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Brody really wanted to be indignant, and wanted to argue, but given that he had slept with Elizabeth just that afternoon, he didn’t exactly have a leg to stand on. Not that they knew that.
But it was not why he’d been nice to her. Not at all. He’d been nice to her because she was... And... Well.
I’ll call you.
But she hadn’t yet.
And for the first time he wondered if she meant it the way he sometimes did.
Which meant...
She didn’t mean it at all.
“I like work,” he said. “In that way you’re right. I would rather do the labor. So. I guess point taken.”
Except he was pissed now. And he took it as a personal mission to take all their money for the next three rounds of poker. And he did.
And at that point he realized he was going to have to walk back to his place tonight because he was actually kind of drunk.
“You’re sure in a mood,” Hunter commented.
He growled. “You put me there. I was in a great mood when I got here.”
Brothers. Especially little brothers. And Hunter was the fucking worst. At least, Lachlan was still his partner in crime.
Your partner in crime? Because you’re so into hooking up these days?
Just with Elizabeth.
Hell. She hadn’t even texted him. Not a single text. No missed calls.
He had known that. He had known that she wasn’t going to contact him.
Holy fuck. He was worried about a woman calling him. He had never in his life wanted a woman to call him. He wanted her to not remember his number. Or to not ask for it. Or just not give it to her. Which was usually what he did.
And here he was, acting like the teenager he had never been wishing that this woman would reach out.
“I need some air,” he said, going out onto the front porch. Because he was a little bit tipsy, and he needed to sober up. He would get some air, go back inside, play another round of poker and eat about five more cookies. And that would help soak it all up.
He heard footsteps behind him. Hunter.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I obviously scratched against something that you weren’t ready to deal with.”
“What do you mean something I wasn’t ready to deal with? You just said what you said, and I disagreed. But then I figured out what you meant. That’s all. It’s not a big deal.”
“There’s always a distance with you, Brody. That’s what I meant.”
He stared at Hunter. Hard.
“Just say what you mean,” he said.
“Childhood was different for you.”
He knew they thought that. Hell, he thought it. He didn’t know why it hurt to hear Hunter say it out loud. Didn’t know why it hurt at all when it was something he also believed.
It was just something that he hoped they didn’t believe. And that was kind of it. He hoped that it was like that. But apparently it was. Like he had suspected. For a while.
“It isn’t your fault,” Hunter said.
