Page 135 of Tangled up in You

“Did you move Jesse’s luggage?”

“No, why?”

A black, cold hole opened at the bottom of his soul. He walked out to the living room and no, her car wasn’t parked by their trucks.

“Jesse didn’t take her luggage with her when she left to meet her folks, right?”

He looked up from his laptop. “No, it should be sitting on her bed. Why?”

Mark realized his jaw had clenched and he forced himself to relax. “Don’t text her again.”

“What?”

“I said don’t text her again!” He angrily turned. “Her luggage is gone.”

“What?” He stood and hurried down the hall to the guest room. “I know it was there! Hell, it was there when we started laundry, because I came in here to make sure I wasn’t missing any dirty clothes!”

Mark followed him. Chris turned and Mark stared down at him. “Do not text her again,” he quietly said. “Wait for her to text back.”

His gaze widened. “What the hell, dude?” He even started to lift his phone to do just that and Mark gently closed his hand around it.

“Chris,” he said, forcing his voice to stay low, calm. “She’s not coming back. Why would she sneak in here and sneak out again with her luggage?”

“Are we sure we’re not mistaken? Maybe she did take it and we’re?—”

“And we’re what, Chris? You want to call her and ask her why she snuck in here and took her stuff and didn’t say anything?”

“Well, yeah. That’s exactly what I want to do.”

Mark’s stomach clenched and he wasn’t sure he might not throw up. “You call her and we’re wrong—and I hope to god we are—it’ll piss her off and make her think we don’t trust her. If she responds to your text when she’s coming back, then there’s no harm, right?”

He didn’t look certain. “I’m not sure?—”

“Please,” Mark said, barely able to hold it in now. “Just do this for me, all right? Let her text or call us back. Besides, her father might not like it if we interrupt their time together.”

Chris looked even less certain now. “Okay. Fine.”

As Chris slipped his phone into his pocket Mark remained there, his hands clenching into fists at his sides.

I’m an idiot.

Because he knew, deep in his heart, that she wasn’t coming back.

And god how he fucking wished he was wrong.

CHAPTER 17

JESSE

Four weeks later.

“What’s wrong?” her dad asked as he watched Jesse hold Brandt. Her little brother was less than two weeks old and absolutely healthy.

“Nothing,” she said, sniffling back tears.

She hadn’t revealed what happened between her the men. Partly because she didn’t want to advertise her weakness, her indiscretion.

Partly because she didn’t want her dad ruining the men’s lives by flipping into helicopter Godzilla dad mode.

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