Oh, fuck right off.
“Yo, dude,” he says, walking up to our table. “You visiting?”
My eyes flick to Silas as he drops his gaze to his beer, adjusting his hat on his head and shifting in his seat.
“Nope,” I say. “I live here.”
Ashton lets out a short laugh, his mouth twisting as he drags a slow, dismissive look over Silas.
My jaw tightens as I glare at Ashton, daring him to just fucking try to say something to Silas.
But he turns back to me. “Why the fuck would you move back here? Weren’t you in Toronto?”
I take a sip of my beer, keeping my eyes on Silas as he keeps his cast down, like he’s just waiting for something bad to happen.
“Because I wanted to,” I say simply, then look at Ashton again. “If it’s so bad here, why are you still around?”
He huffs with a smirk, then gestures to a table across the bar where a tiny blonde woman sits with a wineglass, tapping away at her phone. “I’m here with my fiancée visiting my family for the weekend.”
I press my lips together and lift my brows in a flat, unimpressed acknowledgment before I take another sip of my beer.
Silas shifts in his seat again, flicking a quick glance at Ashton before he brings his attention back to his beer glass.
Fuck, I hate this guy.
Ashton’s gaze drifts between us, and I recognize the change in his expression immediately. I’ve seen it too many times when he decides to make Silas his target.
Clearly, this asshole didn’t grow up at all.
“How’s the farm, Silas?” Ashton asks with a smirk.
“It’s great,” I say before Silas can answer, and both their eyes land on me.
Worry swirls in Silas’s gaze, and I fucking hate that this asshole still has this effect on him.
“We’ve been working on some great optimization strategies together,” I continue. “Silas caught the cause for some significant yield inconsistencies on one of the farm’s highest-producing sections, and we’ve been working to stabilize the output before it begins impacting the rest of the operation.”
Ashton stares at me with a furrowed brow until realization finally dawns on him, and he releases an incredulous laugh. “Wait.” He holds up his hand and glances between us. Then he points at me. “Youwork on the farm?”
I just nod and hold his gaze.
“Dude.” He stares back at me in disbelief. “Why thefuckwould you give up Toronto to work on a fuckingpotatofarm?”
My gaze slides to Silas, and I catch the flash of hurt in his eyes, even though it’s quick.
But I just smile.
Because my reason is sitting right across from me, in a light grey backwards hat with hair poking out the sides, a sexy-as-fuck black T-shirt showing off those sinful fucking forearms, and with the biggest, purest heart I’ve ever known.
“Because,” I say, keeping my eyes on Silas. “I realized what was really important.”
His eyes lift to meet mine, and I see some of the tension in him begin to slip away.
“That’s fucked, man,” Ashton says, and I release a sigh as I glare at him again.
He shakes his head as he looks between me and Silas again. “Also, I heard you guys didn’t even talk anymore.” Then he settles his gaze on Silas, and once again, that fucking smirk spreads across his lips. “Guess no one else wanted to deal withyou, eh? Had to drag him back and knock him down a few pegs so you wouldn’t be all alone?”
Silas’s chest rises and falls as his grip on his beer tightens, and his jaw clenches.
