Chapter Three
CHAPTER THREE
TOBIAS
I’ve always had trouble sleeping, even as a kid. I was never the type to sleep for long periods of time. I’d fall asleep late and wake up early. I can get five hours of sleep in a night and feel like I slept ten or more. My energy has never lacked, and I don’t spend my days drinking coffee to keep the momentum up.
I’m sure most of that is thanks to my grandmother, or Grandma Betty as I call her. I’m not saying there’s something wrong with kids these days, but the older generations know what hard work looks like and what not giving up means.
I love that I was raised that way. I owe a lot of my success to it.
It’s probably why I’ve been up the last two hours hitting my daily word count and then deleting it, approving next month's copy Nat and I created a couple of nights ago for my social media, and reviewing the six new possible real estate options Simon sent me for our next location—all before seven in the morning.
None of these locations are bad per se, but the two that are within walking distance from other venues or restaurants pull my attention more. People are prone to pick a place to work based on convenience, and if they have to drive even five miles out of town, despite the size of that space being amazing, it’s a drawback. This brings me down to my top two picks.
Tobias
I like the Hillsheer Avenue one that splits up the room. We could put meeting tables and chairs on one side. Consider adding an additional rent cost to book it.
Simon
I haven’t had coffee yet, but I like the one with the apartment over it.
Tobias
Are you thinking of renting it out?
Simon
It’s an option. Or a place for us to crash when we’re there.
Tobias
Which would be rare. We could renovate it and make it a private space.
Simon
Do we want that added expense?
I rub my chin. It would make sense for me to call him, but he has a point, and it’s still early. I click on the property he likes and look at the pictures again. It’s a beautiful apartment—red brick in all the right spots and very industrial-looking. Honestly, it’s just my style if I were to have a downtown property. It would probably be easy to rent out once we didn’t need it. Who could say no to potential passive income?
I’m about to text Simon back when my phone rings, and Grandma Betty’s face appears on the screen. I showed her FaceTime once the day before I started college, and she's never called me the original way since.
I press the green button, and before I have a chance to get the first word off my lips, she beats me to it.
“Where is your shirt?” she asks.
Even though it’s clear that she can see me, I can see only her feet as she walks through her house.
“Grandma, you have to switch the camera around so I can see your face.”
“I’m still in my pajamas.”
“So?”
“So, that’s about the same thing as looking at you right now. Now, I know you’re probably wearing shorts, but dear, it could appear as if I were talking to my grandson naked.”
I roll my eyes, heading for my room to grab a shirt. “I’m not naked, Grandma.”
Even in my thirties, I feel like I’m in trouble and need to explain myself.
“Good. You might live alone, but there is no need for that. Please wear some underwear at the very least.”
I chuckle and then set the phone down to pull on a navy blue shirt with my latest series logo.
“Better?” I ask as I make my way back to the kitchen.
“Much. Thank you. You’ve always been a good listener.”
I shake my head. She’s not wrong. I’ve always respected my grandparents and parents. Even when I was a young kid, my parents would comment on how lucky they were. My well-behaved manner is probably why, when my parents decided to move to North Carolina the summer before my senior year of high school, my grandma didn’t even hesitate to let me move in with her so I could graduate with my friends and start college here in Wind Valley, hence why she’s a big part of why I act the way I do.
We’ve always had a good relationship, but that year, as silly as it might sound, Grandma Betty became more than my grandma—she became the most important person in my life.
“Well, you taught me well,” I say, grabbing an overnight oats meal I prepared last night and sitting at the table.
“Is that so? Then why is Natalie’s engagement party next weekend with another man?”
I blow a raspberry and prop my phone up. Grandma finally flips the phone around and does the same as she eats her breakfast. A small yogurt is all she picked for today.
“Grandma, we’ve been over this.”
“I know. For years . Now, I’m not a fan of homewreckers, Tobias Sebastian Banks, but we both know you and Natalie belong together.”
“We don’t know that. She’s happy. And we’re just friends, Grandma.”
Typically, our conversations are about my books and her newest sewing adventure, but ever since Natalie got engaged, she has brought her up in every conversation we have.
