Chapter 16 #2
‘When we were small, yeah. All the time.’ Being a year apart, they really gave their mother a run for her money.
Thinking about it now reminded him that he should probably be nicer to his mom.
‘But at some point, Caleb decided he needed to protect me, like at school. He did a lot of my talking for me.’
‘That’s kinda sweet in a way.’
‘I guess so, yeah. Problem was, he didn’t notice when I started speaking for myself again, when I actually grew up.
’ His brother still thought of him as that scared kid.
Still thought he needed protecting, even all these years later.
And the way Elliot fell apart after the divorce only seemed to prove Caleb right.
‘He worries about you?’
‘Yeah.’ All the unanswered texts from his brother ran through his mind.
‘He and my mom. They’ve been … well … they’ve been hounding me since the divorce.
I don’t think they believe that I ever leave my room.
’ He attempted a laugh, not wanting Daisy to know how close to the truth that had been for him in the beginning, how many days he hadn’t left his room in those early weeks after the break-up.
He’d moved to prove to himself and his family that he didn’t need protecting, that he could do this on his own.
Daisy’s face lit up with an idea. ‘Let’s call him.’
‘What? Right now?’
‘Yeah! Let’s do a video chat. He can see that you’re out and about on this beautiful day with your cute new girlfriend,’ she said, fluttering her eyelashes. ‘Might as well take advantage of our arrangement.’
Arrangement, right.
‘Okay.’ He cleared his throat. ‘I guess we could do that.’
‘Great!’ Daisy clapped her hands. ‘Let me get into character. What kind of girlfriend do you want me to be?’
‘Just be you, Daisy.’
‘Just be me?’ She sounded like she wanted to tease him about that, like she couldn’t believe that he didn’t have any special requests for his fake girlfriend.
‘I wouldn’t change a thing.’
His gaze held hers. ‘Oh,’ she breathed, a small, pleased smile crossing her face. ‘Okay.’
Elliot broke eye contact to grab his phone and make the call.
They arranged themselves on the bench with the view of the ocean in the background.
Daisy tucked in close to his side, so they would both be on screen.
Elliot held his breath while they waited for the call to go through.
Maybe Caleb wouldn’t answer. Maybe he was out. Maybe…
‘Elliot, hey! Where have you been? I’ve been trying to get in touch.’
Damn it. He really needed to get better about answering those texts, or Caleb would be next to show up on his doorstep.
‘Hey. Sorry about that. Just been really busy lately.’
Caleb’s attention shifted to Daisy. ‘I guess so.’
‘This is Daisy, my new … girlfriend.’
His brother’s brows rose to his hairline. ‘Your new girlfriend? Wow. Hi, Daisy. So nice to meet you.’
‘Hi! It’s nice to finally meet you, too! I’ve heard so much about you.’
Elliot nearly laughed. Everything she’d heard about him had been in the last five minutes.
‘Wish I could say the same. My brother’s been MIA lately, so I haven’t heard much of anything.’
‘Just busy with work,’ Elliot repeated. He really didn’t need to be scolded by Caleb right now. Not in front of Daisy.
‘How is that job going?’
He was sure that to Daisy it seemed like a casual enough question, but to Elliot the subtext was loud and clear. How’s the job you decided to do without me going? How are you managing things alone?
‘Pretty well,’ Elliot ground out. ‘The owners keep changing their minds. You know how that goes.’
His brother laughed. ‘Oh, yeah. I know.’
‘Wait,’ Daisy cut in. ‘Are you an architect, too?’ she asked, giving away how little Elliot had actually told her about his brother.
‘Oh, no,’ Caleb chuckled. ‘I leave all that math stuff to El. I’m a contractor. I do the heavy lifting.’
‘Yes, you’re very big and strong,’ Elliot muttered, waiting to see if his brother was about to tell Daisy the whole story. The one where Elliot fell apart and then ran, ditching his brother. The story in which Elliot was actually the worst.
‘Looks like a nice day there,’ Caleb said, sidestepping the whole conversation.
It was embarrassing how relieved Elliot was.
He knew his brother had managed to keep the business going without him, doing simpler remodels and less restoration work, but Elliot still felt guilty about the whole mess.
Something he didn’t really feel like working out during this beach phone call.
‘It’s beautiful,’ Daisy said. ‘We were just having a picnic and Elliot said he’d been meaning to call you, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity for us to meet.’
Caleb flashed his obnoxiously charming smile. ‘I’m certainly happy to meet you, Daisy. I’m glad you’re getting my brother out of the house.’
Elliot clenched his back teeth together so hard he could hear it.
‘Oh, that wasn’t me,’ Daisy said. ‘Elliot’s always out around town. It’s how we met, actually. He came into my flower shop.’
‘Oh, really?’
‘Yeah, Elliot is really social. Goes out all the time. Tons of friends…’
He nudged her leg with his and gave her a don’t-push-it stare. Daisy just grinned. ‘He’s a lot of fun to be around.’
Caleb’s smile was so damn genuine when he said, ‘I know that much is true.’ It was like a punch to the gut. Even after everything, leaving Caleb in a lurch and ignoring him all the time, his brother was still nice to him.
It was sweet. And annoying.
‘Right, well.’ Elliot’s face was turning red again, an affliction his brother never suffered from. ‘We should probably go.’
‘Okay, enjoy your date. And answer your damn texts so I don’t think you’re dead.’
‘You know I’m not dead. Mom is here visiting, and I’m sure she would alert you if she found me buried under my bedsheets.’
‘Jesus, El. Don’t say shit like that.’
‘Sorry.’
‘And text me back.’
‘Okay.’
‘Bye, Daisy!’ Caleb said with a wave before ending the call.
‘He’s sweet,’ Daisy said. And Elliot waited for the inevitable. Every woman preferred Caleb over him. It just made sense. He was charming and handsome and outgoing…
‘But you’re cuter,’ she said with a grin.
‘And you’re the best fake girlfriend ever.’