Whoever it was knocked again, and Noah sat up. “Yeah.”
The door opened, and Mack stepped inside. He held onto the door and frowned when he saw Noah seated on his bed. “You okay, man?”
Noah nodded.
His brother arched a brow. “Really? Because you’re sitting in here like?—”
Noah got to his feet. “I’m fine,” he said a little too sharply. “I just needed a minute. Is Bo looking for me or something?”
His brother paused then stepped into the room fully. “Is it Jane?”
Noah froze. He should have known better than to think he could hide away in his room and his brother would leave Jane out of it. The guy was a walking-talking love guru now that he’d found a future with Lacey and her son. If Noah wasn’t so jealous of what they had, he’d be sick to his stomach of all the posturing.
“It is, isn’t it?” Mack smirked, and that smile was all it took to set Noah on edge. Mack had never approved of Noah’s crush, and it wouldn’t be surprising if he’d come here to rub the fact that Jane wasn’t interested in his face.
“Look, I don’t need you coming in here telling me to leave her alone or that I should give up because it will never?—”
“Actually, I think you should go for it.”
Noah’s head snapped around, and he stared at his brother with surprise. Oh. So this was the other side of Mack. The matchmaker. The love expert. The guy who made everyone roll their eyes when he talked about how much happier a person could be when they found the love of their life.
“I mean it,” Mack said quietly, turning away from him and moving to the dresser nearby. He picked up a book then put it back. He was practically fidgeting while he sought whatever words he wanted to say. “I can tell you have it bad.” Once upon a time, those words would have been laced with teasing or mocking. His brother wasn’t against making Noah feel like a fool for chasing a girl who was so above his level.
Why the change?
“You’re messing with me, aren’t you?” Noah murmured.
Mack turned so he could look at Noah over his shoulder, then he shrugged. “Not really, no.”
Noah barked out a laugh. “You told me to leave her alone when she came to town.”
His brother flashed a smile in his direction. “I guess I’ve had a change of heart.”
Scoffing, Noah took a step toward his brother. “Yeah, not going to believe that for a second.”
“Then again,” Mack drawled, “maybe I was just trying to test a theory.”
Despite the fact that Mack seemed to be toying with him, Noah arched a brow and waited for his brother to continue.
Mack chuckled. “How many times in the past have I told you to stay away from something only for you to show that defiant streak and do it anyway?”
Noah’s stomach dropped. They did seem to have that sort of back and forth when they’d been kids. When Mack had told him to stay away when he’d been hanging with friends, Noah wouldn’t listen. When Mack insisted that a food was too spicy, Noah had to prove him wrong.
But when Mack had started spending time with the wrong crowd, he’d simply become distant. He hadn’t told Noah not to follow him, he’d simply disappeared.
Had his brother been manipulating him his entire life?
Mack’s smile softened, and he placed a hand on Noah’s shoulder. “Honestly? I don’t think I’ve seen you this happy. And it’s clear that she enjoys spending time with you.”
“She does?” Noah blurted, feeling very much like a heart-stricken teenager.
His brother gave him a flat look. “Come on. You can’t tell me you don’t see it. Are you that blind?”
At Noah’s blank expression, Mack threw his hands into the air with a groan.
“Sheesh. I hope I wasn’t this obnoxious. She likes you, Noah. She’s probably just scared or some nonsense. Or maybe she’s so single-minded that she doesn’t think she has room in her life for a boyfriend. Either way, the only person she looks at like that is you. So dig yourself out of whatever hole it is you found yourself in and do something about it. She’s not going to stick around.”
Noah opened his mouth, intending on pointing out the issue with money. Jane didn’t want to date someone who was well-off. She wanted simplicity at her very core.
