Billy
“Why is my sister so nice to you?”
I glanced up from brushing Grey’s tail. Gus was standing in my bedroom doorway, like he had done four times since Mia had left, leaning on the frame, casual and easy, like I hadn’t heard him talking to his sister about regretting hooking up with me.
That’s not what you heard. They could’ve been talking about anyone. The world doesn’t revolve around you.
Especially Gus’s world. Fuck knew how many dudes he’d been with this month alone. I wasn’t special. “She’s not nice to me. She just talks to me more than Luke.”
Gus snorted. “I get that, but trust me, as someone who knows her best, she’s an absolute sweetheart to you.”
“I don’t know what to tell you.” I turned back to Grey. “Maybe she’s overcompensating.”
“Or maybe she was buttering you up. You went upstairs before she gave up why she really came over.”
“I don’t care why she came over. She’s your sister, not mine.”
“She’s practically married to your brother.”
“Yeah, well. I’m sorry for her loss.”
Gus’s brow ticked. It was as close as I’d ever seen him to getting annoyed, and the pugnacious arsehole in me took the small victory. Good. Let him be annoyed. He didn’t get to take me apart on his living room floor, gossip about me with his sister, then act like we were the fucking Waltons.
Grey had a knot at the tip of his tail. I’d been trying all morning to get it out, but he kept biting me. I ran the brush through the silky fur I’d already combed through, hoping to fool him before I returned to the knot. He was onto me, though, and he swiped at my face, gripping my jaw with both front paws.
It was a welcome distraction from Gus’s scrutiny, but it didn’t last. Grey rolled away, and Gus was still in my doorway. I sighed. “So...”
“So what?”
“Why did Mia really come over? You said she had an ulterior motive.”
“She wants us to help her out at the town fair next weekend. She’s got wedding bookings so she can’t be there all day.”
“Why’s that my problem?”
“It isn’t. But she asked if you’d help Luke set it up while I run some deliveries for her. I said I’d ask you. Don’t worry, I didn’t commit you to anything.”
“Good. I might be busy then.”
“Doing what?”
“What do you care?”
Gus started to frown, then caught himself and schooled his features into a bland expression that made me want to throw things at him. “All right then. I’ll tell her you can’t. She won’t mind, she knew asking you was a long shot anyway.”
“Why did she think that?”
“For all the reasons you just said.”
“I only said one reason.”
“Okay, Billy.”
He walked away, leaving a Gus-shaped hole in my doorway. Not literally, but I felt his sudden absence like a kick to the gut. And his disappointment. Whatever vibe he’d been expecting after our latest roll-around, me reverting to the dickhead mode I usually reserved for Luke had clearly caught him off guard.
Regret bloomed somewhere around where I’d felt the impact of his sad face the most, but I fought it. Gus hid his feeling with calm smiles and blank stares.
I hid my own with pigheaded sarcasm, and as long as we both stayed true to form, nothing was ever going to change.