“Oh, come on. There’s always a choice.” He circles until he’s in front of me. “You could’ve ditched us at the restaurant. Made up an excuse. Or just told us no.” He studies me. “You let her stick around this morning too. Didn’t drive her off with your usual charm.” He pauses. “Or did you?”
I keep my expression neutral, though the memories hit hard. The darkness helps.
It’s late. He should be asleep—or out. Why is he here digging?
“What did you guys talk about?” he asks.
I roll my eyes, setting another log down. “Don’t you have something better to do?”
“Nope. What could be better than hanging out with my dear friend?” He drags the last word out. “Although I can think of one thing we could do together?—”
“No.”
He blinks. “You don’t even know what I was going to say.”
“I do.” I meet his eyes. “And the answer is no.”
Luke smirks. “You like her that much?”
“She’s a guest,” I say, turning away. “She’s here for her own reasons, not for us.”
“Who said anything about that? I just wanted to know if you liked her.”
“It doesn’t matter how I feel. We shouldn’t even be talking about her like this.”
“He’s right.”
“Jesus!” Luke jumps, but I don’t. I’d already heard the quieter crunch of gravel behind him. I knew Reid was coming.
“I hate when you do that,” Luke mutters as Reid steps into view. “One of these days I’m putting a bell on you.”
Reid ignores him, looking between us. “I heard you went out with Sierra today. We need to be clear.” He sets his stance. “Be friendly if you want, but she’s here under our care. That means boundaries. Sensitivity. Restraint.” He looks directly at Luke on that last word.
“Why are you looking at me?” Luke asks.
“You know why.”
“Oh, don’t give me that,” Luke shoots back. “First of all, she’s not here for therapy. She told me herself—she came to investigate us. She told me when her car broke down, and I picked her up and brought her in.” Reid grunts but doesn’t respond.
“Second,” Luke continues, “I’m not the one who disappeared for nearly an hour this afternoon with his truck still in the driveway. Amanda was losing it trying to find you.” He raises a brow. “Maybe she should’ve checked Sierra’s room.”
Reid’s face tightens, but he covers it with his hand. He doesn’t deny it.
He doesn’t need to.
Heat spreads through me, sharp and unwelcome. Hewaswith her. Something happened.
And I want to know what.
Even if it would wreck me.
I want details. When they got together. How long it lasted. What went wrong.
This is new for me. I’m not usually the type to stick my nose into other people’s business, and I don’t much care for gossip.
But I do care about whatever had Sierra crying out loud like that when I first met her.
Shit. She’s becoming an unhealthy obsession.