Oliver shakes his head. “I never said that either! I just… I have no idea if I can live this close and be this close to you when you’re having all I ever wanted, and I don’t. I don’t want to keep her from you, but I may have to keep myself away for my own sake.”
I feel my throat closing up.
This really could be it…
I can’t lose them.
None of them.
“So lose her or lose our family. It feels like a lose-lose,” Misha speaks out what I’m thinking.
“Not to mention that she would lose two people too. And she needs all of us,” I add.
She would lose just as much as we would.
Oliver looks up, eyes filled with anguish. “And every one of us needs her.”
“We can’t just push her aside now because of our feelings,” Misha agrees. “We could just… all be friends. Step back for the sake of the family. Have her in this family, but not more. Not even you, Oliver.”
Oliver bangs his head against the desk, and I’m tempted to join in.
I don’t know if I can step back, but it’s the best solution we can find for now.
I need time to think of something better.
We’ll have to figure out what we can do to make her happy. She is what’s important.
I never want to see that look on her face again or hear those words.“I’m never good enough.”
I nod and repeat, “Friends, for our family’s sake and hers.”
Oliver leans back in his chair, looking exhausted but somewhat relieved. Misha nods, though the pain in his eyes is still evident.
This feels like a disaster waiting to happen, but it’s the only way forward.
For now, at least.
TWENTY-NINE
Peanut watches Grey go,a whine leaving him as his tail wags sadly. “It’s okay, buddy, don’t worry. I’ll bring you home,” I tell him, trying to sound more confident than I feel.
I can walk a big arse dog alone, right?
His soulful eyes look up at me, and I can almost hear him asking,“Are you sure you can? You look lost.”
Well,I amlost, but at least I know the direction to Mr. Donovan’s home.
Peanut nudges my leg with his nose, seeking reassurance, so I bend to scratch behind his ears. “Did Grey really just tell me that he was into me?” I ask him, and he tilts his head as if he’s thinking about it.
Yeah, I don’t know either.
He said he would have kissed me back, right? Just before he was about to kiss me?
Fuck, what did I do?
I take a deep breath, trying to steady myself. The park feels too open, too exposed, and I need the safety of walls around me. Peanut seems to sense my unease and presses closer to my side, his fur brushing against my leg. I give him a gentle tug on theleash, and we start our walk back to Mr. Donovan’s house. He trots along beside me, occasionally looking up to check on me.
When we arrive and enter through the unlocked door, I hear voices drifting down from upstairs. Mr. Donovan and Morgan are talking, and their laughter fills the house.
