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Her meaning catches up with me, and an unwelcome blush warms my skin. My eyes flash to the door, and an image of the bookshelf springs to my mind. “The couch is good,” I tell her, proud of myself for keeping my voice even.
“Good. Anyway…” Henley trails off, leaving the floor to me, only I’m struggling to think.
“I don’t know. I…” I pause, my face twisting, and panic flickers in Henley’s eyes.
“Shit. I’m sorry. You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. I’m just worried about you.”
“That’s not it.” I shake my head. “I’m just not sure what to say.”
“Something happened between you, right?”
“Yes.”
“Something good and something not so good?”
“Yep.”
“Did he hurt you?”
“No.” I shake my head again, this time almost violently. “It was mutual. It wasn’t meant to be.”
“Why?”
“What do you mean, why?” I frown, my brows furrowing tightly.
Henley hesitates, her expression falling. “It’s just that he came over the other morning. With donuts from Monty’s Bakehouse.”
“He did?”
“He did and he mentioned he wanted to talk about you.”
“Oh. Okay. What did he say?”
“He asked if Travis was good to you both and promptly changed the subject. It was obvious he was out of sorts, but at the time, I thought that was just Beckett being his reticent self. Until I saw your face.”
I blow out a breath and close my eyes briefly. When I glance at Henley, her sympathetic expression tugs at my heart. “We kissed, among other things, but ultimately decided it was all too complicated.”
“Why?”
“Because he lives in San Francisco, Henley. In the ten years I’ve known you, I can count on two hands how many times I’ve seen him. With half of those happening in the last few months. He doesn’t have time for a girlfriend who lives in another state, and I have to think about Ava. I don’t want her to get any more attached than she already is. I’ve explained to her that he’s your brother and we might see him every now and then, but that’s it. It can’t be more than that.”
“I’m going to kill him.” She springs to her feet, pulling her phone from her pocket in one motion. “That’s a bullshit excuse. I can’t believe—”
“It wasn’t just him. I’d already walked away once. Yes, he was the one to voice it this time, but the second he did, I knew he was right.”
“But he’s not right.”
“Yes, he is. He’s not going to suddenly find spare time to hop on a plane and come to visit. It doesn’t work that way. And I’m not going there. I have Ava, and work. And…” I shake my head, thinking better of mentioning Travis.
“And what? You know I can look after this place.”
“I know and I appreciate your love and support, but this one’s not going to work. I have no hard feelings toward Beckett. I get it. He was protecting us both by getting out early. Before we were in too deep.”
“Okay.” She sighs before leveling me with a serious expression. “What’s the ‘and’?”
I cringe, but I should have known she wouldn’t let me get away with it.
“And on top of all that, Travis wasn’t happy. I can’t risk him initiating a custody battle because I’ve pissed him off.”
