Page 38 of Before This Ends (Before)

“Yeah, Emma said the same, and she would have come over this evening, but she’s meeting some guy for a drink tonight.”

“Pardon?” I lock my eyes on her, wondering if I heard her wrong.

“Oh no,” Willow says quietly.

“Oh no, what?” Miranda asks, glancing at Willow, then her eyes come back to me and widen.

“Shit,” Tucker mutters, while Clay laughs.

“Where is she meeting him?” I ask without thinking.

“I don’t know.” Miranda shakes her head. “She didn’t tell me. Is there something going on between you two?”

The question causes my jaw to get tight.

“No,” I bite out because that is the truth. There is nothing going on between us. And I should not feel the death-grip of jealousy wrapping around my insides from finding out she’s going out on a date with another man, she is not mine.

“Can you find out where she is?” Clay asks, and Miranda looks over at him.

“Well… yeah.”

“Do that, baby,” Tucker orders softly, and she looks at me, then bites her lip before pulling out her phone.

After typing, her eyes find mine once more. “What happened between you two?”

“Nothing.”

“Something happened if you’re pissed about her going out on a date with another guy,” Willow says, and I scrub my fingers through my hair.

“Nothing happened.”

“But youwantsomething to happen?” she asks softly, and I suck in a breath.

That’s the real fucking question isn’t it. Do I? Yes. Is it smart? That—I’m not sure about.

Any kind of relationship with Emma would take complicated to a whole new level. She is not a woman I could fuck and walk away from. She’s woven into the tapestry of my family through her close relationship with Miranda, Kingston, and now my brothers,andWinter. Not just that; she deserves someone who is willing to give her all the things she’s looking for, someone who will put in the effort needed to build a healthy relationship.

And I don’t know that I’ve got that in me.

I’ve had one relationship in my life, and it failed miserably, because I’m not the kind of man who’s very good at compromising. I like to be in charge and have a difficult time letting anyone else take the lead.

When Miranda’s phone pings with a text, everyone watches her as she clicks on the message, then her eyes meet mine, and she murmurs, “She’s at The Note.”

The Note. I’ve been there a couple of times. It’s a swanky bar not far from here… and a good place for a first date.

“Are we rolling or no?” Clay asks.

Even knowing this might blow up in my face, my gut is urging me to shove my reservations aside and go for it, because if by some miracle things were to work out, it might be one of the best things to ever happen to me.

Shemight be one of the best things to ever happen to me.

Is that a risk I’m willing to take, even knowing the possible consequences?

The answer is yes.

“We’re going.” I look between Miranda and Willow. “Do you guys mind keeping Winter for a bit?”

“Of course not,” Willow says.

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