A Long Time Coming (Cane Brothers, #3)(10)

And I think it comes down to her attack on my character. Gemma attacked the one thing I take great pride in, and that’s being a good guy. Between my brothers and me, we all have different personalities.

Huxley is the grump, the domineering, the take-no-prisoners kind of guy.

JP is the funny one, the easygoing guy, the instigator at times.

And me . . . well, I’m the levelheaded—the sounding board—and the good guy.

So having my name slandered with vehement lies is just so fucking painful. I’ve worked so hard at being above reproach.

Respected.

Trusted.

And someone people could rely on.

For the most part, I’ve accomplished that, but this . . . this just makes me think that maybe I didn’t.

I scrub my hand down my face just as a light tapping comes from the other side of the wall.

And just like that, a smile spreads across my face.

Reaching up to the wall, I rap my knuckle four times.

Like clockwork, she knocks three.

Four knocks for four letters in love.

Three knocks for three letters in you.

It’s something we’ve done ever since we shared a wall. It’s a gentle reminder that even though I’m angry, irritated, or even sad, at least I have Lia, my best friend, the one person who can so easily put a smile on my face. I don’t know what I’d do without her.

I don’t even want to think about it. Even when things in my life are out of balance, there’s one very solid, very predictable constant. Lia.





Chapter Two





LIA





“Morning,” Brian says through the phone. “Just wanted to remind you that we have lunch with my mom this afternoon.”

I lift my cup of coffee and say, “Yup, don’t worry, I’ll be there fifteen minutes early so she doesn’t have to comment on how I’m there only five minutes early.”

“Be nice,” he says.

“I’m . . . I’m—”

“So did you tell him about us last night?”

I stare down at the engagement ring sitting on my dresser. No, I didn’t tell him. Brian is not a fan of Breaker’s. “Not yet. It wasn’t a good time last night.”

“Lia, how could it not be a good time to tell your best friend you’re engaged?”

“He has some really bad things happening at work right now. Like . . . inimical circumstances. He found out about it last night. I didn’t think it was appropriate to just spring it on him.”

“What’s going on?”

“Confidential things,” I answer because even though Brian is my fiancé, Breaker is my best friend and deserves his privacy, especially regarding his business. “Anyway, I’ll tell him soon.”

“Okay.” He pauses and then says, “You’re not avoiding telling him for a reason, are you?”

“What does that mean?” I ask as I move toward my desk. Luckily, I get to work from home since I do contract work for my clients, which means I have my own hours and my own space. I’m not exactly a people person.

“It means I just want to make sure you’re happy about being engaged. It’s been a week, Lia, and you haven’t said anything to him.”

“Because he’s been out of town. I’m not about to tell him over the phone. It’s something I want to do in person.”

“Okay . . .” he says softly, and I can tell he’s not happy.

“Brian, I’m going to tell him. I just want it to be a celebration, not something I say in passing or when he’s in a bad mood or out of town. He’ll be happy for us.”

“Are you sure?”

“Why wouldn’t he?”

“I don’t know. You’ve just been weird since I proposed.”

“Weird, how?” I ask as I take a seat on my desk chair and slowly start to spin around in circles.

“Well, for one, we’ve only seen each other twice this past week, and I don’t know, I would think that since we’ve been engaged, we’d see each other more. And your texting has been sporadic. That’s why I called this morning because I wanted to make sure you were going to show up for lunch.”

“Brian, of course I’d show up.”

“I just don’t know, Lia. Seems like you don’t want to be engaged to me.”

“Stop,” I say, growing frustrated. “This is all just so . . . new, okay? I’m taking it one day at a time.” I pause as I try to word what’s been spinning through my mind over the last seven days. “I may not talk about them as much anymore, but I miss my parents, Brian. They were my world. They should be here with me celebrating. Planning. Being goofy and happy with . . . for me. But . . . they’re not here anymore, and that’s just so hard. So if I’m acting strange, it’s because I’m feeling . . . I don’t know . . . sad.”

“Oh.” He’s silent again. “I’m sorry, Lia. I didn’t think about it that way. I just assumed, you know, since you’re so close with Breaker, that maybe something was going on there.”

“Brian,” I groan while pressing my hand over my eyes. “I’ve told you time and time again, nothing is going on with Breaker and me. Please, please don’t make this a thing. I don’t want to have to keep saying this to you over and over. You should know me well enough that when I say something, I mean it.”