My blood goes cold, and I can feel my grip tightening on the chisel so hard it might snap in my hands. I don’t let my anger get the better of me, though.
I stay still.
Toby keeps talking, oblivious to the storm brewing in my chest. “I’ve always liked her, you know? Lo’s… she’s different. She’s got that fire, that spark. People around here—they’re so damn uptight. But Lo? She never let any of that bullshit slow her down. She deserves someone good at her side, you know?”
He laughs a little, like it’s some inside joke.
I swallow.
The words are rocks in my throat. I don’t want to hear this. But it’s not like I can shut him up. Not without exposing myself.
“You should leave it alone,” I grunt out in a much more possessive tone than I meant to use.
At least I kept my growl at bay. He should be thanking me for that.
Toby looks at me, brow furrowing. “What, you don’t think she’d be into it?”
I feel the snarl trying to crawl its way up my chest, my teeth grinding as the protective instinct spikes inside me.A warning, my Alpha side snarls deep within me. It’s territorial. And it doesn’t like hearing another man talk about her like she’s some prize to be claimed.
I swallow the anger down, biting my tongue so hard I can taste blood. “Haven’t you seen that she’s having a hard time? I don’t know if it’s a good idea to pile on more.”
Toby’s confused, blinking at me. I don’t think he gets it. “You don’t think she mightliketo have someone show interest?”
Toby’s words hang above us. He’s standing there, completely oblivious, talking about asking Lo out as if she belongs to him.
But she doesn’t. She never will.
I feel the heat of the blood rushing through my veins, my grip on the chisel tightening so hard that my fingers are starting to ache. It’s all I can do to keep my damn hands from shaking. I don’t want to show him anything. I don’t want him to see what a mess I am.
Toby shifts, his brow furrowing. He doesn’t understand. He never will. He likes the idea of Lo, but he doesn’t know what it means to becloseto her. To feel that pull, that bond that comes with being scent-matched. He doesn’t get how hard it is to see someone you’ve never been able to forget, someone you’ve spent years silently aching for, suddenly walking around in your world again.
And he wants to ask her out like it’s no big deal?
I can’t… no, Iwon’tlet that happen. Not when everything in me is screaming to keep her close to me.
Toby shifts his weight, still looking at me suspiciously. “What’s your problem? You good, Ford?”
I inhale sharply, my mind racing as my Alpha instincts claw at me like a goddamn beast, but I shove it down. The last thing I need is for him to see how badly I want to rip him apart right now, how much I want to tell him to back the hell off.
But I can’t. I won’t. Not without blowing everything up. Not without risking it all.
Besides, we don’t even know if Lo is staying. And if her track record is any indication…
I swallow the urge to snarl. I’m not Beck, the guy who can step in and take charge, the one with a smile and a perfect line for those who want to hear it. I’m not him. I’m just me. Quiet, steady Ford. The guy who’s been in the shadows long enough to use them to his advantage.
Toby’s still looking at me, trying to read me, and that only makes it worse.
“You’re really making a big deal out of this,” he says, scratching his chin. “I’m just saying, I like her. I’ve liked her for a long time, and now she’s back. She’s not the same Lo, you know? I think she’s ready for someone to show her a little care.”
My jaw clenches, teeth grinding as the words cut into me with a knife. I want to tell him everything. I want to rip the damn chisel out of his hands and just scream it out: “Lo’s already taken, you dumbass.”
But I don’t.
Because she isn’t taken. Just because we had sex, it doesn’t mean a thing.
I suck in a deep breath, doing everything I can to calm myself down. “I don’t know, Toby, I just don’t think it’s a good idea. That’s all.”
He snorts and offers me a one-shouldered shrug. “Whatever, we’ll see.”
