“I think you owe your brother an apology,” Blake’s mother spoke up. “And I thought I raised you better than this, young lady.”
Megan looked over at her, then at Blake, then at Rusty.
Rusty wasn’t about to back down. He held her gaze for as long as she looked at him.
Blake didn’t deserve to be spoken to like that. It didn’t matter that thiswasall fake, it mattered that his sister didn’t believe he deserved Rusty.
She was wrong. Rusty didn’t deserve him. He’d never deserve him.
Blake had been kicked while he was down enough in his life. He didn’t need his own family doing it.
“I’m sorry,” Megan said after a few moments.
Rusty took his phone back. It wasn’t much of an apology, but it was the best he was expecting.
He leaned over and kissed Blake’s cheek, hoping it’d be enough to both convince everyone present, and to show him that Rusty was on his side and ready to fight in his corner.
“I’m glad to see you standing up for Blake, Rusty,” Blake’s mother continued. “He more than deserves someone like you.”
“Thanks, mum,” Rusty said. He appreciated her sticking up for Blake, too. He couldn’t have done it on his own.
He wasn’t half the man Blake deserved, but Blakedefinitelydeserved to be defended. He didn’t need to be looked down on by his own sister.
To Rusty’s surprise, he felt a hand squeezing his knee under the table. Blake’s hand, since it was coming from Blake’s side.
He turned to look at him, and found him smiling the tiniest, shyest of smiles.
It was the kind of smile that made Rusty feel like a knight in shining armor.
He could get used to this taking care of someone business. It felt good to be useful to someone, even someone who could mostly handle themselves.
He winked at Blake, offering him a small smile in return.
“Love you,” he murmured, intending it to be loud enough for everyone to hear.
It was a shock to realize how good it felt to say, though.
