“Why?” Ryan asked.
“Your girlfriend needed you, and you’ve played nice for a couple of months. Figured I’d give you the benefit of the doubt.”
“She’s not my girlfriend.”
“You dropped everything for her. Put your job and your trust fund at risk, just because she showed up at your workplace and asked you to get out of there. I mean, Trinity practically swooned with envy.”
Ryan ran a hand over his jawline. He hadn’t given any of that a single thought. Elissa needed him, and he went. It was simple.
“You have it bad, bro.” Alex pushed away from the glass door and clapped a hand on Ryan’s shoulder. “Go home. Whatever it is, you obviously need some rest. Come back tomorrow, and we can talk some more.”
“What have you done with my brother? You’re being nice.”
“I’m always nice.”
“Not to me.” Ryan shoved his hands into his pockets.
“Fair. Consider this a couple decades’ worth of being nice to you.” Alex squeezed his shoulder gently. “You’ve been putting in the work, and I see how miserable this job makes you. Take the day off. We’ll be fine. Go see your girl.”
“She’s not my girl,” Ryan muttered. “She left in the middle of the night, would’ve left without a word if I hadn’t woken up.”
“That doesn’t sound like Elissa.”
Jealousy tore through him. What did his brother know about Elissa fucking Wright? His hands clenched at his sides. Alex looked him up and down, his eyes softening, and his lips twisted into a wry grin.
“Well, well, who would’ve guessed Ryan DeMarco had a heart to break? You’re in love with her. Holy shit, man, I thought it was a fling. I was a bit jealous at first. From the moment you walked into the conference room the first time, I knew I had exactly a zero percent chance of ever?—”
“Unless you want a fat lip, I suggest you don’t finish that sentence.”
Alex held up his hands and backed away until he was leaning on the door again. “Okay, okay, chill. So what the hell happened?”
“God, I wish I knew the whole story.” Ryan’s grip tightened on his helmet, and he struggled to keep his voice even. “All I know is she came in yesterday, needed to get the fuck out of here, so I took her to Bisbee. She got a call late last night—her mom was in an accident—and left.”
“Of course she left, doofus. Wouldn’t you?”
“Yeah, but she wouldn’t let me help. She came to me yesterday, needed me yesterday, but…I dunno, when things got real, she was out of there faster than Nonna’s spoon smacked our hands when we went for a cookie without permission.”
Alex chuckled. No one got away with stealing Nonna’s cookies.
“What do you mean, when shit got real?”
Ryan stared at his boots as the flush settled in his cheeks. “I…uh…may have told her how I feel.”
“Oh, that you love her? Before or after she found out about her mom?”
“Before, but she wasn’t supposed to hear.”
“Dude. Duuude.”
Ryan snuck a glance. Alex’s eyes twinkled with amusement and he had that look, the one where he was trying really hard not to laugh his fucking ass off.
“Don’t you fucking laugh.”
“I would never.”
“Liar.”
“Okay, she obviously had a rough day. You tell her you love her, but she’s not supposed to know, then she finds out her mom was in an accident. And you expect her to handle things rationally?”
