It's About Time (Blossom Peak #4)(55)
It felt like watching a friend show the world why she’s a badass.
But then every flash of our interactions over the years reappeared, and suddenly I was irritated again.
I stab my desk with my finger. “Hey, she’s the one who decided she hated my guts, so I gave her the same treatment back. And it’s not like I was wise enough to try to mend it back then. Besides, Henley would have killed me if he knew I was secretly crushing on her.”
Fletcher nearly falls out of his chair. “What?”
Shit. I didn’t mean to say that thought out loud.
“You—you had a crush on her? When?”
I rub the back of my neck. “Fuck.”
“Dude. You need to explain, and now.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “This stays between us, okay?”
He draws an X across his chest. “Promise.”
Blo wing out a breath, I lower my voice. “Our junior year, I sort of started crushing on her. She and Laney were freshmen, though, and we had made our stupid pact, right?”
Fletcher nods. “The pact wasn’t stupid, but I get what you’re saying.”
I roll my eyes, then continue. “So, I just played it cool, and then at the beginning of our senior year, she just started acting like she hated me, so I convinced myself that what I felt toward her was idiotic, so I shoved it down. And the meaner she was to me, the easier it was to forget that I liked her at one point.” Shrugging, I watch the irritation slide across his face.
He pinches the bridge of his nose. “Did it ever occur to you to ask her why she acts that way?”
My eyes drift to the side of my office as I contemplate his question. I already know the answer, but I don’t like it. “I did. Last year, when she kept showing up to check on me, I tried to get her to discuss it. But…she just brushed me off.”
Fletcher shakes his head before leaning forward in his chair, clasping his hands together between his legs, staring me dead in the eyes again. “Trust me, as someone who avoided Laney for the longest time, I wish I would have made her tell me why she hated me sooner. I lost so much fucking time that I could have been with her because we were both too stubborn to confront the truth.”
“That’s different, though. You two actually cared about each other…”
“And hasn’t Dilynne shown that she cares about you? Haven’t you helped her when she needed it?”
“Well, yeah, with legal paperwork and referring her customers and stuff, but…”
He waves a finger at me. “It’s still something. But remember what I said about time, Elliot. You can’t ever get it back. You two have four weeks left in your little ruse and my suggestion is, you make it count. Confront whatever the fuck makes you two behave toward each other the way you do, and you might be fucking shocked at what’s really lurking underneath the surface.” He sits up tall again and shrugs. “I mean, we already know that your dick likes her. Maybe there’s a lot more to it than that.”
“Gee, thank you for that enlightening advice.”
He smiles proudly. “You’re welcome. Now, I must get back to my husbandly duties. Laney gave me a honey-do list and if I don’t get it done, she’s not going to be happy with me when she gets home from work.”
I trail him with my eyes as he stands. “Damn, now I’m so sad that I missed out on marriage.”
Fletcher chuckles. “Trust me, the attention she gives me when the list is complete is well-worth the duty.” With a waggle of his eyebrows, he heads for the door, turning back to me before he exits. “Just remember, if you need someone to talk to, you know I’m just a phone call away.”
“Yeah, yeah. Now go home before you get in trouble.”
Laughing, he rises from his chair and lets himself out of my office. I gather the wrappers and empty cups from our lunch, deciding to take them out to the dumpster behind the building instead of letting them stink up my office all afternoon. But when I move to open the door that leads outside, I’m caught off guard by the sound of my father’s voice.
“We had an agreement,” he grates out just loud enough that I know he’s pissed, but he’s clearly also trying to be discreet.
“ I know, but how am I supposed to fulfill that when he’s with someone else now?”
Wait. Is that Tori? Why the fuck is she out here alone with my dad?
“Either get creative, or just wait it out. It’s only a matter of time before my son comes to his senses.”
“I don’t know, Henry…”
“You owe me, remember? But the only way that we’re both going to get what we want is if Elliot gets married.”
My pulse is racing as I continue to listen to this conversation through the crack in the door.
Why the fuck would they need me to get married?
“Elliot?” Thomas, one of the other attorneys in the practice, calls out to me as he approaches from the other end of the hallway.
I softly let the door close behind me and head toward him, hoping that my dad and Tori didn’t hear him.
“What’s up, Thomas?” I ask as I catch up to him and lead him away from the door. Meanwhile, my mind is spinning, wondering what the hell my father and Tori are up to—and why I didn’t think of this possibility sooner?
***