Page 14 of Tangled up in You

Her jaw tics. “Suitcase is in the closet.”

The corner of my lips lift. “Thought you’d say that.”

Stepping over her mess, I get her case out. I set it on her bed and open it. While she piles in everything she needs, I work on cleaning up the empty boxes and bags she has lying around.

Melanie gets sidetracked here and there, stopping to put things away as she was doing before I showed up. I don’t complain, just help her finish what she needs to do.

By the time the room is clean and we head out, the snow has begun to fall again. I hold her suitcase under one arm and tugher into the other as we trudge over to Oliver’s. Having seen us coming, he opens the door.

“Hurry up before you freeze to death,” Oliver yells over the wind. He closes the door the second we’re inside.

I shiver. “Damn, it’s cold!”

“Took you two long enough.” Simon takes Melanie’s suitcase from me.

“My fault,” Melanie says, taking off her snow-covered jacket. “I wanted to unpack all my stuff before I left. I don’t want to deal with it later.”

Oliver hangs her coat up on the hooks in the foyer. “It’s fine. Do you want some hot chocolate? It will help warm you up.”

“Yes, please.”

“Anyone else?”

Simon and I chime in. As Oliver heads to the kitchen, I follow.

Once we’re out of earshot, he asks me, “Did she say anything?”

“Not really.” I grab the milk from the fridge while he gets the cocoa mix from the cabinet. “It’s obvious she wants to forget about it, though. She wasn’t too keen on coming over.”

“Great,” he mutters.

“It’s probably too early for her to think about a new relationship, especially with three guys.”

Oliver mixes the hot chocolate ingredients in a small pot on the stove. “Maybe… or maybe she’ll never be ready.”

“Only one way to find out.” I set four mugs on the counter.

Oliver glances at me. I shrug. He releases a heavy breath.

“I’m not sure I’m ready for that talk either,” he admits.

I pat his shoulder in brotherly support. I feel as he does; discussing everything with Melanie would make things clear for all of us, but that could go either way. As we are now, we can live in a fantasy of possibilities, one where she doesn’t say no.

CHAPTER 8

OLIVER

It’s been awkward, to say the least. The storm has worsened as the hours have passed. We ate dinner and are currently watching TV. No one has spoken much.

Simon is lounging on the loveseat nearby and Kent is propped up in the recliner. Melanie occupies the sofa with me, but we’re sitting on opposite sides of it. I don’t want to crowd her. We’re in a tough spot with what happened last night. Kent, Simon, and I are antsy to know how Melanie feels about us, but she’s probably struggling the most.

Even though my relationship with my ex-wife wasn’t as love-filled as I’m sure hers was, it was still hard for me to adjust to starting over.

The lights flicker in the room. With night upon us, I can no longer see outside, but I can hear it. Wind whistles against the house; branches scratch the windows. We haven’t started the fireplace yet, but it’s ready to go when we need it.

Melanie sighs.

Frowning, I ask, “Are you okay?”

---