Page 44 of Sweet Little Thing

He stared at Brandy Jo, and she got the message that her flirting was inappropriate. Stone then responded, “I don’t think I am. There’s too much shit to fucking deal with. Moving the things I need to Manhattan and buying the rest for my place there will take some time. When will you pack the rest of your things and move it down here?”

We’d all shared a house three miles from campus since our freshman year at Cuthdart—a triple-storied, brick home. Stone had moved out months before graduation. I’d stayed much longer putting off the inevitable of moving back to Savannah. Tate was still living there when he wasn’t traveling. He’d done a year in Europe and lost two semesters, so he still lacked his senior year. Sterling wasn’t sure what he wanted to do yet and hadn’t even mentioned moving out.

“When there’s time for me to leave here,” I replied. “I was going to hire someone to pack it up. I don’t want to be gone. . .”

“. . .from her,” Stone finished.

“Yes, from her.”

He drank his coffee and let it go. Didn’t harp on the subject—a positive development. Stone was finally accepting it. I knew he would, eventually. He was stubborn as hell but he’d see she made me happy.

“She’s different, Stone. If you’d give her a chance. . .you’d like her. . .and see why I love her. Beulah’s not a mistake. She’s perfect. Trustworthy. Those don’t come around very often.”

I expected a snide remark. Something, well, Stone-like. Instead, he gazed out the window behind my desk, giving histhoughts a moment. Pensive, I let him think it through. At least he wasn’t arguing with me. That was a first.

“I don’t doubt what you’re saying. But your world and hers will never. . .ever completely meld together. You’re in the honeymoon phase of the relationship. When shit slowly starts to unravel and unpack from the baggage you both have brought, it won’t be so damn pretty or easy.” Stone paused, then looked at me. “And are you sure you won’t be the one to hurt her and not the other way?”

It was rare that Stone pissed me off. Usually, I accepted his know-it-all-attitude with a laugh, but this. . .he’d gone too far. I sat my coffee down and glared at him. Not giving him a bye because he’s my best friend. “Are you questioning my love for her?”

He didn’t back down. “Yes, I am. Because you haven’t known her long enough to love her.”

We sat there in silence, neither speaking. I was furious, but the words to explain exactly how wrong he was were too many to yell, and I was calming myself before I spoke.

The knock on the door stopped me from going forward and kept me from defending myself. When it opened, Beulah walked in.

Chapter

Thirty-Three

Beulah

Stone was back. My gaze went from Jasper to Stone, then back to Jasper. The room was tense and uncomfortable. Maybe I should’ve waited until he said come in. I stopped where I was and offered, “I’m sorry. I can go work somewhere else. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

Jasper stood, both looking serious. As soon as I spoke, Jasper’s face softened, and he immediately closed in on me, approaching with a smile and a wink. “You can walk in whenever you want. I’ve told you that before.”

Yes, I was welcome with Jasper, but I also knew Stone didn’t like me. “Okay,” I said in reply. Stone’s presencewastense. I couldn’t figure out why Jasper liked having him around so much. Sterling and Tate were easy to take and enjoyable to get to know.

“We were talking business. Now it’s over. Stone was just leaving.”

Stone didn’t move from the chair. I didn’t think he’d planned on leaving. But I didn’t mention it or look directly at him. He was angry. . .angry all the time. Or maybe it was just me that made him angry?

“I need to get to the filing. I’ll be out of the way. Y’all can keep talking business.”

“How was your visit?” Jasper asked.

“Great. Heidi was so excited to see me. She wasn’t expecting me to come. It was a treat for both of us. Though I explained why I was there. Thank you for giving me the time.”

Jasper cupped the back of my head and kissed me. It was much more than I was comfortable with, Stone being in the room watching. Though I did. . . kiss him back. “Don’t thank me for that,” he whispered against my lips, pressing one more kiss to my mouth before letting me go.

“Please continue to suck on her face in my presence. I don’t mind at all.” His voice was deep and unamused.

Jasper rolled his eyes and flashed a crooked grin. “You’ll learn to ignore him.”

I doubted that. Stone wasn’t one you could ignore. “I’ll get to work back there on the filing,” I replied, hurrying from the room toward the filing closet.

“Are you always going to be an ass around her?” I heard Jasper ask Stone rather bluntly.

“More than likely,” he replied.

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