Chapter Eight
Elias
Jace looked over his shoulder through the window into the house, then back at me. “How’s this shit with Teddy going? I didn’t want to ask Layne in case it upset her.”
I snorted. “You don’t know your sister very well if you’re worried about that. If you haven’t been called to post bail, she’s fine.”
He laughed. “Okay, fair. Just tell me if something happens, alright?” He flipped a burger on the grill. It was fucking freezing out, but we were all used to it. Cold that made your lungs sting was just part of being Canadian.
“Why would you know what’s going on with Layne?” Zane asked, taking a long pull from his beer. He was a quiet guy by nature, but a beer or two into the conversation he loosened up.
Jace closed the barbecue lid, cutting off some of the heat that had been soaking into us. “Elias, did you not share with the class?”
Wyatt and Zane looked between the two of us. “Don’t tell me you’re banging the bossman’s sister,” Wyatt said with a laugh.
Jace shot him a death glare. “No one is banging anyone. Well, except me and my super-hot lawyer girlfriend. But Layne’s in a shitty spot, trying to get rid of Teddy.”
“I’m acting as a fake boyfriend so Teddy gets the idea and backs off,” I said, feeling my cheeks heat and hoping the darkness around us covered it.
Wyatt eyed the two of us. A smile slowly spreading over his lips. “No way. This is too good.”
“It’s not a big deal,” I insisted, trying not to sound defensive and failing epically.
Wyatt rubbed his hands together. “Must be one hell of a dry spell you’re having if you agreed to pretend to date. That’s half a step past the Friend Zone.”
“Not all of us think with our dicks,” I said, wishing he would drop it.
“No, you have the poor bastard muzzled.” He leaned down so he was at eye level with my crotch. “Help, I can’t breathe in here,” he said in a fake cartoon voice.
“Alright, and Wyatt’s cut off,” Zane said, taking the beer from his hand and dumping the last of it over the railing into the snow.
“Hey!”
Zane shrugged. “Talking dicks is where I draw the line.”
“Damn right,” Jace said, pointing the neck of his beer bottle at Wyatt.
“Let’s see what Layne has to say about that,” Wyatt said, already heading for the door into the house.
Wyatt loved to stir up trouble, and he was damned good at it. I turned and followed him inside. My chest feeling tight.
The warmth of the house hit me, and I shivered at the change in temperature. Wyatt had already pulled off his boots and was in the living room where Sloane and Layne were drinking wine on the couch.
“So,” he said, a shit-eating grin spreading across his face, “anything new in your world, Layne?”
Layne’s eyes darted to me, then back to him. “What are you so happy about?”
He laughed. “I just learned about you and Elias’s little arrangement.”
She snorted. “You make it sound like some mafia deal.”
“Did she make you an offer you couldn’t refuse?” Wyatt said, laying the accent on way too thick.
The funny thing was, she had. Or at least she’d presented the opportunity. I wasn’t a seize-the-day kind of guy, but when it came to Layne, it was different.
“Something like that,” I mumbled.
Wyatt perched on the edge of the couch next to Layne and Sloane. “So let me get this straight. You needed to make your ex jealous, so you picked the human equivalent of a level to get the job done?”
“I—” she started, but of course Wyatt wasn’t done.
“A man with the personality of Stonehenge and the dating history of a reclusive monk.”
Layne flashed me a sympathetic smile. It did something in my chest.
“Not to mention that I, easily the best-looking of the bunch, was right there as an option.”
Layne ran his eyes over him and shrugged. “Meh, you’re not my type.”
I snorted.
He rubbed the center of his chest. “Damn, you don’t pull punches, do you? So, what? Your type is celibate lumberjack nerds?” He jabbed his thumb at me over his shoulder. I adjusted my glasses, and frowned at him.
Sloane put a hand on Wyatt’s shoulder. “Elias is the best out of all of you with a chainsaw. You may want to be a little nicer.”
Wyatt moved to stand beside me and elbowed me in the ribs. “He knows I’m joking. Makes sense you’d pick Mr. Dependable.”
Layne laughed. “Elias is just being a good friend and—”
Her phone vibrated on the table, and the smile slid from her lips. The name TEDDY flashed across the screen.
I grabbed the phone off the table. I saw red as I hit the green circle to answer. “What?” I barked.
There was silence for a moment. “I need Layne.”
Jace came through the door with a plate piled high with burgers, his brow dropping when he took in the scene.
“Well, you’re not getting her. What do you want?”
Teddy snorted. “Fine. Get yourself a piece of paper and a crayon and write this down.”
I clenched my jaw.
“I have something for Layne. I’m coming to her house tonight to drop it off. Got it, or do you need me to go slower?”
I glanced at Layne and took a breath. She needed this to stay civil, no matter what kind of shithead he was. So instead of tearing into him, I hung up.
“He’s coming to my house?” Layne asked, looking deflated.
I nodded.
She let out a string of curses.
Wyatt clapped a few times, then playfully punched my shoulder. “I take back everything I said. That was impressive. You legit added a growl in there.”
I gave a small bow, trying to play it off as nothing, when really I was fuming at Teddy, and watching Layne like a hawk.
Sloane put an arm around her friend. “Let’s eat. You’ll feel better. Besides, your boyfriend will be with you when you get home, right? You guys drove here together?”
She gave me a look that said she knew exactly what was running through my mind. I schooled my features and gave nothing away.
“Carpooling?” Wyatt said. “That’s like third base to this guy. Right after eye contact and connecting to the same Wi-Fi signal.”
Layne smacked him on the arm and gestured toward the table. “Get some food in to you. Beer makes you an ass.”
“He’s always an ass,” Zane said. “Beer just makes him louder.”
We all settled around the table and started passing plates. I sat close to Layne, feeling protective even though I knew that if it came down to it, Teddy wouldn’t stand a chance against her.
Wanting to protect her didn’t mean I thought she was incapable. I just wanted to do things for her. Make her life easier. Surprise her with coffee. Shovel her driveway. Show up without being asked. Simple shit. The kind that mattered more than swiping a credit card.
I shook the thought from my head. I was in deeper than I wanted to admit.
Dinner passed with the usual joking. The food was great, but I was counting down the minutes until we could leave. Whatever Teddy thought he was doing, it wasn’t going to end the way he wanted.
Finally, we all started moving towards the door. Jace grabbed my elbow and guided me a few feet away. “Keep an eye on this Teddy shit, will you?”
I nodded as I shrugged on my jacket. “You think he’s violent?”
The corner of his mouth ticked up. “If either of them is, it’s definitely her. No, I just don’t trust that guy. The less time he spends around my sister, the better.”
I nodded. He trusted me around Layne; if he knew what I was thinking about her, he might not.