Miles chuckled from the couch. “Have I mentioned I love your girl, Elliot?”
Elliot whirled around to scowl at him. “No. And you’ll continue not to mention that.”
I elbowed him in the ribs. “Be nice. Miles is helping me in a big way.” Then I addressed Miles. “Don’t antagonize my boyfriend.”
Luca made a noise that sounded distinctly like an “awww.” “Elliot is a boyfriend. It’s cute.”
Weston shook his head. “Never thought I’d see the day.” Then he narrowed his eyes at his brother. “How did my wayward brother end up here with you?”
Miles closed his notebook and spread his arms over the back of my raggedy couch. “I’m here because I’m really good at solving other people’s problems and ignoring mine.”
As a person who’d been the black sheep of the family, I’d felt a camaraderie with Miles right away. It couldn’t have been easy to be Weston Aldrich’s younger brother. There was just no way to compare to a man who’d built a hugely successful company from scratch before he’d turned thirty.
I was still getting to know Miles, but I could tell he marched to the beat of his own drum, and I thought that was pretty fudging rad.
“We ran into each other in the paint section. He saw how lost I looked and took it upon himself to offer his services.”
“Gratis, obviously,” Miles added. “We’re going to get this house in top shape in no time.”
Elliot’s hold on me slipped down to my waist, his fingers digging almost too hard into my flesh. “I could have helped you.”
“I know you could have, but you’ve helped me with so much. I’m doing this on my own.”
His jaw rippled. “With Miles.”
Miles waved his notebook around. “I’m a planner, not an implementer. This is as far as I’m going. Once I’ve got the plans wrapped up, Baby Bird has to fly with her own wings.”
I waved. “Hi, I’m Baby Bird.”
Elliot’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t give her nicknames.”
Luca snickered. “I’ve never seen Elliot jealous. This is incredible.”
Weston smacked his bicep. “Shut up. We’re here to make amends, not laugh at him.”
“No one invited either of you,” Elliot reminded them, though I could tell he was at least marginally less pissed at them. He seemed to have transferred that to Miles, which was funny to me. If Elliot could have seen how much of me he occupied, he’d understand there was no room for anyone else. But I sort of liked his jealousy. It made me feel even more wanted, and the truth was, I’d never felt as wanted as I did when I was with Elliot. Not by anyone.
Miles hopped up, his notebook tucked under his arm. “I was the only one officially invited, but I have to jet.” He stopped by me, raising his hand for a high five. “I’ll email you everything tonight, okay?”
“Thank you, Miles.” I slapped my palm against his. “You’re awesome.”
He shot Elliot a victorious grin. “Hear that, champ? I’m awesome. Bet she’s never said that to you.”
All three men rounded on him, groaning, hissing, barking his name. Miles made a quick exit, laughing all the way out.
Once he was gone, there was an awkward moment before Weston spoke.
“I hope you know I don’t think poorly of you. Everything you heard came from a place of concern for Elliot. Elise helped me quickly realize it was unneeded and grossly misinformed.”
Luca added to Elliot’s apology. “Saoirse also drilled into me that I need to keep my mouth shut and recognize how happy my friend is. That’s what I’m doing, looking at you both and seeing two people who make each other happy. That’s all I care about.”
“I accept your apology. It’d be great if we could just move past this,” I answered.
“Absolutely.” Luca scrubbed his scruffy jaw. “Can you do what our girls did and convince Elliot to come around too?”
Tipping my head back, I looked up at Elliot, his gaze already locked on me. His mouth twitched into a slight smile when our eyes connected, and the center of me went soft and gooey. “Yeah. I think I can manage that.”
On the drive back to Elliot’s, I reached across the console to weave my fingers with his.
“What do you think? Can you forgive them?”
His fingers tightened around mine. “I won’t accept anyone hurting you.”
“You know they never would have said those things if they’d known I was listening.”