“You need to stay away from him.”
“Who?” Avery asked with wide eyes.
He gritted his teeth. “The hipster. Quinn. He’s not—” He exhaled, biting down on the words. Linc didn’t want to break the bad news to Avery because he’d be responsible—once again—for Avery’s disappointment. Again.
Avery’s brows pinched together. “He’s not what?”
Linc growled. “Do you even know him?”
“No.” Avery bounced on his toes. “We just met. I’m getting to know him, though. He’s really nice.”
“He’s not—he’s Wanda’s brother.”
Avery laughed. “Yeah, I know that. She introduced us.”
“But he isn’t—” He pushed his fingers into his hair as he fought the urge to stalk back up the hall and tell that bastard Quinn to stay the hell away from Avery.
“Hey. Hey.” Avery forced his way in front of Linc, planting his hands on his chest. “What’s going on? You seem upset.”
“Did he touch you? Did he hurt you or make you feel uncomfortable at all? I’ll rip his arms off if he did.”
“No.” Avery’s eyes were wide. “Why would he do that? Please don’t rip his arms off. He’s a blogger and a freelance writer. I don’t think he has health care.”
Linc paused. Something was off. Avery’s palms on his chest were warm, and his eyes were bright, but not from fear. He was...Linc’s gaze slid down to the bump on Avery’s lip where he’d cut it at the gym. The cut was dark and a little raw, like he’d been tonguing at it without realizing. And the raw spot was...shaking? Just the barest tremor, like tension in a wire. Linc followed the movement to the corner of Avery’s mouth, where the muscles quivered and spasmed and curved slightly upward.
“Are you—” Linc gasped. “Are you laughing?”
Avery stuck out his bottom lip and looked up at Linc through his lashes. The expression made Linc’s anger tighten into something new. “Are you jealous?” He patted Linc’s chest with one hand. “Big bad firefighter feeling left out?”
Linc gaped. “What?”
“Did it work?”
“Did what work?”
Avery lost his battle with his smile, lighting up his whole face. “Quinn. Did it work?”
The longer Linc stared, the wider Avery’s smile got, until Linc worried he’d split his lip again. “You knew?”
“That he’s not actually interested in me? He was very upfront. A real gentleman.” His eyebrow arched, and the unspokenunlike some peoplewas deafening in the small room.
All of Linc’s apologies got stuck in his throat. “Red, I—”
“Where the fuck have you been this week?”
His balls shrank about three sizes. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s going to take more than a sorry.”
“I know.”
Avery’s hands moved over his chest, and Linc’s T-shirt was so old and worn that he might as well have been wearing nothing. “You kissed me and you ran.”
“I—” What was he supposed to say?
“Quinn’s out. He’s out, and he’s smart and funny, and he thinks I’m smart and funny too.”
“You are. Red, I—”
