“He can’t talk to you like that, Eliza,” Jonah snarled while I grabbed my things and made sure my computer was turned off.
“He’s always talked to me like that, Jonah.” But to be fair, I usually talked to him like that too. It wasn’t like he was a bully. Maybe moodier than I was. But we were brother and sister and had zero fear of telling the other person exactly what we thought.
“It needs to stop. He needs to respect your boundaries.”
I laughed because that sounded amazing. Totally fantastical but amazing all the same. “We have no boundaries. I don’t know why not. But we’re all like this.”
Jonah made an angry humming noise. “Not anymore.”
I opened my mouth to argue but closed it. Will did need boundaries. And it probably wouldn’t hurt for me to have them too. And Charlie for sure.
I doubted my brothers would take it very well coming from Jonah, but someone had to be the one to bring it up. And it might not be best received coming from Jonah either, but it would be even less well-received coming from me.
“That’s not going to be easy,” I said instead, stating the obvious.
He grunted something else that sounded like, “We’ll see,” but I couldn’t be sure.
We left through the back door, and as soon as it closed behind us, I whirled on Jonah, pushing him roughly against the brick wall of the building.
“What are you—?”
But my lips were on his before he could finish his sentence. That had been the hottest thing to ever happen to me. I didn’t need anyone to stand up for me to my brothers. Or to anyone, really. I was hardly ever quiet and even more rarely kept my opinions to myself. But that... standing up for me, getting Will to stop belittling me and my work authority, telling me I needed boundaries... my goodness, that was the sexiest thing I had ever witnessed.
He didn’t raise a complaint, which was convenient since I had a lot more plans for us tonight than kissing.
“God, you’re irresistible,” I told him when the urge to rip his clothes off was getting dangerous since we were outside, in public.
He leaned his head back against the building and looked at me from beneath hooded, dreamy blue eyes. “That’s interesting because I seem to remember a lot of years of resisting.”
I raised both eyebrows. “Are you serious? You rejected me.”
“I would never have done that.”
His voice had that tone where I wasn’t sure if he was joking or not. “Are you trying to fight with me? Because someone recently told me I need to put up some boundaries, and I’m happy to put up boundaries alllll over this.” I gestured at his entire body.
He smirked. Actually smirked. “Yeah, right.”
I backed away. “We’re about to have a serious conversation, Mason. I hope you’re ready for this.”
“I’m always ready for you, English. Bring it.”
He was so easygoing, so laid-back... For the first time in my adult life, I couldn’t read him. “When I was seventeen, we kissed. And you turned me down. Told me you promised Will you’d never date me.”
He nodded. “And I’ve regretted it every day since.”
“You’re lying.”
He shook his head, his intense gaze shimmering with sincerity. “I was young. And stupid. And I didn’t realize what I was missing. I’ve had a decade or so of regret to sort it out.”
My insides jumped spastically and seemed to rearrange themselves within my body. How could this be real? “What are you saying?” I asked breathlessly.
“You got over me,” he said in a low, serious tone. “Like, almost immediately. And by the time I realized what I’d lost... you’d moved on. I was willing to live with my mistake as long as we could be friends.”
I knew that game. It was the same one I’d played for the past ten years. But he was wrong. I never got over him, even if I’d done a really good job of convincing even myself I had. “What changed?” My heart was now in my throat, doing jumping jacks and beating so loudly I could hardly hear him.
“Will and Lola,” he admitted in defeat. “I saw how happy they were. How happy they made each other. And I realized how stupid I was to let what we have go to waste. I got tired of being friend-zoned, Eliza. So I made my move.”
“Wait, you planned that? The vodka tasting?” My brain had officially quit working. Just totally gave up. Because nothing he was saying was making any sense.
