Page 26 of The Vow

She slowly turned around. Gage widened the door and lifted his chin.

“Come on.”

“Gage, it’s fine. I don’t want to disrupt your plans.”

He laughed. “My plans? Pizza, beer, and porn are all I got planned since Trista isn’t here.”

Vada furrowed her brows and gasped. Is that what men did when their women left town? Maybe it was a guy thing.

“Well, then I should leave you to it.”

“Vada.” Gage rolled his eyes and walked back toward her. He grabbed her arm, pulled her into the house, and swung the door closed behind them. “I’m fucking with you.”

“Oh,” she whispered and felt her cheeks heat. Of course, he was.

“I’m thinking you came here ’cause something happened with Hades, and you need to talk, am I right?”

“How do you know it has to do with Hades?”

“Because if it didn’t, you’d be at home talking to him.” Gage raised his brows, and Vada flattened her lips. She had no rebuttal. Gage was right. “And since Tris ain’t home, you’re stuck with me. Probably not as good at shit-talking Hades as she is, but I’ll give it a shot trashing your man.”

Oh God!

Vada shook her head and held up her hand. “No. I’m not here to trash him.”

Gage shrugged. “Then we’ll trash-talk someone else.”

Vada covered her smile and glanced around the room. It was odd to see the difference in the tidiness when Trista was away. Their living room resembled more of a frat house with the empty bottles and food containers lying around than it did a couple’s home.

“I could help you clean.”

Gage burst out laughing. “C’mon, Vada.”

Gage hadn’t even bothered asking what she wanted to drink. He popped the cap off a light beer and handed it to her. Her brand, reserved strictly for her. She always assumed it was Trista who kept them on hand. But maybe it was Gage. She watched him rummaging through the refrigerator, pulling out plastic cartons and loading them onto the counter. Trista had only been gone a few days, but it seemed Gage hadn’t cooked at all for himself.

Again, he never asked if she was hungry or what she wanted to eat. Instead, he heated up the food, made two plates, and handed her one. Gage walked out the back door, leading her to the patio. For the first few minutes, they ate in silence. It wasn’t weird or awkward. There was something comforting about sitting with Gage. It was easy to see why Trista fell hard for him. Gage had his flaws, plenty of them. But he was loyal to not only her best friend but to Vada. He was the first brother in the Riders to accept her before anyone else did. She’d always chalked it up to being so close with Trista, but he’d gone above and beyond in an effort to protect her when her life blew up. An unspoken bond had formed, and they’d become closer. She’d told Trista and Hades in the past that Gage was the type of brother she wished she’d had.

Gage took a swig from his beer and turned to her.

“Let’s hear it. What did that asshole do?”

Vada stared back but remained silent. Was this really the right thing to do? Gage was Hades’ brother, one of his closest friends. But…Gage was her friend, too.

Gage smirked. “Come on, Vada. I know you trust me. Tris told me you said you thought of me like a brother.”

I do.

“I said I wish I had a brother like you,” she muttered.

His gaze softened. “You do, and here I am, so talk to me.”

Vada went over the story and left nothing out. She took full responsibility and accountability. It may have been her mother’s words that hurt Allie, but it was Vada’s responsibility to protect Allie. And she hadn’t. By the time she recounted the night with Hades parting words, her eyes were welled, and her tears were threatening to fall.

“Well, that was a dick move.”

It was a dick move.

Vada glanced down at the stray string hanging off of her sweater. “I don’t think he meant it.”

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