6. Caius #2
She rolls her eyes, but she's smiling, and for a second, it's just us. Just Caius and Hallie, the way it was last night before everything got complicated.
Then Kyle materializes beside us like a sentient polo shirt.
"Hallie. Wow. You look... different."
She tenses against me. This is the guy who broke her heart, who made her feel like she wasn't enough, who posted photos with Italian models while she cried into library books.
I hate him on principle.
"Kyle." Her voice is cool, detached. "This is Caius. My boyfriend."
She puts emphasis on the last word, and I watch Kyle's expression shift. Confusion, then assessment, then thinly veiled condescension.
"Boyfriend. Right." He extends a hand, and I shake it harder than necessary. "Caius. That's an unusual name. What do you do?"
"I'm a mechanic." I don't bother softening it. "I own the auto shop on Fifth."
"Ah." Kyle's smile doesn't reach his eyes. "That's... nice. Very blue-collar."
Hallie stiffens, and I know she's about to say something sharp, something defensive on my behalf, but I don't need her to fight this battle.
"Yeah," I say easily. "I work with my hands. Get dirty. Make an honest living fixing things."
The subtext hangs heavy: Unlike whatever you do that requires khakis and smugness.
Kyle's jaw tightens. "Well. Good for you.
" He turns back to Hallie, dismissing me entirely.
"So, Hal, I've been meaning to reach out.
I know things ended kind of abruptly between us, but I've been doing a lot of personal growth work in Europe, and I think we should talk.
Clear the air before the wedding. Maybe grab coffee? Just the two of us?"
The audacity.
I don't think. I just move, pulling Hallie closer, my arm banding around her waist. She fits perfectly against me, her back to my front, and I rest my chin on her shoulder.
"She's busy," I say, my voice pleasant but edged with steel. "We're busy. Turns out when you're in a relationship, you don't really have time for coffee with your ex."
Kyle's eyes narrow. "I was just trying to be friendly."
"Sure you were." I press a kiss to Hallie's temple, slow and deliberate, never breaking eye contact with him. "But Hallie doesn't need closure from you. She's moved on."
"Clearly." His gaze rakes over us, and I can see him doing the math. Trying to figure out if this is real. "It's just surprising, that's all. Hallie's always been more of a... bookish type. I didn't think mechanics were her speed."
"Shows what you know about her," I say softly.
Hallie's hand comes up to cover mine where it rests against her stomach, and she leans back into me, trusting and solid.
"Kyle," she says, her voice steady. "Caius is right. I've moved on. We don't need to grab coffee. We don't need to clear the air. I'm happy. Really happy. So let's just... leave the past in the past, okay?"
For a second, Kyle looks like he wants to argue. Then Josh calls his name, best man duties, and he pastes on a fake smile.
"Sure. Of course. I'm happy for you, Hallie." He nods at me, perfunctory. "Nice to meet you, Caius."
He walks away, and Hallie sags against me, releasing a breath she's been holding.
"I hate him," she mutters.
"Get in line."
She turns in my arms, looking up at me, and there's something fierce in her expression. "Thank you. For that. For the whole possessive lover thing. That was... effective."
"Not entirely an act," I admit. The words hang between us, weighted with everything I've been holding back for years.
Her breath catches, and I feel the way her body goes still in my arms. Those hazel eyes widen behind her glasses, searching my face like she's trying to decode something she's afraid to hope for. "No?"
"No." The single word comes out quiet but certain, and I watch something flicker across her expression, surprise, maybe, or the beginning of understanding.
The air between us shifts, charges, and I'm about to say something monumentally stupid when Ryan appears, clapping me on the shoulder hard enough to rattle my teeth.
"Caius! There you are, man. Come on, Josh needs help setting up the photo booth, and apparently, I'm not mechanically inclined enough." He grins at Hallie. "Mind if I steal him for a sec, sis?"
"Go ahead." She waves us off, but her eyes linger on me. "I'll be fine."
I let Ryan drag me across the lawn to where Josh is wrestling with a backdrop that refuses to stay upright. We fix it in under five minutes, the pole just needed to be tightened, but Ryan doesn't let me escape.
"So." He crosses his arms, leaning against the folding table laden with wedding favors, the white tablecloth rippling slightly under his weight.
His expression is unreadable in that way that's always made me nervous, the one that reminds me he's not just my best friend but also Hallie's older brother. "You and Hallie."
My stomach drops like I've just driven over a cliff I didn't see coming. All the air seems to leave my lungs at once. "What about us?" I aim for casual, but my voice betrays the sudden spike of adrenaline flooding my system.
"Don't play dumb with me, Caius. I've known you too long for that." He tilts his head, studying me with those same sharp eyes Hallie has. "You're dating my sister."
The words hang there between us, an accusation or maybe just a statement of fact. I can't tell which would be worse. "Yeah," I admit, because there's no point in lying to Ryan. There never has been. "Is that a problem?"
He studies me for a long moment, and I brace myself for the shovel talk, the threats, the very justified anger of a brother who took me in when I had nothing and trusted me not to screw over his family.
Instead, he sighs. "Took you long enough."
I blink. "What?"
"Dude. You've been looking at her like that since high school. I was starting to think you'd never make a move."
"You... you knew?"
"I'm not blind." He shrugs. "And honestly? There's no one I'd trust more with her. Just... don't hurt her, okay? Because if you do, I'll have to kick your backside, and that'll be awkward since you're my best friend."
The relief is so sharp it almost hurts. "I'm not going to hurt her."
"Good." He claps my shoulder again, gentler this time. "Now let's get back before Hallie thinks we're in here making friendship bracelets or something."
We head back to the party, and I scan the crowd for green dress and dark hair. I find her by the dessert table, laughing at something Madison's saying, and my chest does this stupid thing where it forgets how to function properly.
This is a problem. A massive, complicated, Ryan-approved problem.