Page 366 of Sticks and Stones
They’d done that from the first date. So, Will came clean.
“Ethan showed up right after you dumped me, and he told me about what happened. He said you were running, and told me to get into your path. He told me that you were breaking up with me to protect me, and not because you wanted to. I had to believe him. It looks like he was right.”
Corbin listened.
When he saw Ethan, he was going to hug him. What he’d risked for him…
That was love too.
Corbin was a lucky guy. He had Gene doing battle for justice, he had Ethan making sure his heart was protected, and he had Will to hold him up.
He was grateful.
Will kept talking.
“Ethan didn’t want you to know it was him. He told me that you loved me, and that they talked you out of marrying me after our first date.”
He wasn’t shocked they told Will.
Granted, he was a little surprised it was Ethan. Of the two men, Ethan tended not to interfere in personal things. He was quiet, and obeyed boundaries.
Until now.
“He brought me back here.”
Well, he’d called that one.
“Please don’t be angry with him. He loves you a lot,” he admitted. “They both do. They are fighting for you too. I’m not the only one who is standing in front of you to give you time, they are too.”
He was aware.
“I know. They heard what happened and they came to get me. I love them so much. I’ve never had brothers, but now that I do, I know that they mean the world to me.”
Will was honest.
“I like them,” he said. “No, I love them. They have to love you if they blocked Alice. That’s brave or stupid. I’m not sure which.”
He laughed weakly.
“Don’t count her out. Right now, I imagine her surveying the building, and building a ladder big enough to get to the balcony.”
He laughed.
“Well, now she will. You put it out there.”
Corbin got quiet.
“How much did they tell you about what happened?” he asked.
Will brought their joined hands to his lips and kissed his knuckles with love. They were torn up as more proof he’d fought for his life.
“He told me. I know what happened. He didn’t go into details other than how many men, and what happened after with the dumpster.”
Corbin was honest.
Since the cat was out of the bag, and he’d let Will back in, he needed him to be aware.
“It’s bad.”