Even before I answer her calls, I know that’s the topic, but this is Grandma Betty. I'd never ignore her.
“Mm, maybe so, but she’d be happier with you.”
“We’re just friends ,” I repeat.
“It makes me sad when you lie.”
“I’m not lying,” I say through another laugh. “How’s Mr. Tinder from next door?”
Her spoon drops into her yogurt cup.
“Stop calling him that.”
“Well, coming to your house to ask you if he set up his dating profile right, then showing you all of it is a major pickup move if I ever saw one.”
“It wasn’t even Tinder.”
I chuckle as her cheeks turn a rosy color.
“Wait, do you like him?”
“No.”
“Grandma! You have a crush.”
“This phone call isn't about me.”
“It is now.”
She shakes her head.
“I’ll be in Lovers this weekend. Nat and I will be at the lodge looking at the spaces for the wedding.”
Grandma perks up in her chair.
“Just the two of you?”
“No, her fiancé is coming too. And his sister.”
She huffs. “I’ll stop by.”
“Be nice, Grandma.”
“I’m always nice.”
My grin is my only reply.
“I’ll see you later, dear. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Silence fills my kitchen as soon as she hangs up.
Even my grandmother has a busier dating life than me.
I sit back, take a bite, and then look at my laptop.
Shit, is this a sign that dating again is the direction I need to go?
I mean, I date, but no one has ever sparked anything inside me to ask for a second date. I don't see the point if I don't see it going anywhere.
Why chance hurting someone when I know after one day?
I push the thought of dating from my mind and head for the shower.
Dating is out of the question until I figure out my career.
How do I fix it?
I have no idea.
* * *
“I knew I’d find you here,” Simon says, walking into The Space. “Out of all of us, you have a house to yourself, and yet you’re still here the most.”
I lean back and gesture to the expansive open room. “I think the fact that other people are here getting shit done motivates me.”
“That makes sense.” He sets his stuff down and joins me. “Did you get past that scene you were struggling with the other day?”
“Ah, that would be no. I moved on to another book.”
“Again? What the hell, Tobias? What’s going on with you? Are you about to pull some big reveal of releasing a book a month for a year or what?”
I could see how he’d think that since I’ve held back the truth.
“I know it. You’re like six books ahead of me now. Shit,” I say the words in a joking tone to pull the attention off me. It works.
He chuckles. “It’s not a competition.”
“No, but it’s like the longer I go between releases, the more I feel out of sync with the industry. So much is changing, and I’m stuck here.” I gesture to my computer with my hands. “I don’t even know where here is.”
Well, shit. That’s the most I’ve divulged to someone who isn’t Natalie.
Simon studies me briefly before asking, “Do you not enjoy it anymore?”
“I do. I love writing. I still write every day, but I think I get bored.”
“Did you talk to Natalie about it? She’s always been a good source for you. You two are more in sync than anyone I know. She could basically write a book about you at this point.”
I eye him carefully.
“Did she say something to you?”
“About what?”
“Writing a book.”
He shakes his head.
“Oh, well, she suggested we write one together to help me get out of my funk.”
His left brow peaks. “Really? What did you say?”
“That I would think about it.”
“What’s holding you back?”
“I write smut. Can you imagine Nat and I writing that together? Yeah, we’ve talked about sex before, but writing it out explicitly would be different.”
“You’re both professionals. I’m sure you can get past it.”
I roll my eyes and shake my head.
“I just can’t do it.”
“Because you think of her as more than a friend?”
“No,” I snap.
“Sorry!” He holds his hands up. “I know she’s a touchy subject.”
“I just wish you guys would accept that we’re only friends. Hell, she and Griffin are getting married in a matter of months.”
“Why did you say his name like that?”
“Like what?”
“ Griffin ,” he says with a shake of his shoulders.
“I didn’t say it like that.”
“You did.”
I sigh. “I don’t know. Do you like him?”
Simon smirks. “I don’t think that matters. It matters if Natalie likes him.”
“He’s gone a lot.”
“Okay.”
“Like a lot .” I close my computer. “And he wanted to get married fast.”
