“The marriage and job offer.”
I bite my lip, and Liam swings his gaze to me. “Job offer?”
Rubbing my face with both palms, I wonder why life decided to toss a loose cannon at me this week.
“Yeah, Oliver keeps getting offered a spot on the legal council for the hockey league in New York, and this time, I heard fromteam sources that they went all out on the benefits package,” Keats explains.
A headache is approaching.
“Really? They’re still pursuing you? You mentioned before. Are you going to take it?” Liam wonders with concern.
“He would be foolish not to,” Keats chirps back.
“Can you two stop?” They both bring their focus to me, eager to listen. “I haven’t even thought about it.”
Keats whistles in disapproval. “You would be crazy to ignore it.”
“Except I can’t just pack up a suitcase and leave,” I justify why I’m not entertaining the job offer.
“Are you staying married? She told me about the building and what you did for her.” Liam sends us straight into the deep end. “I love my sister, and you two are still sinking into my brain. But moving? That… it’s not her.”
Shaking my head, I shut down that idea right away. “First, I know. Plus, she wouldn’t because she has a preschool that she wants to develop. She’s not going to give up on that, nor would I ask her to. Secondly, staying married? We kind of need to discuss a few things.”
Liam seems awfully quiet—until he opens his mouth, that is. “So you’ll give up on your own career for her?”
I roll a shoulder back. “The job offer wasn’t interesting last time, and it isn’t this time.”
“Fair enough. Maybe you were using a marriage to Hailey to ensure you don’t make choices that keep you away from Everhope. Some deep-down psychological stuff,” Keats reflects.
“Or I could have just asked her to marry me to ensure she has what she wants,” I reply.
“That’s the answer I want to hear.” Liam begins to smile with affection. “Maybe I came here because this conversation is simple, maybe even a waste of time because we don’t need to askthe obvious. We all know you’re both crazy about one another. It’s not like you were completely reckless and married on a whim without even knowing one another. It’s cute. Still, this is all kind of out there. Like you are dating but married or married but dating. Like what comes first on the relationship basis?” Liam remains perched against the edge of the counter.
Aren’t they two of the same?
No, actually. I’d rather be married than dating. It hits a little different when I can say she’s my wife instead of my girlfriend. To many it shows forever commitment. Romance never dies which means you can still have a hot-as-fuck insatiable dinner together. Always learning new details about each other. Whispering I love you, which I’ve failed up until now, even though it’s not a new sentiment.
“The girlfriend-boyfriend title was never for us,” I declare. “We skipped a few steps. Just haven’t really clarified that with one another. We still need to hash out those details. Hence, why it would be great if you two could run along now.” I fake an overdone smile with my fingers walking in the air.
“Okay, all I wanted to point out is your little secret—helping her my ass—was a secret because you both have completely horrendous avoidance issues when it comes to your feelings, and you both lack solid verbal communication,” Liam offers his unsolicited opinion.
I roll my eyes at him. “I really don’t think I should be taking relationship advice from you.”
Keats chuckles. “Or he is the best person to tell you because he cares more than any of us. Sibling love does that to people. Speaking of siblings…” His face turns pained. “What will you say to Carter? He’ll cool off, but you might need to show that there is no confusion amongst your happy marriage, otherwise he might burst again.”
Raking a hand through my hair, I try to push the thought away. I was doing a damn good job of doing that today. Also, maybe I assume he would need to cool off. But his mind is still on his ex-wife, and it’s affecting him more than I thought.
“It’s going to be a tough conversation, and I accept that.” Brotherly love means we owe each other nothing and we’ll still love one another. But we are closer than that. We can’t brush things to the side.
“This is still kind of crazy. It’s taking a hot minute to wrap my head around this news,” Keats comments.
I drum my fingers on the counter that I’m leaning against. “The last thing we needed was everyone’s opinions. We still got that in the end, but c’est la vie.”
There is a pause of silence and then Liam slides his drink to the side. “I don’t want to keep you long because I think you and my sister have a lot to talk about. But if you hurt her then I’ll still kill you then help people look for you.” He fakes a smile at me.
My arms begin to flap as if I’m wrangling my friends in, encouraging them to get the hell out of here.
“If you care then you will leave so I can finish any life-altering discussions that I need to have withmy wife.”
