She shrugs. “What about you gutting her grandma’s house and moving into it? I know she’s still pretty devastated by that.”
I sit straight up in the chair and turn to face her. “What are you talking about? What house?”
She leans forward and tilts her head. “What house? The one your restaurant and apartment are both in, dumbass. God, she’s right.” She shakes her head at me dismissively. “You’re lucky you’re pretty.”
I stand up, so I can look her in the eyes. “What about my house?”
She gives me a confused look, but I hold my ground and stare right at her. She must see the seriousness in my expression because her eyes widen and she covers her mouth. “Oh my god. You really don’t know? How do you not?—”
“How do I not what?” I grit out.
“Shit,” she mutters under her breath. “Why do you think she hates being in your restaurant so much?”
“I always thought it was just me.”
She laughs halfheartedly. “Don’t give yourself that much credit, big guy. You’re living in her grandma’s old house. The one she dreamed of living in one day. The one her family couldn’t afford to keep and the one you and your brother basically gutted all of her memories from.”
She takes a step back and puts her hands on her hips, narrowing her eyes back on me. “You really didn’t know.”
The earth feels unsteady beneath me. I remember the night we met so vividly. She told me that she recently lost her grandma, but she seemed pretty quick to move on from that topic and I respected it. Now I wish I would have asked her more about how much her grandma meant to her. I shake my head. “No. I never knew until literally right now.”
“How did you not know?”
I throw my hands out wide and shake my head. “I don’t know. I wasn’t the one that bought it? Slade did. I don’t really have any friends in town besides TJ, the restaurant industry hours don’t lend themselves to healthy social lives.” I let out an exasperated groan. “I just never knew.”
She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath before gripping my shoulders and looking up at me.
“Look, I’m not one to get into other peoples’ business.”
I glare at her skeptically.
She sighs and nods side to side. “OK, fine, maybe I do. But if you want to finally talk to her, she should be back in about ten minutes.”
“I thought she left?”
“She did. She took Felix for a walk. Seriously, you just missed her, but she’ll be back.”
Alright. I may not have a plan, but at least I have a chance now.
I take a deep breath and try to collect myself, giving Monica a weak but heartfelt smile. “Thanks.”
While I might feel a sense of relief from finally uncovering that little puzzle piece, I realize I only have minutes to think about what I want to say to Kelsey before she’s back.
CHAPTER 13
KELSEY
I can’t believehe had the nerve to ask me to be roommates or whatever the hell weird arrangement he had in mind. I guess he did say spare apartment? I don’t quite remember, because it was all a blur of anger and resentment and I wasn’t about to stick around and unpack that in front of him. It was already bad enough that I broke down for him to see.
I hate being vulnerable like that. I try my best to hide my emotions from everyone.
For some reason though, Sutton Sterling disarms me.
My resting bitch face crumbles when I’m around him. Then I’m spilling my guts, and I don’t know why it’s like that with him. I certainly wasn’t ready to figure out why in the remains of my grandma’s old living room—not that you could tell that’s what it was anymore after practically every wall in the first floor was removed during their renovation. Only the creaky front door hinges and old wood framed bay window remind me that it is in fact the very spot I spent so much of my childhood.
Like I would ever consider staying there a minute longer than it takes to walk in and drop off a coffee delivery. Or atleast that’s what I want to tell myself. I ran out of there and spent the last fifteen minutes walking Felix down the alley behind Cowgirl Coffee, trying to calm down.
As much as I’ve tried to clear my mind, I still feel the ghost of his soothing touch on my shoulder. I feel the lingering caress of his voice, making the hair on my neck stand. If I would have stayed any longer, who knows what I would have agreed to.