Chapter 31 #2
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Archer intervenes, stepping between us and prying my hands off Ollie’s shirt.
“You, over there.” He points to the far corner near the door for me to go to. When I don’t move, he raises his voice in a more commanding tone. “Go.”
He keeps his hands raised in case either of us makes a quick move again.
“I need someone to explain what the hell is going on, alright? Rhyland, you start.”
Ollie scoffs. “Of course you take his side. Everyone always takes his side. Clearly, blood means nothing to anyone in this family.”
“Ollie, shut the fuck up,” Archer roars at his brother.
I wouldn’t be surprised if we had an audience pressed up against the other side of the door, trying to listen.
“You had your chance to talk since this happened a few hours ago, and I’m only just hearing about it now. So again, shut the fuck up.”
Ollie pushes off the wall and walks over to his brother’s desk chair and plops down, kicking his feet up on the desk. Archer rolls his eyes at his dramatics. Clearly, he just wants to take the childish route completely. I’m surprised he’s not fucking pouting, too, like a toddler.
Instead of kicking Ollie out of the chair, I guess Archer agrees with having the desk between us, just in case. When he leans against his desk, crossing his arms and ankles, I know that not only does Archer mean business, but that he’s not on my side nor his brother’s.
In this moment, now more than ever, I see their dad, Elliott, in him. So many times, he had taken this same stance, waiting for younger versions of the Mosby brothers to explain.
I exhale a loud breath. This is the conversation I should have had from the beginning, but there’s nothing I can do to change the past. All I can do now is to convey to them what their sister means to me and drive the fact home that I won’t give her up—not now, not ever.
“Well, I guess I should start from the beginning.”
“That would be best.”
Ollie snickers, earning him a scowl from his brother. He quickly holds up his hands in defeat.
So that’s what I do. I tell Archer and Ollie the entire story of falling for his sister.
From the moments things changed for me in how I viewed her as more than just my younger “sister” to her coming home and not even thinking before offering her the guest room.
Words just spill from my lips as the memories replay in my mind.
I leave out details that would definitely earn me a few black eyes and early departure, such as eating her pussy in the kitchen here and really any details of our sex life, for that matter.
I’ll withhold some information from my best friend—things we may have shared in the past, but less so now that the woman is related to him.
During my entire speech, I watched both of them take it all in, and I lost count of the number of times Ollie’s jaw clenched or he cracked his knuckles, as if he were preparing to throw another punch.
But by the time I finish spilling my guts, the air feels slightly less charged around us than when I first walked into the room.
“This wasn’t planned, and I need you both to know that. When I offered Payton my guest room, there was no plan for it to end up here. I just wanted to show her that not everyone is a fucking piece of shit like her ex. But things happen, and, well, she’s the real deal.”
Ollie finally speaks up. “But you don’t do real, Rhy. I’ve known you your entire life, and you’ve never cared about relationships or anything more than dipping your dick into every orifice from here to Miami.”
“Jesus Christ, Oliver.” Archer stands and groans, rubbing his hands over his face. I wince at his phrasing as well, especially when I realize the truth behind his words. I mean, that’s quite the exaggeration, but I never cared—before Payton. She changes everything.
Not to mention, if this were any other situation, I would make fun of his use of the word “orifice.” I wonder if that was a word on his word-of-the-day calendar he got in the white elephant gift exchange last Christmas.
“What? No matter how I say it, it’s all the same. I don’t know why we’re arguing over the logistics. You know it”—he looks at his brother—“and you know it.” He directs his gaze to me. “What makes our sister any different?”
“Trust me, I know. But Payton is different.”
“How do you know?”
Does he really want to just go back and forth here? Is he going to pick a fight like a toddler asking why over and over?
After running my hands through my hair, I link my hands behind my neck as I try to come up with the words.
“I don’t know how to describe it. I just know.
How did you know with Hollie?” I know exactly how he knew with her and how fast he fell, so I keep talking.
“She’s the last thing I think about at night and the first thing I think about in the morning.
Life has become so vibrant since she came into my life like this. ”
“But Payton isn’t just what you get. She and Gabby are a pair,” Archer states.
“She comes with a lot of baggage.” He hesitates and frowns.
“Not that I’m calling my niece or what Pay went through baggage.
But that little girl already has the DNA of that dipshit running through her blood.
I don’t think she needs someone to just pop into her life. She needs a father.”
“I know that, Arch. If you think I hadn’t thought of that, then you’re fucking insane. I know they come together, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Taking on the role of her dad or a father figure doesn’t scare me like I thought it would. I love both of them.”
The admission slips right off my tongue effortlessly, and I hate even more that I’m confessing my feelings to these two ass clowns before I have the chance to tell Payton.
“You love my sister?” Ollie asks. His tone has lost its bite now, as if it’s finally sunken in that this isn’t just about sex.
“Yeah, I do.” I am head over heels in love with Payton Mosby. “And that was my plan to tell her that today. We had made a plan to tell everyone about this, about us, after today.”
