Chapter 13
Phoenix
I should’ve been checking invoices, but instead I found myself pacing the length of my kitchen like a caged animal.
The loft was above my garage. It was the only part of my house that had a second floor.
It was a part of my house and now she was living here with her son.
I saw Izzy bring him over. I watched Elyna as she opened the door and smiled, her arms open with love and affection.
I hated how I wanted to be the person to make her smile.
I told myself I didn’t care. I’d provided her with a roof over her head and that was the end of it. But that was a blatant lie.
The truth? That loft hadn’t been built with her in mind.
I’d wanted a clean space for guests, a place that felt modern and simple with cream cabinets, wood counters, new furniture, a king bed.
Nothing sentimental, just practical. I had my house designed in an L-shape with my bungalow on the long part of the L and my garage perpendicular to it.
The way I had the loft built with all those windows allowed me to see everything that was going on inside.
I was now torturing myself with Elyna there because I could see her moving things in, setting Braden’s playpen in the corner, the place suddenly looked like it had been waiting for her all along.
Like somehow the loft fit her, or maybe she fit it.
And that thought did things to me I didn’t even want to unpack.
I grabbed a beer from the fridge, popped the cap, and leaned against the counter. The cold glass bit into my palm, but it wasn’t enough to cool me off.
Every interaction with her felt like a damn war.
Both of us too damn stubborn to give an inch.
It shouldn’t get to me the way it did, but it did.
Because underneath her sharp comebacks and narrowed eyes was a woman carrying too much weight and refusing to bend.
And for reasons I couldn’t shake, I wanted to be the one to shoulder some of it for her.
But she wouldn’t let me.
So I stayed in my kitchen because sitting on my porch watching her would be pathetic. Yet, I still felt like some kind of lovesick fool because it didn’t feel like I handed over four walls and a roof, it felt like I handed over a piece of me, and it was not something I intended to do, ever.
Hours slipped by, the light sky fading to a dusky blue. I was halfway through my second beer, still pacing the kitchen like a man without a tether, when the back door creaked open.
“You look like a caged animal.”
Cooper’s voice cut through the quiet, and I turned to see him stroll in, still in his work shirt from the brewery, sleeves rolled up, smelling faintly of whiskey and lemon cleaner. He leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, watching me like I was some puzzle he was about to solve.
“You checking invoices?” he asked.
I barked out a laugh. “I should be, but nah.”
His gaze slid toward the windows above the garage. Even in the dim light, I knew he could see what I’d been avoiding, Elyna’s silhouette moving around the loft, the space looking lived in already.
“Ah, I see what’s going on here,” he said, dragging it out, like everything suddenly made sense. “So that’s what’s eating you alive.”
“Don’t start,” I warned, tipping the beer to my lips.
Cooper smirked. “You want my advice?”
“No,” I deadpanned.
“You’re getting it anyway.” He stepped into the kitchen, plucking an unopened beer off the counter, cracking it open like he owned the place.
“Go up there. Take her some food. Welcome her properly. You might not realize it, but she’s not just moving into the loft, she’s moving into your life, whether you like it or not. ”
I set my bottle down harder than I meant to. “You don’t get it. We have history, Coop. And it isn’t good. Elyna Chabot wasn’t kind in high school.”
His brows rose, his expression pitying. “And you were? Don’t rewrite the past, man.
After your mom left, you went inside yourself and never really came back out.
When we met after high school, you were a shutdown introvert who didn’t speak very much.
The only reason you got laid on occasion was because you’re a handsome bloke.
” He chuckled deep and hearty. Leave it to Coop to say it like it was.
His words stung but they rang true.
Cooper leaned on the counter, leveling me with a steady look. “You think you’re protecting yourself by keeping that wall up. But I see the way you watch her. Hell, anyone with eyes can see it. You’re already in too deep, whether you admit it or not.”
I rubbed a hand over my face, the weight of his words pressing down. Cooper leaned forward, elbows on the counter, eyes steady. “You think this is about school? About how she treated you back then? Don’t be daft. You were teenagers. Kids are all about rubbish in one way or another.”
“She led me on,” I muttered, the sting still sharp.
