“Today would be best.”
“I’ll get it done.”
I stood and adjusted my jacket. “Thank you, Alex. Seriously, I mean it. I really appreciate all this, and I really appreciate you not fighting me on it.”
“You got it.” He gave me a look that said he had many opinions about the things I’d just asked him to add into the contract, but thankfully, he kept them to himself.
I headed back to my office before he could change his mind and tell me to sit down again, gathering up my stuff and going straight home after. By the time I got back to the Manor, I’d decided that I needed to stop thinking and that the best way to accomplish that was to make it physically impossible.
“Get up,” I said as I walked into the living room.
Theo didn’t look up from where he was lounging on the couch, scrolling through his phone. “No.”
“I was talking to Bear.” I smirked at my brother. “You should come too, though.”
The dog’s head snapped up from his spot on the floor, his ears alert and his tail already starting to thump. Theo finally looked up and narrowed his eyes. “Don’t involve me in this.”
“You’re already involved,” I said. “We’re going on a run.”
Bear was on his feet immediately, but Theo groaned and sank back into the couch. “There is no way.”
“You’ve been sitting here for how many hours?”
“I’ve beenworking.”
I leaned over the back of his couch and squinted at his screen. “You’ve been flirting with someone namedmaybe not Ashley.”
“Hey.” He angled the phone away from me. “Boundaries, man.”
“Shoes,” I countered, heading for the stairs to go change. “We’re leaving in five minutes.”
“This is harassment.”
“Every complaint buys you two more miles.”
“Scratch that. It’s not harassment. It’s abuse.”
“Four more miles.”
He sighed dramatically but finally stood up. “I never should’ve told you that I wanted to up my physical activity.”
“Probably not,” I agreed. “We’re leaving in four minutes now, though.”
Ten minutes later, we were on the sidewalk with Bear running on his leash ahead of us. I set an easy pace, knowing Theo would collapse if I sprinted the way I wanted to right from the very start.
“You’re in a mood,” he said after the first block, breath panting. “What’s going on?”
“Why does anything have to be going on? I’m always in a mood.”
“Yeah, but this is different. You’re brooding like it’s specific this time.”
“I don’t brood,” I said, my voice measured between strides. “Especially notspecifically. Whatever the fuck that even means.”
“It means that you should talk to your little brother about whatever is bothering you instead of trying to kill me with exercise.”
I rolled my eyes but didn’t respond, trying my best to tune out the world and focus only on what lay physically ahead of me. When we passed the first park, a motorcycle club had set up afull-scale barbecue. There were grills going, music playing, and people laughing together between massive motorcycles parked on the sidewalk.
Theo slowed slightly as he glanced over. “I’ve been thinking about getting one.”