“Okay. Nothing wrong with being so in love that you want to seal the deal quickly.”
I glare at him.
“He’s a nice guy, Tobias. What’s going on in your head?”
“He’s too nice, though, right? Always saying the right thing and magically has something in common with all of you.”
“He’s social. It’s not a crime.”
“He’s too perfect. There has to be something wrong with him.”
Simon sighs, now closing his computer, too. “Maybe you just don’t like him because Natalie spends more time with him than you these days.”
Ouch. He’s not wrong.
Is that it?
I blow out a breath. “She asked me to try being his friend.”
“Makes sense.”
“I said I would, but I don't know if I can.”
Simon doesn't say anything more. He just watches me.
“I’m going to try.”
“Are you?”
“Yes, Natalie wants me to.”
“Okay, so what’s the problem?” he asks with a slight chuckle. “I don’t mean to be a dick, but he seems like a nice guy and Natalie is happy. What more are you looking for?”
I twist my mouth and think about my answer.
“I don’t know,” I say and lean back.
And I’m so sick and tired of not knowing anything these days.
* * *
“Heyyyyyy, Tobias!”
“What the fuck, Natalie?” I glare as she holds my front door open for me the following day. “Are you serious right now?”
Griffin is parked on the side of the street, and his sister is leaning out the window behind him, waving at me like I can't see her. Both her arms are flailing about as if she were on a deserted island and trying to flag down a plane flying over.
“We get to ride together,” she shouts.
“Did I forget to mention that we’re all riding together?” Natalie asks.
We start down the sidewalk together, and under my breath, I say, “I can't believe you’re trapping me in a car with her.”
“It’s going to be fine.”
I glare at my so-called best friend before she climbs into the passenger seat. I get into the back.
“Hi,” Griffin's sister, Cassie, beams a smile at me.
A stack of special edition copies of my books sits on her lap.
“I have something for you to do to kill time on our road trip,” she says.
Natalie peeks around her seat, failing to hide her smile.
“This is great, Cassie. Thank you,” I say and grab the first book she hands me. “I don’t have a pen, though.”
She holds up a bag that has maybe ten inside of it.
“I’ve got you covered.”
“Perfect.”
I look up at Griffin to say hello to him, but he’s holding his phone to his ear.
Has he not heard of Bluetooth? I bet his car has it.
The conversation must be private. But come on, Nat’s in the car. He needs to be focused when he drives. Especially for a couple of hours.
“Can you make them all out to Cassie with a private note?”
Oh, and his sister is here too.
We fall into a rhythm of me signing books and her cooing over my notes for the next half hour. When her phone rings, I take this opportunity to text Natalie. I might be going through a stage of life when I question everything, but there is one thing I know for sure.
Tobias
After this road trip, this friendship is over.
Natalie
You’re so sweet to her. #friendsforever
Tobias
She’s a grown woman, Natalie.
Natalie
Ask her out.
“For fuck’s sake,” I say out loud, and Natalie snorts from the front seat.
“Are you okay?” Griffin asks. He got off the phone about five minutes ago and gave me a measly hello, Tobias. That was it. Like I said, he’s not a fan of mine.
But that’s okay. He can be a dick to me. As long as Natalie is happy, I truly don't care.
“Can you draw a heart in this one?” Cassie asks quickly to rein me back to her presence.
That’s how the car ride goes until we reach Lovers Lodge.
I can't get out of the car fast enough, and it seems neither can Griffin. He’s locking the vehicle and walking briskly toward the main entrance. His sister is hot on his heels, leaving Natalie and me trailing behind.
He should be walking next to his fiancée. Or holding her hand, and they should be gushing over their wedding venue.
But no, he disappears inside.
Making friends with someone like that is definitely at the top of my to-do list. Not.
I glance at Natalie, who is looking at me with a smile.
“Thank you for coming with me,” she says, and her smile widens.
“Anytime.” I swing my arm over her shoulders, leading her inside.
Heck, if Griffin’s behavior doesn't bother her and she’s still smiling, I won’t let it get to me.
Even if I think she deserves better than him.