Page 38
Amelia calls out the street of Ethan’s house.
“We’ll take it,” Ethan calls out.
Amelia turns to look at him, but her eyes lock with mine.
My cock twitches. Damn it, I’m not holding anything now.
Is that a hint of disappointment I see in her eyes? And why does it gnaw at me?
She nods to Ethan and looks back down, continuing to read down her list.
“Let’s take two cars,” I say, “so I can bring my truck.”
Ethan’s neighborhood is surrounded by vegetation and will need a lot of landscaping work in addition to picking up trash, which can go in the bed of my truck.
When we’re alone in the car, Bryce asks, “What’s with you and Ethan?”
“He’s pissed that I fired Charlotte.”
“That’s not fair. I’m just as responsible for that, and he hasn’t said anything to me.”
“He might also be mad that I advised him to give Amelia the agency in exchange for the house.”
“He can’t keep putting us in the middle like that.”
“I don’t think he realizes he’s doing it at all. He assumed that after the breakup, the friend group would go back to what it was before he got married. He thought we’d dump her like he did.”
“And replace her with Charlotte? Yeah, he’s dreaming. I’m gonna be honest. I’m pissed at him enough that if he did ask us to choose, I’d vote for Amelia to stay and kick him out of the group.”
I grunt. My gut churns. Is Bryce interested in Amelia? Is she? They’re very friendly together. She hugs him all the time, while she’s very careful not to touch me. And obviously Bryce would feel no remorse stabbing Ethan in the back. Of course, Bryce and Ethan were never that close. They’re friends because of me. They don’t have the history that Ethan and I have.
Bryce didn’t spend his high school years hiding in Ethan’s basement just to get away from home. And Ethan never once made me feel like a burden. He made it fun. He called it hanging out, even though he knew very well I was hiding out.
“Ethan’s going through something,” I say, my mood souring. “I don’t know what happened to make him give up on his family. I don’t have to agree with his actions, but I do owe him patience and support during his difficult transition.”
“Charlotte happened to him,” Bryce grumbles.
But I’m not so sure. I’ve seen Ethan with Charlotte. He plays the part of a guy in love. But I know him well enough to know it’s what he wishes he felt, not his true feelings. Charlotte is a fun distraction. An excuse to bail on something bigger. But I don’t know why he wanted out in the first place.
He had the perfect life. A successful business. A healthy son. A dream house. A smart, funny, hardworking, devoted—hot as hell—wife. And he threw it all away. Why?
We’re almost there, and I have something else I want to bring up, so I change the subject.
“I want to open a brewery at the old farmhouse.”
“No.” Bryce’s tone was angry before. It’s antagonistic now. “We agreed we’d let that place rot into nonexistence.”
“I know. But now I want to give it some help by tearing it down and building something better on top.”
Bryce shakes his head, his lips pulled into a thin line.
“I don’t want to do this without you,” I say. “And I want Brody’s approval too before we start anything.”
“You won’t get it.”
“Just think about it, alright. We can’t open the brewery in town. This is the cheapest second option. We already own the land.”
I’ve never been called the optimist of us three brothers, that role is usually reserved for Bryce, but I give it a go anyway.
