Chapter 19
NINETEEN
Anson
“So how long has that been going on?” Bo asks when I look up from my phone.
“Not sure what you mean.”
“You know exactly who and what I mean.” Bo gives me a look that tells me I’m not fooling anyone.
We haven’t talked about the incident in Bristol’s shop the other day, but the look he gave me the next time I saw him made it clear he knew I wasn’t alone in the changing room.
I refuse to answer him for a long minute hoping he’ll drop the inquiry. I’m not that lucky.
“You’ve been grinning at your phone like you just won a lottery.” He prods again.
“Don’t you dare say a word to Hazel.”
“I would never. Cade on the other hand…” He smirks and lets me know he’s kidding.
“I mean it.”
“I gotta share the gossip with someone.” The quirk of his brow and the grin he’s trying to suppress tell me he’s having way too much fun with this. I worry he might not actually be able to contain it.
“Not even Ramsey,” I warn, worried about a Stockton finding out more than anyone else.
“Ramsey might as well be Hazel these days. You know they tell each other everything. I’ve barely got anyone to tell my secrets to anymore.”
“It’s probably for the best.” I shoot him a look.
I love Bo, but I hoped he’d slow down and figure things out for himself sooner rather than later.
Decide what he really wanted and work toward it.
He’s got some of the big things down—the house and the business.
But I’m not sure he’s found the happiness I wish he would. And neither of us is getting younger.
“So? You gonna keep avoiding the question?” He presses me on the subject of Bristol.
“A few weeks.” If I don’t give him something, I’ll never hear the end of it.
“Let me guess, the wedding incident finally got you two into a situation that you couldn’t get out of.” Bo knows as well as I do that Hazel has been meddling for a while now, trying to push the two of us together.
“Something like that. It helps that her asshat ex is finally out of the picture for good.”
“She did like taking him back, no matter what sins he committed.” Bo shakes his head. “I’ll never understand guys like that. Just be fucking honest about what you want. Let a woman decide if she wants what you can offer or not.”
“Preaching to the choir.” I shake my head.
“I know I am. Speaking of… You put the brakes on all the casual hookups for Bristol?”
“Of course.” I shrug my shoulder, admitting something to my brother I wouldn’t to anyone else. Besides maybe Bristol if I manage to find a good moment for it. “All that was fine. But it’s not the same as having a chance at something more, you know?”
“Yeah, I know.” Bo looks out the window for a long moment.
“Or I imagine I would know. Theoretically anyway.” He clears his throat and changes the subject.
“Anyway, I just hate that Chris was such an ass to her. He was a good guy to have a beer with, but beyond that, I wouldn’t trust him for anything.
I never understood why she stayed so long. ”
“She’s loyal to a fault. It’s one of the things I admire about her. She just needs more people in her life who won’t take advantage of that.”
“Fair.” Bo tilts his head. “So you gonna keep your situation a secret forever, or what’s the plan? ’Cause if you two keep on like that, it’ll be obvious to more people than me. Ford and her mom are gonna catch on soon if they haven’t already.”
“Ford’s too busy with his own drama. There’s always something going on with him and his group of friends. It seems like every day there’s a new girl popping over to the house. I’m dreading him getting older and having a car. All the freedom that goes along with that.”
“Ford ain’t that busy. He picks up on more than you’d guess.”
“You know my son better than me?”
“No, but sometimes when you’re that close to someone, you miss things here and there.”
I shake my head. “If he suspected, I imagine he’d say something about it.”
“Good or bad?”
“I don’t know honestly. He loves Bristol.
She’s been as much a mother to him as anyone has.
Bristol’s been there to fix his lunchboxes and take him to practice and teach him how to ask a girl to a dance the right way.
” I smile at the thought of her with him.
They’ve been good for each other over the years.
“But you two being in a relationship, that complicates it, right? She’s just his aunt; she can’t disappear from his life. She becomes your girlfriend, or knock on wood, something more than that—there’s more to lose there. I know that’s weighing on you, whether you admit it or not.”
“You become a psychologist overnight too?” I’m grumpier with him than I should be, but in fairness, he’d hate this kind of inquisition himself. Which means I’m gonna be sure to bring one the second I get wind of whatever has him so circumspect lately.
“Just trying to prepare you for the questions that are gonna come when this eventually bubbles to the surface. And it will. You can’t hide that forever.
You two spend too much time together and know each other too well to hide it.
You didn’t act like this before, and anyone who’s known you for longer than a minute will be able to tell if they stop to pay attention.
” Bo’s brows knit together. “When Hazel gets back, I figure you’ve got about a day.
Tops. Then she’s gonna be real fucking suspicious and asking questions. ”
“Noted.” I’ve already felt it in the room with us when we’ve been around other people we know. I could feel Marlowe’s eyes on me at Ford’s game, and even the day we were working with Kell, I felt like I was wearing a neon sign that said I’d just agreed to be her boy toy.
But it got complicated quickly. We confessed and shared a hell of a lot more than I planned to.
It’s hard not to when she makes me feel like I can finally breathe.
Like I’ve got a person who’s there for me as much as I’m there for her.
Who I know would have my back if I ever needed it.
And fuck do I need it lately. I’ve been running too hard for too long, and in my own selfish fucking way, it feels good to finally be able to hang up some of the pretense and just be myself with her.
“I’m not trying to piss you off, Ans. I hope you’re happy. You two together, I love that for both of you. It makes sense. Your friends will agree on that much. But you know it’ll have consequences around here. Mostly good ones. I just want you to realize how low you are on time before it runs out.”
“I like our bubble,” I admit.
“I noticed.”
“You need to get your own bubble and stop worrying about mine.”
“Fuck that. I don’t want to be in a bubble. Sounds claustrophobic as hell.”
“Not when it’s the right person.”
“I don’t think there is a right person for me.”
“There’s someone for everyone.”
“Look at you being all sentimental. So cute on you.”
“I’m serious. While we’re giving each other shit, how long are you gonna keep on keeping on with your Casanova act?”
“No one said I’m Casanova. Far from it. I just don’t like the idea of settling down. Makes me fucking itch. And if there were a right person for me, I think I missed that chance a long time ago.” Bo shakes his head and shrugs.
“Got someone in mind?” I have my own suspicions where my brother is concerned, but I don’t voice them.
“Nah. Just talking theoretically.”
I have a feeling that’s bullshit. But again, I’m not trying to rattle his cage.
“Yeah, well. There’re a lot of fish in the sea, right? Chances are another swims by that might bite…”
“And want a confirmed bachelor who spends all his time elbow-deep in grease? I doubt it.”
“Stranger things have happened.”
“Yeah, well, I’m all right. Between you and Cade and Hazel, I figure that one of you’ll end up letting me rent a spare room in your family home in my old age. Get set up with a real nice deal without any of the hassle of walking down aisles and picking out drapes.”
I shake my head at his depressing view of relationships. I won’t push him. He wants to keep up his bachelor life; he’s free to do it, and he gets enough shit from my sister that he doesn’t need another opinion in the mix.
“Such a pessimist,” I mutter.
“You used to be too.”
“The right person. The right time. It changes all of that.”