A Long Time Coming (Cane Brothers, #3)(74)

“Being stressed does not give anyone an excuse to be a dick. And he was a dick. Flat out. I need you to realize that. What he did was an inexcusable dick move. Do you hear me?”

She blinks and then nods. “Yes.”

“Good. Now, we’re going to forget that just happened because we have a fun night planned, and I’m not going to allow him to ruin that. Understood?”

“Yes,” she says again, and then she falls into my chest. I wrap my arms around her and let her cry it out for a few more minutes. All the while, I think about what I would have done if Brian dismissed her boldness in person.





“You’ve barely touched your naan,” I say. “That’s unacceptable.”

“I’m sorry,” she says, pushing it to the side. “I’m just . . . not in the mood.”

“Is that why we haven’t started playing Plunder?”

“Maybe I should go back to my place.”

“Yeah, okay, as if I would let you do that,” I say. “With that frown you can’t seem to shake, no way would I allow you to just sulk away. Nah, sorry, you’re here with me for the rest of the night.”

Her eyes well up again, her lips tremble, and I tug on her hand to sit on my lap right as she bursts into tears again.





“I’m sorry about all of this,” she says quietly as we sit on my couch, watching old reruns of Family Feud.

After she ate a few more bites of her food, we packed everything up in containers and stuck it in the fridge. Since she wasn’t in the mood for a board game, we both took a seat on the couch, where we’ve been mindlessly watching reruns ever since. I’ve wanted to pull her in close several times, to stretch her legs across mine, to massage her feet, to do anything to touch her, and to make her feel better.

“Don’t apologize,” I say.

“I know, but I didn’t even ask you how your date with Birdy was. I just kind of bogarted the night with my issues.”

“You didn’t bogart anything. You have the right to be upset. Brian let you down, and you need to work through those feelings. There’s nothing to apologize for.”

“Still . . .” She turns toward me now. “How was birdwatching with Birdy?”

I shrug casually, keeping my eyes on the TV as I say, “We decided just to be friends.”

“What?” she asks. “Why?”

I shrug again. “Just don’t think I was into it like she was.”

“And she was okay with that? She said she was so excited about meeting you.”

“She was,” I answer. “We had a real honest conversation about it, actually. She could tell I wasn’t feeling it and said it was okay. She’d rather know now than have me drag things on. We still went on a hike together. Did some talking, and I told her I would hook her up with one of my friends who I think would be perfect for her.”

“Who?” she asks as her lips lightly turn up.

“Penn.”

Momentarily forgetting her woes, Lia leans over and grips my forearm. “Oh my God, Breaker, they would make the cutest couple.”

“I think so, plus Penn is really honest, and is the kind of guy she’s looking for.”

“Is he dating?”

“I think so, just hasn’t found anyone he wants to be serious about. I think that could be Birdy.”

“Well, look at you being a matchmaker. I’m sorry it didn’t work out, though, I thought you were looking for that kind of relationship,” she says.

“I was, but she wasn’t what I wanted.”

“What do you want?” she asks.

You.

Everything about you.

Your soul.

Your mind.

Your heart.

Your body.

I want all of you, every last fucking inch of you.

“Still processing that. I’ll let you know when I’m ready.”

“Oh, you have an idea?”

“Yes, I have an exact idea, but it’s going to take some finagling, so let’s put this conversation on pause.”

“Okay, that’s not evasive at all.”

“Not at all.” I wink, which causes her to push me with her foot.

“That’s annoying.”

“At least we’ve moved past Brian being a dumbass.”

She leans against the back of the couch. “He really was being a dumbass, wasn’t he?”

“He was because from where I sit, he’s completely missed the fact that you’re a total smokeshow with that hair.”

“Smokeshow, huh? What was I before?”

“A smokeshow,” I answer. “But without confidence. This new haircut just makes you shine brighter.”

“I was feeling really confident.”

“He’s a certified troll for saying anything negative. Bet you he thinks you’re too hot now, like you’re out of his league, and he’s worried you might wander off.”

“Well, if he keeps acting like an ass, I very well might.”

That’s the spirit. Wander off, straight into my arms.

Not wanting to push the subject, I turn back to the TV and say, “Are we going to apply to be on Family Feud again this year? We have Kelsey and Lottie, who we can add to the team, as well as JP, so I think the odds are in our favor. Kelsey would have precise answers, JP would have the funny covered, and Lottie will cover the wildcard topic.”