I put the glass container with her food on the other side of the desk and stuck a fork in it. "First of all,yousaid that, not me."
"I did?"
"Yep. I don't judge you for that at all, but I don't think I'd eat anything off anyone's ass, thank you."
"Are you sure? I could have sworn that was you," she said.
"Enough, Sierra. I didn't say it."
"Fine," she replied as she flopped down in the chair. She studied the food for a moment. "This actually looks pretty good. Thanks for making me dinner."
"You're welcome." I sat in my chair and opened my own container. The food was still hot and smelled just as delicious now as it had at the house.
Sierra took her first bite and raised her eyebrows as though she was shocked. "Wow."
"Don't act so surprised. You know I can cook."
"Yes, but I didn't know you could cook healthy food that actually tasted good."
I rolled my eyes and didn't respond. If I let her bait me into an argument, my food would be cold before I had a chance to eat it.
"So, why are you home, again?" she asked.
I finished chewing the bite of chicken I'd just stuck into my mouth. "Because I can't dive into this headfirst."
"Why not?" Sierra asked. "I mean, if it were any other guy, I would completely understand that and tell you that you were being really fucking smart. But this is Brody. I thought you were going to eat yourself into a sugar coma when he married that chick while we were in college."
I shot her a narrow-eyed glare. "I thought we agreed not to talk about that again."
"Cam, you gained five pounds in a week because you ate nothing but junk food while you moped on the couch. This guy means a lot to you. It's obvious he did even back when you pretended like you couldn't stand him."
"I couldn't stand him back then," I stated, forgetting all about my determination not to be drawn into an argument with her.
"You always said that. And you acted like it, but I could tell it wasn't one hundred percent true. Every time you told me stories about your childhood and you said his name, you looked different."
"How could I look different?" I scoffed. "Other than making a face every time I mentioned him."
"You would always smile when you talked about the things he did or the trouble you got into together. And you looked...softer."
I couldn't say anything about that so I took another bite of my dinner.
Sierra sensed my change in mood and changed the subject. Partially anyway. "So, how was your weekend? Really, I mean."
I hesitated before answering. "It was amazing."
Sierra studied me. "You say that like it's a bad thing."
"I'm afraid it might be," I admitted. "I didn't want to leave today."
"Then why did you?" Sierra asked, looking at me like I was stupid. "I told you I could handle the shop for the weekend."
"Because I can't treat this relationship the same way I've treated others. Brody is different and I don't want to screw it up."
"The fact that you're aware of that means you won't let it happen," she retorted.
"Maybe. Maybe not."
"You're also not the only person involved in your relationship. Brody has some responsibility in this, too."
