Page 153 of Square Deal

“Doesn’t make it any less real.” He shrugged.

“You’ve been MIA the last few days,” I said, changing the subject. “Things going well with Layla?”

Chase scratched the back of his neck. It was his poker tell. We all knew it. I wondered if he knew it. “Something like that. Just keeping things casual. She works a lot. I work a lot.”

“It’s good that you’re putting yourself out there.”

“What about you?” he countered. “How’d it feel to put yourself out there again?”

“Alright, I guess. It wasn’t love at first sight, but we had a good time.”

“I’d hope it wasn’t love at first sight,” Chase scoffed. “You’re too good to end up with a firefighter.” He shivered through the last word like a three-year-old who was suffering through a measly nibble of spinach.

I just rolled my eyes.

He gently pushed the swing back and forth. The crickets chirped and, in the distance, you could hear the chime of the bells tied to the front door of the general store as summertimers stocked up on trinkets and double scoops of Moose Tracks ice cream.

My phone buzzed, and I jumped at it. I would have been lying if I said that I didn’t want it to be Isaac. But I did.

Instead, it was Austin saying he had a great time, hoped I made it home safe, and if I ever wanted to go out again—even just as friends—he was game.

“What are you thinking, HJ?”

“That I miss him,” I admitted. “That I need to let go of some of my expectations and take what I can get. That maybe I’m stupid for still holding on to the idea that he’s the one.”

Chase stretched his long legs out, and the porch swing stopped moving. “I haven’t been through all the shit that Steve has, and I’m not married like Mad and DeRossi. But I know what it feels like to wait.” He gave me a sympathetic smile. “If you think he’s the one, then maybe waiting isn’t stupid.”

I leaned into his side.

“And who knows,” he continued, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. “Maybe you both needed this so you can step away and get some clarity. You and him didn’t exactly start things off all thatproper. Maybe you need the bone to break before you can reset it and let it get strong again.”

I looked up at him, dumbfounded. “Who are you, and what the hell did you do with Chase Brannan?”

He snickered. “Shut it, Hayes. You tell the rest of the poker club that I have deep thoughts, and I’ll never live it down.”

“You wanna come in and watchLaw & Order?”

He rocketed off the couch. “I thought you’d never ask.”

36

ISAAC

The pilot circled the plane around the runway again. Of course, the weather was terrible.What a fucking cliche.

My fingers drummed on the armrest as the plane tilted for another pass at the airstrip. The empty seat to my left taunted me.

I had always traveled alone before her, but the reminder of Hannah Jane’s absence unraveled me at the seams. A bottle of bourbon sat within reach, tempting me with relief. I wasn’t going to touch it, no matter how much I craved a drink.

Ten minutes passed, and we finally touched down. I sank into the backseat of the car, and we pulled away. My phone buzzed with a message from Spenser confirming my last-minute travel arrangements.

I knew it wouldn’t be a text from Hannah, but my heart fluttered at the possibility. It was a Friday in the summer, and she would be in drill-sergeant mode at the Taylor Creek Inn.

Imissed her.

I closed my eyes, but knew the feel of every turn the driver would make before he made it.

I avoided making an even bigger ass out of myself by not texting her when I couldn’t fall asleep the last few nights. The pictures I had saved on my phone? Those were fair game. I cashed out everything I had stored up in my spank bank. My hand ached from how much I jerked off thinking about her.

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