The corner of his mouth ticked up. “If either of them is, it’s definitely her. No, I just don’t trust that guy. The less time he spends around my sister, the better.”
I nodded. He trusted me around Layne; if he knew what I was thinking about her, he might not.
Chapter Nine
Layne
“Tire tracks. Only one set though,” Elias said as he pulled into my driveway. He slowed to a stop and looked at me. It had been snowing non-stop since he picked me up a few hours earlier, so those tracks weren’t his. Great, that could only mean one thing. “What do you want to do? Doesn’t look like he left.”
I chewed my lip. I knew Elias would take me somewhere else if I asked, but I didn’t want to hide from Teddy. “Are you okay with sticking with the whole fake-dating thing? I’d rather see what he wants than run away.”
He nodded. “Let’s do it.” The truck started rolling again and once he rounded the bend in the driveway, his headlights illuminated Teddy’s car. As Elias eased the truck to a stop and put it in park, Teddy got out of the driver’s seat and shoved his hands in his pockets. I climbed out of the truck, dropping into the snow and walked over to talk to him.
“What is it you had to give me that couldn’t wait?”
His eyes darted over to where Elias was standing near the door of his truck, giving us space to talk, but not going away. “Can we talk about this inside? Cold out, and we need to figure out when we can meet to work out the lease.”
I huffed out a breath. It was cold out. I didn’t want him in my space, but this was short-term pain, long-term gain. “Fine.” I clomped up the front step in my boots and unlocked the front door, then bypassed Teddy and went to Elias. He brought his hands to my upper arms as I approached and rubbed them to keep them warm.
My heart gave a stupid little flutter.
“Everything okay?” He asked, his voice low. I nodded, shifting closer to him.
“Having to give me something was clearly a lie, but we need to talk about when we’re meeting next. I’d like to get it over with.”
He nodded. “Why don’t I come in with you? Make sure he leaves.”
I nodded. “Thanks.” I reached out and threaded my fingers through his. His hand was comically big, and the roughness of his palm was so different from mine. I pictured what it would feel like to have those calluses on other places of my body and shivered.
“Let’s get inside where it’s warm.”
He led the way up to my front door, gripping my hand. For just a moment, I could pretend that this was real. That he was my man, and we were heading into our cabin after a night with friends. Maybe we would shower together to warm up, or just slip under the covers and he’d hold me tight.
The image slipped away as I stepped through my front doorto find Teddy having made himself comfortable at my kitchen table. Boots and jacket off, leaning back as if he were welcome here. Teddy looked up as we walked through the door, and his eyes narrowed at Elias. “Does he really need to be here for this?”
I ignored him, peeling off my winter layers, then sat at the table opposite Teddy. Elias came to stand behind me, a steady presence at my back. “So, when are you available to get this lease sorted out?”
He ran a hand through his hair. It was a strangely vulnerable thing for him to do; he was notoriously unflappable. He and I compared calendars and came up with a few times we could suggest to the real estate agent. It went strangely smoothly, which should have been my first clue that something was up. “Alright, I will email the real estate agent and we can figure out what works for them,” I said.
Teddy nodded and stood, but rather than put on his coat he went to the window in the kitchen and looked out.
“It is really coming down out there. Might be dangerous to drive home.”
And there it was.
The ulterior motive I was waiting for.
I stood and crossed my arms over my chest. “I don’t have a spare room for you to stay, so you’ll have to figure something out.” I didn’t want anything bad to happen to him, but I wasn’t about to open my home to him either.
“Figure something out? Like what?”
“I have a spare room,” Elias said, putting an arm around my shoulders. The weight of it was calming, and the subtle smell of pine surrounded me. “We can go to my place in my truck. It does fine in the snow. I’ll bring you back in the morning when I come to get Layne for work.”
Teddy’s face was priceless. Like a deer in the headlights, but with more attitude. “I’m not staying at your house.”
Elias shrugged and adjusted his glasses. “Alright, well Layne can stay with me and you can stay here then. That okay with you?” he asked, looking down at me.
I beamed at him and nodded.
