He shook his head. “No, I’m good.”
“Great.”
I made myself busy, unloading and reloading the dishwasher, as the sound of soft rock filled the bookstore. This meant that Rossy was now working somewhere in the store and not in his office. He was the only one of us who turned on music during the day.
“Margo.”
“What’s up?” I asked, my voice light as I faced Jake again.
He ticked his head to the side, his lips tipping up. “You okay?”
“That’s the third time you’ve asked me that since you waltzed in here,” I told him, my voice no longer light. “What’s the deal?”
Then he gave it to me straight, no bullshit, which was something I admired about Grayson’s men. They were real. “Dominic asked me to come check on you today.”
I jerked back.What?“Excuse me?”
He leaned his forearms against the edge of the counter. “He mentioned you were a little…distraught at the party.”
My mouth opened before I could stop it, my question coming out harsh, laced with disbelief. “Why in the fuck would Dominic give a shit about me?”
The tech genius didn’t like that. Not one bit. His brown eyes flashed, his face hardening. “Why wouldn’t he? Why wouldn’t any of us?”
“I don’t—”
“You mean something to Carrie. She means a whole lot to Grayson, and she is basically family to us—which makes you, Sarah, and the Brit our family,” he explained, jerking his thumb over his shoulder.
I pressed my lips together, but he wasn’t done.
“Dominic has a gift, and while sometimes that gift annoys the hell out of me and the team, he’s never wrong. He said you weren’t okay and asked if I could stop by and check in on you because Hayes is out of town.”
I refrained from mentioning Hayes’ goodbye, declaration, and forehead kiss, all of which had kept me up all night long. “Yeah, I saw him leave,” I lied.
Jake nodded. “Gray got a call last night, and Hayes is the only man for the job.”
“You don’t have to fill Hayes’ spot while he’s gone, you know?” I threw out, hating the term “Hayes’ spot.” Mainly because of the warmth it gave me. I hated it and I hated that I couldn’t lie to myself about why I hated it. I hated it because, before he left, I’d wanted Hayes to have a spot in my life. “I don’t even know why he still stops by to check on us.”
He hadn’t since our one-night stand, and before last night, I was certain he never would have again.
Jake, clearly oblivious to what Hayes and I had, sighed. “Mitchell is a complicated guy. He’s been through a lot, lost a lot, and sometimes, he lets that shit slip out into his day-to-day life. Since that day he found you girls…” He trailed off, looking at me, silently checking to make sure we were on the same page.
“You can say it, you know,” I deadpanned. “It’s not like any of us wake up in the middle of the night screaming over it.”Not anymore, at least.I huffed, rolling my eyes and said the words he’d hesitated over.“The day Sarah, Carrie, and I got kidnapped and Grayson got shot.”
Though I didn’t let it show, the darkness etched within those words seeped into my soul and pierced my heart, the nightmare still fresh in my mind.
“Right,” he murmured, the light in his eyes dimming slightly. “Well, that day fucked us all up. I’d found your location and gotten in contact with Hayes, and he did everything he could to get there in time.”
A lump formed in my throat, and I shifted my weight. “He did get there in time,” I whispered.
“Did he?” he replied, his voice just as soft.
I flinched and his eyes scanned my face. “Yeah.”
I couldn’t look at him anymore. My body seemed to curl in on itself. My arms wrapped around my mid-section as I dropped my head, eyes on my Doc Martens.
“He checks in because he feels guilty, not because he thinks you or the other girls can’t handle your shit. Clearly, you three can handle your shit. We can see it.”
“Can he?” I blurted, lifting my head once more. “Can he see it?” I repeated, harsher this time.