Ollie blows out a harsh breath and links his hands together on the top of his head. “Well, if you were planning to tell her that today, what the fuck are you doing here? Looks to me as though you were more worried about this here than you are about them.”
I sink down into the chair. “Well, I didn’t get the chance to. She walked out on me.” But she’s going to come back.
“Maybe she doesn’t love you,” Ollie tosses out there, and I narrow my eyes.
“Or maybe her jackass of a brother came into her house unannounced, called her a whore over and over, and threw other people’s mistakes and events that Payton couldn’t control in her face.
Really, Ol? The joke about two divorces gets the third one free?
Not to mention, he took a swing at me when I was holding Gabby. ”
Something snaps in Archer at my last statement. He shoots off the desk and spins, slamming his hands down on the wood.
“What the fuck were you thinking?” At the volume of his voice, there’s no way the entire building isn’t now aware of what’s going on in here. “No, that’s the problem. You weren’t fucking thinking.”
Ollie opens his mouth to speak, but Archer cuts him off, holding his hand up.
“Just. Stop. Talking.” The way Archer articulates each word tells me that he is struggling to keep his cool.
“I’m trying really hard not to jump over this desk and fucking throttle your ass.
Gabby is a child, and you put her at fucking risk.
I wouldn’t blame Pay if she didn’t trust you around her daughter anymore. ”
“You don’t think she would…” He trails off, turning his gaze to me, and I shrug.
I don’t think Payton would go to that extreme, but I wouldn’t stop her If that was her decision.
When it comes to Gabby, there is nothing I won’t do to keep her safe.
Just saying those words aloud and reliving that moment has me wanting to deck him all over again.
Maybe Arch and I could alternate punches.
But since I know my best friend so well, I know that his guilt of putting Gabby in danger alone will be a stronger force than any punch I could throw.
“God, I fucked everything up.” Ollie’s face crumples with shame before he rests his head in his hands.
“Ya think?” Archer and I both ask in unison.
Ollie nods in understanding of his fuckup before his eyes focus on me. “But if you love her, why did you let her walk out on you?”
“It’s not that simple. She needed a moment to process it. I couldn’t force myself on her. Loving someone sometimes even means that you need to let them go, even if that’s not what you want, what you need. Even if that’s the furthest thing from what you feel.”
Ollie knows exactly what I mean. He had done something similar before getting his head out of his ass and making Hollie officially his. He was a miserable bastard when she left, but he couldn’t make that choice for her. I refused to do the same for Payton.
My eyes quickly drift over to Archer for a fraction of a second, and if I hadn’t been focusing on him, I wouldn’t have seen the flash of understanding pass over his eyes before he blinks it away.
“She’s at your mom’s. I may have driven past the house on my way here. Just because I let her have her moment doesn’t mean that I’m okay with it. I’m giving her time to come back to me, if that’s what she wants.”
Ollie opens his mouth to speak, but I cut him off. “So we good?” I press on my knees to rise at the same time Ollie does.
“Yeah, man, we’re good. I still don’t like that way you two went about it, but love, man. It fucks you up. No more secrets, though?”
“No more secrets.” That was the first secret we’ve ever had between us our entire lives. I mean, hell, he told me the truth about his and Hollie’s fake relationship back in the beginning. I was the only one who knew it wasn’t real, although I watched those fake feelings turn into forever.
He pulls me into his arms for a manly hug, swatting my back harder than normal. I wince slightly at the last slap.
“For the record, you hurt my sister, I’ll kill you myself. And my wife watches enough true crime that they’d never find the body.” When he pulls back, he smiles his carefree Oliver Mosby smile, but his eyes tell me he’s not joking.
“Trust me. If I ever hurt her, I’ll hand you myself on a silver platter to do with as you please. And make it hurt.”
Archer chuckles at my response. “Good to know. But be on your best behavior because I’d hate to go out and hire a new chef. Which, speaking of, we’re opening soon, and you have a kitchen to run.”
“What?” Ollie screeches. “You’re worried about the kitchen when this shit is going down? We need to fix things.”
Ollie’s change in behavior gives me fucking whiplash. Oh, my, how quickly the tables have turned. This time, I don’t hide my smirk.
“No, Rhyland seems to know what he’s doing at the moment.
So he’s going to get to the kitchen like planned and focus his mind on cooking.
And you—” Archer pokes his brother in the chest hard enough to shove him back slightly.
“—are you going to get in your jeep, drive over to our mother’s house, and pray to God that she lets you inside to apologize to her daughter.
I like how you said we need to fix things when it’s you.
You are the one that fucked things up, and you need to be the one to fix things. ”
Ollie swallows dramatically, as if just now realizing that Pay being at their mom’s house means that she probably told Connie everything, including the shit he said.
“Don’t worry, baby bro. I’m sure Mom can get out the old soap you used to chew on back in the day,” Archer teases before walking me out of the office and to the kitchen.
As I slip into my chef coat, I hope Ollie doesn’t make matters worse and hurt his sister even more. We may be good now, but I swear to all fuck that I will hurt him if he makes the situation worse.
If he does, I will at least help Payton bury the body while giving my condolences to Hollie upon her return.