“I’ll come see you tonight,” he said, and there was warmth in his voice that made my chest ache. He sounded so happy. So certain that everything between us was good.
But this last week had sowed doubts for me.
Because the problem with my bucket list is that it had shown me how much I didn’t want to go back to the way things had always been. This week had been a reality check.
Being with Liam meant hiding our relationship. And even if we did finally tell Drew, it would still be about Drew’s reaction, not me. Everything was always about Drew.
I was starting to wonder if the only way I’d finally be someone’s first choice is if they didn’t know my brother to begin with.
We hung up, and I stood there for a moment, phone in hand, waiting to feel the excitement I should feel at seeing him tonight after a week apart.
Instead, I just felt tired. And sad.
Ididwant to see him, but I wasn’t sure I could handle seeing him in person at the same time.
So instead, I grabbed my keys and headed for my car.
Because if Liam was coming back to Meadowbrook, that meant I could finally go see Drew.
The irony wasn’t lost on me. I was only able to show up for my brother once the man I was in love with had left. What did that say about me? About us?
Nothing good, that was for sure.
The drive gave me too much time to think, so I focused on what I’d say to Drew instead. He needed someone to shake him out of whatever spiral he’d sunk into. I hoped he’d figured out a plan to win Harper back—she needed to know Drew was willing to fight for her.
At least that was something I could fix.
I walked into Drew’s house without knocking and found him in the living room, looking like death warmed over. Rory was asleep against his chest, and the house looked like a bomb had gone off.
“Jesus Christ, Drew.” I didn’t bother hiding my disgust. “You look like absolute shit.”
“Thanks for the pep talk,” he muttered.
My gaze landed on my sweet niece. God, I swear she got cuter every time I saw her. “At least someone in this house is doing well.” I settled into the chair across from Drew. “Have you talked to Harper at all?”
“No. Liam said I should give her space. Let her process everything.”
I scoffed and fought back an eye roll. “Of course that’s what Liam would say. And how’s that working out for you?”
“How does it look like it’s working? But she needs time.”
Seriously? “Time for what? To take your silence as proof that everything you had was fake?”
His eyes grew wide with panic, even as he tried to justify his actions. “No, time is supposed to make things better, let her clear her head, and then we’ll talk.”
My brows furrowed. “I really didn’t think you were that dumb.”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
“It means you’re sitting here doing nothing while the woman you love is probably torturing herself with doubts about your relationship.” I knew all too well how that felt. And if I was taking my irritation with Liam out on my brother, so be it. “Tell me something, Drew. If Harper had been the one to keep a secret from you—something that made you question everything about your relationship—and then she just went radio silent after the truth came out, how would that make you feel?”
He shifted uncomfortably. “I’m trying to respect her boundaries?—”
“You’re being a coward!” The words exploded out of me, loud enough that Rory startled awake. I immediately lowered my voice as Drew soothed the baby. “You’re so afraid of making things worse that you’re not even trying to make them better.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t I? You love Harper, right?”