“And you shut her out,” he countered. “After your mum left, you went inside yourself and never came back out. You buried yourself in work, sports, the bloody brewery, anything but feelings.”
My jaw clenched, but he wasn’t finished.
“Look, I get it. You have trust issues. But hiding behind that fear doesn’t protect you, it just keeps you alone like your father and your brothers.
” He nodded toward the window, where the glow from the loft spilled out.
“Meanwhile, Elyna’s up there raising her baby and carrying more weight than anyone should, while you’re down here pacing like a caged lion, pretending you don’t give a toss. ”
I swallowed hard, his words cutting deeper than I wanted to admit.
“The thing is, this grumpy shut-down version of you is just your armor. Your way of protecting yourself,” Cooper pressed on.
“You’ve always cared, you just don’t say it.
But I’ll tell you this. . .don’t allow the past to keep you paralyzed.
You’ll get old and you’ll be filled with regret.
And as a side point, that woman deserves someone in her corner, and whether you like it or not, that someone’s you. ”
I gripped the edge of the counter like it might keep me upright, but my chest felt tight.
Cooper took a pull from his beer, his voice lowering. “So stop punishing her for who she was at seventeen. Stop punishing yourself for what your mum did. And go to her with some proper food. Welcome her. Do it right.”
Cooper watched me brood for another minute before shaking his head like I was a lost cause. Then he pulled his cell from his pocket.
“What are you doing?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.
“Sorting you out,” he replied, scrolling like a man on a mission. “You’re not turning up at her door empty-handed. Hold on.”
I heard the line click. “Dom? Yeah, it’s Coop. Need a favor. Two plates of roasted chicken with vegetables, nice and hot. Wrap it up proper. No, not for me, the boss will collect it. Yeah, yeah, he’ll be there in fifteen. Cheers, mate.”
He ended the call and slipped his phone away, smirking at me like he’d just won a bet.
I groaned, “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“Nope, you’re going by the brewery. You’re picking up the food and you’re walking it over to her like the decent host you pretend you aren’t.”
“I’m not. . .”
“Save it,” Cooper cut in. “History or not, she’s under your roof now. You don’t have to marry her, Phoenix. Just welcome her. Do the right thing.”
I stared at him, jaw tight, beer bottle sweating in my hand. He was relentless, always had been.
Cooper grinned knowingly. “Don’t act like you’re doing this for me. You’ve been pacing this kitchen like a bloke with a thorn in his foot. Go on. Fetch the food. It’s not complicated.”
Before I could argue, he clapped me on the shoulder and practically steered me toward the door. “Now, out you go. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I found myself outside in the cool evening, keys in hand, cursing under my breath. Cooper thought he was clever, but the truth was, he wasn’t wrong.
Not that I’d ever admit it.
I went to the brewery, where I was met with Dominic’s look of pure satisfaction, like he’d been waiting for this moment. He passed me the bag of food.
“Don’t screw this up,” he said, giving me a half-smile.
I scowled. “You too, Dom? Thought you’d stay out of this.”
“Not when you’re pacing around here like you’ve got ants in your boots,” he shot back. “She’s good for you, man. Anyone can see it.”
I shook my head, muttering under my breath, but he’d already turned back to polishing glasses like the conversation was done.
I took the bag of food, knowing that everything Cooper accused me of was true.
I had my guard up. All the men in our family did.
I was terrified of getting hurt so I kept my interactions with women very casual, but I was a goner the moment Elyna walked into the brewery.
And Coop was right. She was a seventeen-year-old kid who was hurting.
We all did stupid things back in the day.
I walked across my driveway and up the few steps that led to the loft.
I knocked twice on the door, wondering what the etiquette should be for just dropping by.
The door opened, and every rational thought in my head turned to ash.
Elyna stood barefoot, and her hair was down in soft waves.
She looked swallowed up in an oversized pajama shirt.
No frills, no effort, and still she knocked the breath out of me.
My gaze betrayed me as it dragged lower, catching on the unmistakable peaks pressing against thin cotton.
I jerked my eyes away and swallowed hard.
She didn’t notice since she was too busy shifting Braden on her hip.
“Everything okay?” she asked.
I cleared my throat, forcing my gaze to her face. “Just…wanted to check in. Make sure you had enough for dinner.”