” she murmurs as she shamelessly checks him out. “Good for Will.”
“I love her,” Colt blurts out, pulling her in for a one-arm hug. “We’re keeping her and sending your grumpy ass home.”
“Those two must be having a lovers’ quarrel,” Nana cuts in, then sends a seething look in my direction.
What the hell have I done?
“Ope, that must be it,” Colt replies.
“Is that Nora I hear?” Stepping into the hall, Will’s face lights up as he sees my nana. “I’d know that beautiful voice anywhere! Get over here.”
A smile splits on her face as she meets him in the middle. “What have I always told you. None of that Nora crap. It’s Nana! And look at you.” Hands cupping his scruffy cheeks, she says, “You’re practically glowing. It must be from all the sex you’re having with the young buck back there.”
Will snorts out a laugh and pulls her in for a hug as Colt practically preens. “It is,” he says. “From all the sex.”
“Alright,” I grumble. “We don’t need to know that.”
“Listen.” Colt points a finger, arching a brow at me. “Maybe you shouldn’t be throwing stones from inside glass houses.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Will asks, sounding amused.
“Whit is peeved with Connie,” Nana offers. “Don’t know what for.”
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I exhale a sigh.
“Better kiss and make up, Connie ,” Colt offers.
I glower at him. “Don’t call me that.”
Colt chuckles. “Where’d he go anyway?”
“He was opening a bottle of wine when I left him in the kitchen,” Will murmurs. His eyes find mine, dozens of questions popping up in his mind, I’m sure, but now isn’t the time to answer any of them. “How about you three head out back, and I’ll grab some drinks and meet you guys. Dad’s already out there. Conrad, beer?”
“Please.”
“And wine for you?” he asks nana.
“Yes, please,” she replies with a smile.
Out back, Whit’s sitting across from Roger, Will’s dad, two glasses of wine on the table in front of him, and he’s looking enthralled in whatever Roger is talking about. They both turn their heads in our direction as we step onto the patio.
“I got you a glass of wine,” Whit says softly to Nana, standing up and handing it to her.
“Thank you, dear.”
Roger stands up, coming over to Nana. “Nora Strauss,” he says gruffly. “It’s been years since I’ve seen you, and you’re just as gorgeous as I remember.”
“Oh, Roger, just as charming as always. How have you been?”
The two of them sit down, falling into a conversation of their own before Will comes back out with drinks for everyone. Handing me and Colt ours, he sets the others on the table. “Oh, I didn’t realize you’d gotten her a glass,” he says to Whit when he notices the second one.
“That’s alright.” Finishing the rest of his off, Whit says, “More for me.”
Sending me a humorous look over his shoulder, Will takes a seat, and Colt follows. After I toss back a swig from my beer, I pull out the chair beside Whit, and drop down into it. There’s no telling how tonight’s going to end up, especially as Whit starts in on his second glass of wine within five minutes.
I place my arm over the back of Whit’s chair, and I don’t miss the way his body freezes for a second, nor the way Will and Colt watch the move. The night goes on without too much of a hitch. After we have a couple of drinks and chit-chat, dinner is finished, and we all dish up, opting to eat out here since it’s a nice evening. Will cracked open another bottle of wine, and Whit’s on his third glass.
“Will, this lasagna is incredible,” Whit gushes as he shovels another bite into his mouth.
“Thanks, but I can’t take all the credit,” he says. “Colt made the noodles.”
“From scratch?” Whit’s eyes widen as they take in his friend.
“Yeah, jackass.” Colt chuckles. “From scratch. Why do you look so surprised?”
“I’m…not,” Whit mutters. “That’s just really impressive. I didn’t take you for somebody who enjoys cooking.”
“It’s a new hobby,” Will chimes in. “And he’s quite good at it.”
Whit hums thoughtfully. “Good for you, Colt.”
“Are you enjoying your time in town?” Colt asks, shifting his gaze toward my nana.
“I am, but these two are always working.” She huffs. “I’d like to get out more.”
Gaze flitting over to her, I say, “Well, you haven’t said anything.”
“I don’t want to be a bother.”
Oh, Jesus. “Nana, you’re not a bother. I just don’t know what it is you want to do if you don’t speak up.”
