“I called her. I wanted to hear her side of the story, and I think you’re being an idiot.”
I stand up and throw my beer bottle in the fire, watching the glass break everywhere. “Yeah, well, I think you should mind your own fucking business and stay out of mine.”
I march to my truck, stomping my way through the sticks and gravel, only to be stopped by Aiden.
“Hey, man, take a deep breath.”
I open my door but then turn to say exactly what’s on my mind. I point to where my sister stayed back. “You know I don’t want her in my shit. She’s always meddling, and I?—”
He holds up his hands to me. “I know; I know. She can’t help herself, but I want you to really think about all of this.”
“There’s nothing to think about. Zoedespisedme.” I overreact to the term, flailing my arms out to the sides. “Then she spent the most incredible night with me, all while she was hiding shit she should have told me before any of that happened.”
“So, it was that fucking good, huh?” he asks with a smirk, making me even more frustrated.
“Yes!” I scream, releasing all the emotions I’ve held in since that day. “Yes! Okay? I admit it. We had the most amazing sex ever, and now I’m here, fucking miserable because I love her, but I don’t know what to do about it. There.” I smack his chest—hard. “Are you happy now?”
He rubs where I just hit him. “Well, you could have said it without hitting me, but, yeah, I’m glad to hear you admit it to yourself at least.”
I sit down on the running board of my truck, dropping my head to my hands. “I thought being here would help get my mind off of things, but it’s just making things worse.”
“Well, are you going to be a man about it, or are you going to sit here and cry like a little bitch?”
I chuckle under my breath at his words, loving that he hasn’t changed a bit. “Right now, I want to cry like a little bitch.”
“Pussy,” he states so matter-of-factly, and I laugh even more.
I stare up at him, not quite sure what to say, but realizing just how perfect he and my sister are for each other.
“Don’t tell me New York has made you soft. The man I knew would chase after what he wanted, not sit here and cry about it. What the fuck happened to you?”
I stand and face him. “Love happened to me, which, yeah, I guess has made me a pussy bitch. I bet if my sister messes with you one day, you’re going to come to me, crying in the same way.”
“Nah.” He motions his hands in front of me like he’s blowing me off. “I won’t be dumb enough to let her get to that point. You know her; she can be scary as shit.”
This makes me laugh out loud because he’s totally right. I wouldn’t want to piss her off either.
He gives me a slight nod. “You good?”
I place my hand on his shoulder. “Yeah, I’m good. I know I haven’t said it before, but thanks for marrying my sister. I like knowing she’s in good hands.”
“I got you. Call me tomorrow if you want to go out shooting or something.” He turns to go back to my sister, who I’m sure will interrogate the hell out of him.
“Thanks. I will.”
I hop in my truck, still having no clue what to really do or how I can get over the way she hid who she was from me, but at least I know now that I want to figure it out so we can move forward and see where this goes.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Zoe
It’s been a week since David left, and I haven’t heard a word from him. I’ve stared at my phone for hours, willing it to ding with some type of notification, but I’ve gotten nothing.
I’ve typed and deleted a thousand messages to send to him, but none of them are good enough to actually hit Send. I know he’s got a lot going on with the wedding, and I don’t want to ruin his family time by sending him a message at the wrong time.
Now, though, it’s eleven at night, and I can’t sleep a wink.
It was one thing when I was staying up late, messaging back and forth with David, but it’s a totally different thing when I stay up all night because I’m absolutely miserable and I can’t sleep for the life of me.
