There went that green-eyed monster again. Ugly and all consuming and scratching at my soul.
Avery released his arm. “I’m sorry, Levi. I overreacted. I didn’t expect to ask about Dad and I didn’t expect to ever see you again, and well . . .” She trailed off, her throat working. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m sorry too, Avery. I’ve been thinking about you and couldn’t get our interaction off my mind,” he said simply. He held out his hand. “Truce?”
Avery gave him a soft smile and slid hers into his. Seeing how massive his hand was compared to her slender, paint-stainedone made me think about what it’d be like to have them both roaming over my body.
God, they were still shaking hands.
“What in the actual fuck?”
An all too familiar voice broke our trance. I turned, spotting Austin Whynot walking straight for us down the sidewalk with a look in his eye that had me taking two steps back from Avery.
But, his gaze wasn’t on me.
It was on Levi.
Specifically, Avery and Levi holding hands.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Avery
Levi was still holding my hand before god, the whole town, and even worse—my brother.
Or maybe I was still holding his.
Regardless, I didn’t shake free until my asshole of an older brother was upon us. I forced a smile as Austin pulled Levi into a bear hug.
“Holy hell,” Austin said. He cast me a side glance before he drew back. “Where in the hell have you been, Rayburn?”
“Oh, you know,” Levi chuckled. “Everywhere but here.”
Austin took his denimWhynot, Texasballcap off, raking his fingers through his short, dark brown hair before putting it back on. He’d shaved recently, which was a good sign that he wasn’t completely overworking himself. He was dressed in jeans and a blue T-shirt, his boots the same ones he’d been wearing for nearly a decade. They used to be Dad’s, and at this point, I felt like he was going to be buried with them.
Between the four of us, Levi was still the tallest, but Austin wasn’t too much shorter than him. Both of my brothers were taller than they should have been, in my opinion. At least two inches from each of them should have been mine, but instead, I was stuck at a solid five foot four.
Austin cracked a wide grin. “It’s great to see you. It’s been way too long. Never thought you’d come back here.”
“Me neither, if I’m being honest.” Levi took a step back and shoved his hands in his pockets. “How’s everything going? Haven’t heard much from you this last month.”
Austin snorted, studying him closely. “I’ve been around. But what aboutyou?”
The insinuation was there. The little tidbits I’d heard about why Levi was here . . .
“You could say I’ve also been around,” Levi said.
I glanced down the sidewalk, but aside from a couple of regulars, it was just our little group. Even with it being Friday, the town wasn’t too busy yet. This evening would be a different story, though. All the restaurants would be hopping and all hotels booked up as tourists came in for the weekend.
Mateo watched me closely as Austin and Levi talked. I raised a brow, met his gaze briefly, and then redirected my attention to Evie’s pie shop across the street so I could pretend I was drooling over the baked goods instead of him.
It wasn’t fair. Mateo was the problem. Because of him, I dreamed about sexy firefighters more often than I cared to admit. Mateo was on my mind all the time, and I had to just pretend like he wasn’t.
“So, you’re really back?” Austin asked, glancing from Levi to Mateo and then back to me. “And you’ve met my best friend and Avery again.”
“He didn’t recognize me at first,” I chimed.
Levi shrugged his burly shoulders. “Last time I saw you, you had pigtails, pimples, and a sunburn.”
