Page 41 of Philly
“You said running is one of the only things that helps you manage your anxiety. You ran eight miles. Now it’s time to eat,” he said, moving past her toward the kitchen.
When he started unpacking the bag, pulling out a carton of eggs, then a block of cheese, the words in her throat died. She truly didn’t need him to feed her, but he seemed to need to. And,admittedly, she liked the look of him in her kitchen. She couldn’t cook worth crap and always felt as if she were bumbling about. He moved around with a nonchalant confidence that was more attractive than it should be.
“Spinach, cheese, and ham omelets with chicken sausages,” he said. “If you eat everything on your plate, I may even share the maple bar I brought.” He didn’t look at her as he spoke, just went about preparing their meal. It gave her more time to admire him, his hair tousled by the wind of their run, the fit of his track pants over his long, lean legs. Gabriel Walker kept in shape.
A wave of longing swept through her. They’d never have a second chance. Not after she’d detonated both their lives. But that didn’t stop her wondering what it would have been like if she hadn’t. What it would have been like if she hadn’t had the parents she’d had. If she’d been able to say yes to him that night. If they’d been able to become what they’d both wanted for each other.
Had they been too young for anything to stick, though? Or would they have stayed together? Would they be married, maybe even have a couple of kids? Nearly twenty years later, she wasn’t sure she even wanted either of those last two things. But back then? She’d dreamed about having a life with him.
With a mental shake of her head—it did no good to wonder about those things—she joined him. “I’m hopeless in the kitchen, but can I help?”
23
Philly stared at the email on his computer screen. Relegated to managing orders for the Falcons’ construction business that day, he sat in his home office, trying to get his work done. Only the memory of Callie’s smooth, bare legs kept distracting him. Long and lean, they’d easily wrap around his waist.
The attraction both surprised him and didn’t. He’d spent years hurt and angry about what she’d done that night. Years feeling she’d betrayed everything between them. But the memories of them from before that night? She’d been the best thing in his life. His best friend, his partner in adventuring, the only person he didn’t need to put on a performance for. The only person he could be himself with. He hadn’t even felt that way about his own brother, whom he’d protected throughout their entire childhood.
He leaned back in his chair and contemplated the last few days. He and Callie were tentatively finding their way, testing the waters. Of what, he didn’t know—maybe back to their friendship. But maybe to something more.
And now he was thinking about her legs again. Her legs wrapped around him.
His phone rang, and he hesitated when Mantis’s name popped up on the screen. Not that he didn’t want to talk to his brother, but Mantis could tune in to a fly with a broken wing in the next county. And Philly didn’t need two people inside his head.
Knowing if he didn’t answer, Mantis would either call again or stop by, he hit the Connect button.
“Hey,” Mantis said.
“Orders are almost done. We need to talk to the shipper of the reclaimed wood, though. Their last two deliveries were three days late. We built in the contingency, but I don’t want them to make a habit of it,” Philly said.
“Do it,” Mantis replied. “Now, how are you?”
“Fine.”
“Seen Callie lately?”
He thought about not answering, but it would get back to Mantis at some point. “We went for a run this morning. Then had breakfast.” Mystery Lake was small, even smaller when the Warwicks were in your orbit. Callie would mention it to Leo who’d tell Joey who’d tell her sister who’d tell Mantis. Or something like that. Teenage girls had nothing on the Warwick grapevine.
“Have you forgiven her?”
Philly stilled at the blunt question. One he hadn’t expected. Not even from Mantis.
“You think I should?” he asked, more as a deflection.
“That’s up to you.”
“Why are you asking?”
“Because you’ve had a few days since the revelation. You’ve both had time to adjust. And it’s not good to stew over it all. Not on your own.”
He narrowed his eyes at that. “Did you and Charley bet on this?” The other thing the Warwicks were notorious for was betting oneverything. To be fair, they weren’t the only ones. The Falcons/Warwick betting pool as to when Mantis would ask Charley to marry him was big. Only slightly bigger than the one going as to where the wedding would take place. Which was about the same size as the one covering how long they’d take for their honeymoon.
Mantis chuckled. “No, but not a bad idea. I’d win, of course.”
He hesitated, not wanting to ask but knowing he would. He sighed. “And what would you bet?”
“That you’ve forgiven her.”
A simple but not-so-simple statement. And as his brother said it, Philly acknowledged that it was also a true statement.
