Page 67 of Intolerable Bishop

Blake still hadn’t spoken to me, and I’d purposely stayed away to give him time. Luckily, Ren had started messaging a handful of days ago, which was probably what sparked Myles to reach out.

Every single time Liam saw a new message from Ren on my phone, he bent me over. I loved his jealous streak, and it had always been fun and exciting, but he was venturing into over-the-top territory. I was good with that, but there was an edge to it that I couldn’t quite figure out that I didn’t like.

“What,” Liam asked, and I turned my head to look at him in the passenger seat.

“I didn’t say anything.”

“The words didn’t come out of your mouth, but you want to say something.” I blinked, and he fixed me with a hard stare. He pointed to my finger resting on top of the steering wheel. “You always tap your left index finger when you want to say something and are trying to figure out how.”

I stopped moving my finger and glared at it like it was purposely giving me away. “Is that so? And what else does my body tell you?”

He crossed his arms over his chest and showed off just how much muscle he’d put on. His arms had doubled in size since the end of school from hard workouts and helping Nash with the new business.

“You’re nervous. I’m assuming it’s because of Ren, but really, it could be because of seeing all three of them again. You’re sucking up by bringing food in your car, which is clearly a peace offering since you don’t usually allow food in your car. The semi-hard cock in your jeans tells me you’re hoping that you can get Ren alone, and the fact that you’ve let me use you as a fuck toy all week screams just how much you want this to work. Although I’m impressed because I haven’t been gentle, it also pisses me off.”

As well as I knew Liam there were times when he still managed to shock me. I hated that he picked up on all of that. As long as he was around, there was no hiding any of what I was thinking or feeling. I didn’t always want someone in my head analyzing every little thing.

“You’ve gotten much better at that.” Annoyed, I gripped the steering wheel harder.

“Yeah, but it’s because I know you,” he said, and I couldn’t tell if he was angry or sad by the statement. His voice had softened, but his face was set in hard, angry lines. I had a dozen questions and couldn’t figure out which to ask, so I gave up for now. Every one of them would lead to a conversation that would need more time than the few minutes left of the drive.

“Are you going to tell me what you want to say?”

I shook my head. “It’s best if we wait until we have more time.” He was staring at me, but I refused to say anything. Did Liam change his mind? If that was the case, had he changed his mind about Ren, me, or both?

Silence never bothered me, but the dense tension mixed in was a cocktail that no one wanted to drink. We turned onto the driveway, and a few minutes later, we were getting out and grabbing all the bags and boxes.

Ren stepped out of the cabin, and the moment my eyes met hers, I smiled. She was a shot of tequila with a side of sunshine sparkle. Her face lit up, a blush spreading across her cheeks. All the images of our time together, as short as it was, came flooding back, and heat seared through my body.

She jogged down the stairs, and as much as I’d thought about this moment, I still wasn’t prepared. As she got close, I held out my hand for her to shake. Ren looked at it, and we ended up in an embarrassing dance, going in for a hug and then holding out our hands until she laughed and grabbed me.

“Sorry, I wasn’t sure you’d want to hug me,” I said, holding her tight. Even as relief washed over me, I was very aware that Liam, Blake, and Myles were watching.

“I wasn’t sure you wanted to see me again when you stayed away.”

“Apparently, we are living the miscommunication trope.” Ren pulled back and smiled. She looked over at Liam, who’d masked whatever he was feeling. Shaking off the strangeness, I yelled up to Myles. “You going to come help with the piles of food you had me bring or what?”

“Ya actually brought it?”

“Of course I did. You better not have cooked something else. I brought food in my car,” I said, and he rolled his eyes.

“Naw, we didn’t cook anythin’ else,” Myles said, walking down the stairs.

“I’ll take some in,” Ren said. She opened the car door and grabbed a handful of bags. “You really did bring enough for an army.” She walked into the cabin, and Myles looked over his shoulder to the door before holding out his hand to me.

“We good,” I asked, shaking his hand.

Myles looked at me, Liam, and finally, Blake. “Snowflake gets what she wants. If that means yer added to this….” He pointed to Blake and himself. “Whatever ya want to call it, then aye, but there is one fuckin’ rule,” Myles growled and got right up in my face, his hand tightening on mine. “If ya try to steal her from me, yer gonna see a side of me that ya won’t like. That goes for either of ya,” he said, looking at Liam. “I might just be a tad unhinged where my Snowflake is concerned, so keep that in mind, and the rest is up to her. Aye?”

“You don’t have to worry about that with me,” Liam said cooly.

“Yes, I understand and wouldn’t have tried to steal her, as you put it anyway. Not my style, and you’re all my family.”

Myles released me and stepped back, his hand clamping onto my shoulder as he smiled. “Good, I’m glad we got that out of the way.”

“Is everything okay here?”

We looked at Ren, who seemed like she was ready to jump between us.