Chapter 37
thirty-seven
EZRA
I should leave. I should pack up my shit and let them have the house to themselves.
Except I can’t. Jo is more than capable of handling herself if there’s a threat, but Maverick isn’t.
Not to say that Maverick isn’t strong in other ways, but he’s always hated physical violence and wouldn’t hurt a fly.
It’s something I’ve always loved about him.
And therein lies the biggest reason I won’t leave. I still love him, even though he may not love me. Even if there isn’t anything left to fight for. I will always love him.
I stormed back into the house after watching them embrace on the beach. They look good together. His dark to her light. Better than I look standing next to him.
Giving myself a few minutes to stew in my self-deprecation, I shake it off and force myself to regroup.
I need to check all the cameras and get a new phone to make monitoring the property easier.
I won’t let anything happen to Maverick, even if he isn’t mine anymore.
And I won’t let anything happen to Jo because if I’m being totally honest with myself, she’s become my friend.
Jo somehow wormed her way into my small circle in an entirely different way than Declan did.
Making me completely unprepared to defend against her.
Sitting down on the couch with my laptop on the table in front of me, I quickly scan the cameras and check the movement notifications.
They’re all either animals or Maverick and Jo making their way back up the stairs from the beach.
The smart thing to do would be to go to my room with my headphones and pretend I’m alone in the house.
I must not be a smart man because I don’t move.
Not when I see them coming up the path to the back of the house.
Not when they open and close the sliding glass door.
And not now when they’re both standing in front of me, hand in hand.
The only movement in my body is the twitching of my left eye.