Page 20 of Gabriel & Skye

“Exactly.”

“I think with someone like Eden at the helm, events could really go somewhere.”

“What will it take to get her on board?” I ask as we approach my truck.

“Nothing a bit of bribery from her ex-husband couldn’t fix.”

I roll my eyes. It’s no secret that he and Eden have always done the right thing by Blake and remained friendly during their split. But Gray and I have always secretly thought Brooklyn still holds a flame for his ex-wife.

They were young when they got together and had Blake — I guess the pressures of keeping it all together got to them. Some things just don’t work out, and it’s a shame because I always thought they were perfect for each other.

“And how do you plan on doing that?” I chuckle. “I think Eden is well aware of your bribery, as you call it. I think she’d have a pretty good clue when you’re trying to butter her up.”

“Well, it’s been a while. Maybe she’s forgotten.”

“Is she still dating that guy from out of town?”

Brook bristles next to me as I give him a puzzled look. Brook is never thrown off by anything, so I don’t understand his reaction.

I clear my throat. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

“Some asshole from Savannah, Georgia,” he mutters.

“How do you know he’s an asshole?”

“I just do. Anyone who goes by the name Kirk is obviously a complete douchebag.”

“Alright, alright, don’t get your panties in a twist.” I hold my hands up in surrender. “I didn’t realize it was a big issue who she’s dating.”

“Well, it wasn’t.” He scratches the back of his head, avoiding eye contact.

“Until now?”

He gives me an unamused look. “Yes, until now. Things seem to be getting serious with them.”

“And that’s an issue?”

He sighs. It’s unusual for him to be so uptight about anything. Brooklyn is the happy-go-lucky Bassett sibling. Not much rattles his cage. “Look, I don’t know why it’s an issue. I guess because she hasn’t had any serious contenders over the years. She barely dated for the first two after we split up; we were both intent on keeping Blake’s life as normal as possible.”

“Pity you can’t say the same,” I joke, closing the trunk now we have everything we need.

He rolls his eyes at me. “Thanks, bro. Not helping.”

“Just keeping it real.”

“Anyway,” he sighs. “What I’m trying to say is I don’t like the fact she’s getting serious with this guy from out of town. He could be a fucking creep for all we know. And how well does she even know this jerk? Is he going to be spending time around Blake? He could be a serial killer for all I know.”

I ignore his knee-jerk reaction. “Didn’t she meet him online?”

“Some shit like that.”

“Well, those things don’t always tend to work out. Maybe it’ll fizzle out on its own, then you can swoop in and save the day.”

“Wouldn’t that be crazy.” He takes his cowboy hat off briefly, running a hand through his hair. “I don’t want to save the day. I just want her to be safe.”

I stop walking for a second to look at him. “Brook, I was joking. Fuck, do you still have feelings for her?”

“No, it’s not like that. I mean, maybe. I don’t know. This is all so sudden. I mean, what if they’ve had sex?”

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