“I can take you out on the town,” Roger offers.
“Really?” Nana’s face lights up. “That would be lovely.”
“Just give me your number before you leave, and we can set something up next week.”
Will and I throw each other a look from across the table, and I can’t help but huff out a laugh. After we finish eating, Colt and Whit clear the table before heading inside to clean up the dinner dishes, while Roger and Nana decide to take Winnie on an evening walk.
“Things seem a bit tense between you two,” Will notes, eyeing me from above his glass as he takes a sip.
Breathing out a sigh, I murmur, “Yeah, well, they are.”
“What happened?”
Glancing around the patio like I may see somebody peeking around the corner, I scrub a hand over my mouth as I gather my thoughts. “The three of us went to Cheyenne this morning, and it was actually going pretty well, I think. Whit and I even seemed to have a moment.” I think back to when I called him husband , the way he looked at me. It was like we were us again. “And then we ran into Reggie,” I sneer.
“Oh, shit,” Will chuffs. “What does he think about this arrangement? I can’t imagine anybody would be okay with their partner pretending to be in a relationship with their ex.”
“It was very clear that he had no idea.”
Will’s eyes widen as he rubs a hand over the smile forming on his mouth. “Whit didn’t tell him? How is that even possible?”
“Here’s the kicker,” I say. “He broke up with him.”
Chuckling, Will mutters, “Man, this just keeps getting better. When did they break up?”
“I don’t know. That’s the thing… Whit never told me they weren’t together anymore, and we didn’t get a whole lot of time to talk about it before we had to come here.”
“Do you think it was before or after he started staying with you?”
“Don’t know.” I shrug. “And he’s not exactly forthcoming.”
“Well, Conrad, can you blame him?”
My eyes flit up to meet Will’s, confusion furrowing my brows. “What do you mean?”
“Whit doesn’t owe you anything,” he explains. “He’s doing a huge, probably uncomfortable, favor for you. That doesn’t mean you deserve to be privy to any details regarding his personal life. You guys aren’t actually married.”
Scoffing, I mutter, “I know that.”
“Do you, though?”
“Yes, Will,” I growl. “I’m not fucking delusional. I’m well aware that we are very much divorced.”
Holding up his hands, he breathes out a chuckle. “Okay, calm down. I’m just saying, I feel like you’re trying to win him over, maybe get back together with him, without doing any of the work or having the conversations that need to be had to do that. You can’t trick him into a relationship, Conrad.”
My eyes narrow on my friend, who seems to have lost his ever-loving mind. “Will, are you fucking with me right now?”
“No!” He laughs. “I’m just saying, as your friend, from the outside, it’s looking a little… I don’t know. It’s very clear you still care deeply for him, and I don’t want to see you get hurt. That’s all.”
“I’m not trying to trick anybody,” I sneer.
“Okay, just be careful. And maybe have a conversation or two with him. See where he stands. Maybe he still cares about you too. Maybe that’s why they broke up.”
I’m quiet for a moment, my pulse racing. “You think?”
“Maybe.” Will shrugs. “You never know unless you talk about it.”
“Yeah, well, it feels like Whit and I are in an alternative universe these days. One where I want to talk, and he doesn’t.”
“Again…can you blame him?”
Heaving a sigh, I look over at my friend. “I don’t like this version of you,” I mumble. “Can we go back to you being the one making the questionable choices?”
Chuckling, he leans over, patting me on the back. “But this is so fun.”
I huff. “Yeah, for you.”
Just then, Whit pops his head out of the backdoor. “Hey, you ready? Nana said she’s tired and would like to get home so she can go to bed.”
“Yup, let’s go.” Glancing over at Will, I say, “Thanks for dinner, man. This was nice.”
Will nods. “Anytime. Goodnight, Whit. Nice to see you.”
Whit smiles, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose in a way he does when he’s nervous. “Thanks for having us,” he replies. “Dinner was lovely.”
Standing up, I brush past Whit, stopping to mutter quietly enough for only him to hear, “Ready to go, husband ?”
He freezes, eyes shooting daggers at me, but says nothing as I walk past him into the house. We’re talking about this tonight , if I have any say in the matter.