“You gonna talk to him about it?”
“Hell no.”There was zero point.“He’s made his decision, and he’s not changing his mind.”
Back in the kitchen, he stood with Marley and Decker as Carly chatted away with Tristan and Cassie.While they talked, Tristan took another piece of bacon from his plate and put it on Cassie’s as soon as she’d finished hers.Again, voluntarily.
Next to Tristan, Marley looked up at Gavin, eyebrows raised in a “you’re seeing this too, right” look.
At the counter, Decker said nothing, but he was definitely taking it all in, watching silently with his arms folded across his chest.And though his expression gave nothing away, Gavin nevertheless got the distinct impression that their big brother approved of them as a couple.
When everyone was finished, they all pitched in to clean up, then moved to the living room.Cassie lingered behind in the kitchen, probably to have a few minutes of quiet.She stood with her back to him, pouring herself another cup of coffee.
Gavin saw his chance.“I know we’re a lot.All of us at once like that.”
She glanced back at him, smiled, but he could see the unspoken fatigue in her eyes, the shadows beneath them.And no wonder.She was under a shitload of stress, had just lost her home after almost losing her life twice in one week.“It’s okay.I needed the company.”
“That’s good, since it looks like you’ll be seeing a lot more of us from now on.”
Her cheeks flushed slightly, and she turned away.“You want more coffee?”
“Nah, I’m okay.”
She turned to face him, mug in hand.“Can I ask you something?”
“Yeah, of course.What’s up?”
“What did Carly mean when she said that about Tristan sharing food?She made it seem like a big deal.”
Gavin hesitated, wondering how much he should say.He wouldn’t interfere in Tristan’s personal life.But Cassie deserved to know where Tristan was at.So that if she wasn’t as invested as he was, she could do something about it sooner rather than later.
“For Tris, it is a big deal.”
She frowned slightly, clearly not following.“Why?”
“Because if anyone else had tried that—barring Carly, of course, because she can do no wrong as far as he’s concerned—they would get a fork stabbed through their hand.”
She laughed, then sobered when she realized he was being mostly serious.“He’s shared with me plenty of times before.”
“Yeah.Exactly.You and Carly, that’s it.”He watched understanding dawn in her eyes.
He’d said what he needed to tell her.He didn’t feel right saying more, so while the protective brother part of him wanted to tell her to back off if she wasn’t ready to give all of herself, he kept his mouth shut and left the kitchen to join the rest of the family in the living room.
Tristan had made his choice.If Cassie broke his heart, then Gavin and the rest of the family would be there to try and help him pick up the pieces.Even if they would never fit back together the same way again.
Gavin really hoped it wouldn’t come to that.
