“Um. It’s okay?”
He raised an eyebrow. “That was convincing.”
I blew out a breath. “I miss working in the shop.”
He nodded sympathetically. “We miss you working in the shop.”
“Really?” My throat tried to close around the lump in it.
“Of course, man. How could we not?”
“Sometimes…” I picked at a bit of grease under my fingernails. “I just feel like everyone is happy I’m gone. Everyone but me.”
“Bailey, no.” Flynn reached across the small table between us and set a big hand on my shoulder. “Believe me when I say that your brothers miss you like hell.” He paused. “So do I.”
I raised my eyes to meet his. He didn’t look away this time. He squeezed my shoulder gently.
“We’re friends, right?” I asked, hating how fragile my voice sounded.
“Yeah, man. Always. I admire you so damn much.”
I licked my lips, wishing so much I could lean into the comfort of his large, strong body. That maybe if Flynn were with me, I’d stop feeling so adrift.
“I’m here if you need me,” he said. “If you need to talk…”
The floodgates opened, and it all poured out.
How out of place I was here. How unsure I was that this was the right path for me. How lonely it was to look at all these college students and know that I just wasn’t like them.
Most of all, how much I hated the idea of letting my brothers down. Especially Holden. He’d given me so much.
“You need to talk to them, Bailey. If you’re unhappy…”
I shook my head, forcing a smile. “It’s probably just the freshman blues, right?”
He looked dubious. “Is that a thing?”
“Yeah. First time away from home and all.” I was trying to convince myself as much as him as I finished off my coffee.
“Well, I plan to be up here more to see Aiden. I know I’m not one of your brothers, but maybe I could be a familiar face.”
“Thanks.” I stood up, sensing that the coffee chat was at an end. I didn’t want Flynn to go, but he had a two-hour drive ahead, and I refused to be so pathetic he needed to stay andplacate me. “I’m fine, though. Just in a weird mood today, you know?”
We walked outside, and Flynn paused on the sidewalk, just as he had with his brother. He hesitated a beat, then wrapped his big arms around my shoulders and drew me into a hug.
It was the best feeling, sagging into all that strength, letting him hold me up.
“Talk to Holden about this,” he said, breath rustling my hair. “Don’t hold it all inside.”
“It would just disappoint him.”
“If you were my brother, I would care more about your happiness.”
I drew back to look into his face. “Flynn, in no world do I want you to think of me as your brother.”
Our eyes met and held. Flynn swallowed, his big Adam’s apple bobbing in his thick throat.
I could kiss him. He looked like he wanted it too. If one of us just leaned in and?—
