“I think it’s probably best if we keep to ourselves,” I murmured, giving his words back to him. He was alreadyunder my skin, and I knew it’d only take a few words to stoke the fire he so easily lit.
“You’re ridiculous.”
Those two words—ones that I never put much value in—cut me down, making me feel about an inch tall. Why was it that every word he said did that? Made me feel so microscopic while Lennon was always the opposite?
Then again, Lennon could knock me down a few pegs by his actions alone.
It was almost mind-blowing that so many people looked up to the Taylors brothers. When it came to work and business, they never fell short. Not a single time. But when it came to talking to people and treating them with the respect they deserved, they fell short about a couple yards.
“You can call me whatever you want, Weston, if that’s what makes you feel alive and well over there.”
A soft glow casted over him from a few street lights that must have had battery backups, letting me easily see the way his brow rose. Then, just as quickly, it lowered. Almost like he reminded himself that he wasn’t allowed to show a shred of emotion. Not when it came to me.Neverwhen it came to me.
How hard that must have been. To constantly shove it down. To keep it hidden.
He licked his lips and was back on his feet. He walked around the room in a circle, unable to sit still any longer. I couldn’t blame him. Not when my knee bounced in place for what felt like forever. It was the only thing I could do to contain my nerves.
His voice broke the silence after two laps. “Why were you here instead of celebrating Lennon’s birthday?” He said it like that person wasn’t his brother. “You have the role of a doting girlfriend, and yet, those actions imply nothing of the sort.”
It was typical of Weston to look at situations from the angles only he wanted to give attention to.
“So, what you’re saying is that I have to be glued to Lennon’s side at all times?” If he only knew what Lennon and I were struggling through. How fissures had wormed their way into our relationship in the last month and gave no indication of leaving. All because Lennon couldn’t see what he had. All because he couldn’t say no when it counted most.
So many times, I imagined stepping away from him and finally breaking it off for good. I didn’t really know why it was taking me so long, but nerves flourished beneath the surface when I thought about the fact that Lennon was my boss. No matter what happened between us, I’d still have to see him every day. That, and work always gave me something to do, and in the moments it didn’t, I didn’t want to spend it arguing and fighting with him.
But even I knew that those good feelings only lasted for so long before the truth came barreling down the hill, me its bullseye.
“Does it matter?” I asked. The reality was that there were two reasons I left, but I didn’t want to give Weston either of them. I couldn’t have sounded any more sheepish, especially when my stomach growledagain.
Damn hunger pangs.
Weston ran his fingers over his stubbled chin and then sank both hands into his pockets. I imagined his sharp jaw and that dimple—just the one because there wasn’t a second—that outlined his expressionless lips. His black-brown hair had been tousled back in a perfect mess, short on the sides but longer on top.
“If it didn’t fucking matter, Olivia, I wouldn’t be asking, now would I?” He made it halfway across the room before pivoting and heading for the door again. “So, what was it?Were you bailing on him early?” His tone hardened, the points of every letter sharpened with a brand new nail file. “I’ll be damned if I sit around and watch you take advantage of him.”
Here we went again.
What the hell was he talking about?
Was Lennon good to me in every other way than when those moments of infidelity pushed through, yes. He was kind, sweet, and so generous, but I was equally all of those things as well. I didn’t take, take, take from his brother while giving nothing in return. I gave him my damn heart, so how dare Weston imply such a distasteful act.
“You have a lot of nerve. Walking back and forth like you’re too good to be in the same room as me andaccusingme of taking advantage of your brother when you’ve seen us together. When you’ve had a front row seat to it just as much as any other person. When you were in that conference room seeing the same things I was,” I said, trying to get Weston to see reason. To get him to recall how Lennon was acting. Celeste had been nosing around, pushing boundaries, and getting close to his brother while he was still in the room.
“Maybe I have just enough nerve,” he said, those eyes darting to mine when he swept around and walked in my direction again. “Hard to believe otherwise when I have proof of you bailing on him tonight.”
“You’re forgetting that you’re here, too. Maybeyou’rethe one who ‘bailed’ on him. I wouldn’t put it past you to deflect in order to make yourself feel better. So you don’t have to face the guilt of your choices.”
He grinned then, showcasing that drop-dead gorgeous smile of his. The same one I got on so few occasions and only knew from memory. But now… Now I’d be able to refresh those memories.
His lips pulled high, that dimple creasing his cheek on one side of his face.
It was a shame that he wasn’t the charming Taylors brother. Because if it wasn’t for his bad attitude, he’d have just as many women clawing at him as Lennon did. Maybe it was a good thing he didn’t. That way only one woman was being duped instead of two.
My stomach fluttered at the thought. What followed was this weird sense of jealousy that I didn’t want to think about.
“I came to use the bathroom,” he said.
“Bullshit. You have one in your office that you can use. In fact, I don’t think anyone has ever seen you use the one in here. Besides, you were gone for way too long to claim you were only using the restroom.” I didn’t realize, until he spoke, that I laid down my cards for him to see. That I gave him fuel for the fire he started earlier.
