Her lips twitch when she says, “Sloane came and got me, she said you were gonna tear up her kitchen.”
Waving my hand toward the sink, I scowl. “It’s already tore up, that’s why I’m in here.”
She hums in the back of her throat in agreement, but I don’t miss the sarcasm.
She quietly washes away the blood and sprays the scrapes, blowing across my knuckles to ease the sting like I’m a child. “For fuck’s sake, Marley, I’m not a child.”
Her fingers tighten on mine when I try to pull my hand away and she keeps blowing on the scrapes as her eyes cut to me. “I beg to differ.”
Jerking my hand from her grip, I set my palm on the counter as I press my lips together so I won’t say anything I’ll regret. “Why don’t you just speak your mind?”
Her eyes narrow at me and I see the anger cross her face before she grabs my wrist and jerks my hand back over to her, determined to win the battle of wills. “Pull that hand away from me again and you’ll be eating your dinner in a sling.”
Rolling my eyes, I look to the window over the breakfast nook and clear my throat to keep down the bubble of laughter in my chest. Marley doesn’t get truly mad often, but when she does, it’s best to just be quiet and let her speak her mind.
She picks the tube of antibacterial salve from the kit and squeezes it on her finger. As she’s tenderly patting the salve on my knuckles, she says, “You should call her.”
Resisting the urge to pull my hand away again, anger creeps up my neck. “Call who?”
Her big blue eyes flick to me for a second and I can feel the huff of annoyance from her nose on my fingers. “You know who I’m talking about. You’ve been a bear for the past three weeks and everyone is betting on how long it will take you to call her.”
My arm twitches as the outrage almost has me pulling my hand away again. She stills at the twitch, her fingers tighten painfully on mine, and goes back to what she was doing. “Why is everyone doing that?” I growl through clenched teeth, biting back the urge to yell.
“Don’t growl at me, Grayson Lane. Everyone saw how the two of you looked at each other, and if you think we didn’t know you snuck into her room for three nights, you’re seriously deluding yourself.” She wraps a bandage around one knuckle and squeezes it to make sure it’s going to stick. “We all know you wouldn’t have done that with Lainey Rai down the hall if you weren’t feeling something deep.”
Fucking hell.
I take a deep breath and roll my eyes.
As much as I try not to think of her, Elly is in my thoughts all day, every day. Her beautiful smile and those warm, amber eyes are looking at me each time I close my eyes. Restful sleep is a thing of the past, I toss and turn most nights wondering how she is.
Does she think of me?
Does she hate me for turning her away?
The pain of regret slices through my chest like it does every time I let myself think of the look on her face when I told her I wanted to put space between us. The one tear she batted away before she pasted on that damn smile I hate. Just thinking of it has me clearing my throat.
I feel like a complete asshole most of the time.
But all my thoughts always come back to the one same conclusion. I take a deep breath and let my hip relax against the countertop. “I can’t trust her, Marley.”
She wraps another bandage around my middle finger. Her blond head stays bowed over my hand, but her fingers softly squeeze mine in support. “Bull hockey. You know as well as I do you can.” She pauses and her eyes flick to me again, this time sheepishly. “That’s why I called her.”
My eyebrows fly up my forehead as she ducks her head a little, pulling out the last bandage for the third finger. “You did what?” I purposely keep my voice soft and flat to cover my anger at her calling, but I also can’t wait to hear what was said.
She takes a deep breath as she squeezes the last finger to make sure the bandage is secure. When she looks up at me, her blue eyes are full of love. “I like Elly, we all do. I wanted to know if she’s okay. I also wanted to feel her out to see if she’s someone we can trust.”
Looking at the window over the nook again, I pull my cap around so the bill is over my eyes. “And.”
Even though I’m not looking at her, I can feel her smile of triumph. “She left her father’s company, said she didn’t want any part of it. She’s been interviewing for new jobs and there are a couple of promising options.”
She left the company? A small spark of hope blinks to life in my chest.
Clearing my throat, trying to swallow the lump there, thefeeling of regret even stronger, I look down at Marley. “How is she?”
Putting the tube and bandages on the counter back in the kit, she smiles without looking at me. “Oh no, mister, you don’t get to use me as your middle man.” She looks up at me when she picks up the kit and her small hand squeezes my forearm. “Call her.”
My sister, who doesn’t trust anyone outside the family, has put her trust in someone I’ve been questioning for weeks. What does that say about me?
