Page 49 of Family Bonds: Coy & Angel

He wouldn’t lie to her. “Yes.”

“Thank God!” she said, waving her hands around again. “At least you’re honest.”

“I’m always honest. I’m just trying to catch up. You said years?”

“Coy, you really are clueless.”

“I can’t be too clueless because there is no way your brother knows that you’ve what? Got a crush on me?”

“Sure, we’ll use that word.”

There was a crazy amount of sarcasm behind those words, but he couldn’t think of it being more than a crush right now.

“Does anyone know?” he asked.

“My mother knows. I didn’t realize that she did. I’ve done a good job keeping it a secret.”

“You’ve done agreatjob keeping it a secret,” he said. “And it’s not as if I’ve seen you all that much though we’ve known each other for years.”

And he’d talked to her about schooling too.

When she wanted to go be a dentist, he gave her advice, helped her with admissions and anything else she wanted to know.

He’d had her email and cell number for years.

But they never chatted about anything more than school before her working for him.

Had he been that blind?

It appears he had been.

“I had hoped you’d see when I moved here. The fact you asked me over two Fridays in a row, maybe I realized you were feeling it and trying to work your way through it. But then I thought you were just being nice because you felt bad I was alone.”

He ran his hands through his hair. He didn’t want her to feel that way when it was true.

“I like spending time with you. How easy it is to be around you.”

“Like a friend?” she asked.

“More than that and it’s been hard to rationalize it in my mind.”

“Why do you have to do that?” she asked.

“Your brother is my best friend. He asked me to watch out for you. Do you not realize the position I’m in?”

She started to pace around the room. “This is about us and not Spencer. Don’t do that.”

“It’s hard not to do it,” he said. “I owe him a lot.”

“For what?” she asked.

“He was there for me when I needed him in college,” he said.

“Do you mean the pact you two had about not letting the other be drunk alone?” she asked.

“You know about that?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said. “I’m not sure I was meant to. My parents were talking about it one night and I overheard. I know Spencer is always worried about his career. Not everyone else in college was looking toward the future. I think he found that commonality with you.”

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