Page 30 of I Found You
Everyone started to take their seats at the table, and Maeve looked at me with fear in her eyes. I pulled out a chair, nodded for her to take her seat, and sat down next to her on the right. Luke was heading into the kitchen for a drink, so I asked if he’d grab me one too. I had already finished my first beer, but I didn’t want to get up for another until everyone had taken a seat. I knew this family, and I couldn’t trust a single one of the Wilder men. They would swoop in and steal my seat next to Maeve, especially my father and Reid, to try to get some gossip out of her, chatting away like schoolgirls.
Food was passed around. Conversation was loud, with people talking over other people, multiple conversationshappening at the same time. Except for Juliet. As usual, she was looking at her plate instead of any one of us, not participating in any of the conversations. She would probably say she had a headache and wanted to take off in about ten minutes.
Sheila’s lasagna was delicious, way better than whatever my father would have thrown together. It was a great night. I kept my eye on Maeve, making sure she was having a good time. She was deep in conversation with my dad and Sheila, talking about who knows what, but she had a big smile on her face. Jane had been passed from Maeve to my father to Sheila and was now sitting with me. It was a little difficult to eat with a baby on my lap, but mostly, I was just afraid I was going to drop a forkful of pasta on her head.
“He came around that corner like a bat outta hell. His floppy bits flopping all over the place,” Sheila said, barely containing her laughter. Their conversation caught my attention, and I switched from talking to Luke, Reid, and Kayleigh to listening to the other conversation instead. “He couldn’t have been more than three years old.” Oh, it was someone’s kid. That makes more sense.
“Yeah, Luke was just an infant at the time, if I recall correctly.”
What the fuck? Were they talking about me?
Maeve was nearly in hysterics, tears in her eyes as she covered her mouth with her hands. “What did you do?”
“I went chasing after him from the restroom. The wily little shit was fast though. I had to run through half the diner before I caught him and pulled his pants back on,” my father answered. His eyes met mine, and he grinned widely.
“Hey, sometimes a kid’s just got to live free, you know?” Iadded. Maeve looked at me, her face alight with amusement. I laughed along with them and shot Maeve a wink.
It was nice to have someone at the family dinner table with me, embarrassing stories and all. I wasn’t known for bringing women home to meet my family. Firstly, because Calla Bay was a small town, and most women already knew at least one member of my family. Secondly, because there wasn’t anyone I wanted to spend that level of quality time with. Maeve was different. We weren’t together, so it didn’t really count as “bringing a woman home to meet the family.”
After dinner was finished, Maeve scooped Jane up from me and went inside to change her. I followed Reid into the kitchen for another beer and found a chocolate layered cake on the counter. I grabbed a fork and dug in, talking to Reid about his ongoing projects and what he was working on for fun.
I could hear the smile on his face without even looking at him when he said, “Your girlfriend seemed like she’s having a good time.”
I sighed. I knew this was coming. I should have warned my brothers ahead of time, but I didn’t even think of it. “She’s not my girlfriend. I don’t date. And besides, I don’t think of her like that. If it wasn’t for Jane, I wouldn’t be at her house at all.” It was true, but it was strange to think about. If it wasn’t for Jane, I wouldn’t have even run into Maeve. I wouldn’t have known how good she was, how smart and selfless. “Not my type, you know,” I added. At least I had thought that nice girls like Maeve weren’t my type. That’s how I ended up with girls like Chelsea and Andrea. There was something there, though, between Maeve and me. I could feel it when I was with her, with them. But was it worth the risk to explore it? And if itdoesn’t work out, what then… I hurt Maeve in the process, stop being able to check on Jane?
My brain registered the pain in my arm before anything else. “Ow, fucker. What was that for?” I turned to Reid to see why he punched me, but he wasn’t looking at me. He was looking toward the hallway where the bathroom was. He cringed and then shot me an “oh shit” look.
“Ha. You don’t have to worry about me. I never thought it was anything else,” Maeve said with a giggle that didn’t ring true.
“Fuck. I’m sorry, Maeve. That probably sounded harsh. I didn’t mean anything by it. I just…” I paused. I didn’t know where I was going with that.
“No, seriously. We’re good. I was just going to tell you that I was going to take off though. I want to get Jane back home so I can do her nighttime routine.”
“No. You don’t have to leave.” I took a step toward her, and she took a step back, keeping distance between us.
“If anything, this asshat should leave,” Reid interjected. Not helping, and the death glare I sent him told him that.
“Jane’s been sleeping better lately, and I don’t want to set her back.”
“Right, okay. Let’s just say bye to everyone, and we can go,” I told her.
“You stay. Tell your dad I said thank you for having me. And tell Sheila the food was delicious.” She was trying to look cool and unaffected, but I could see the hurt in her eyes. I fucking hated that I was the one who put it there. My chest ached right between my ribs.
We had been doing the bedtime routine together every night this week. I had a feeling I was not invited tonight though. Fuck.
13
Maeve
Blue and pink streaked through the sky on a beautiful sunset. The weather was warm but not too hot. I could literally hear birds chirping. And all I wanted to do was curl up under my sheets and hide from the world.
It wasn’t surprising to get confirmation that Wyatt was not attracted to me. I had eyes. It wasn’t that I was ugly per se, but that man was gorgeous and charming and sweet. He was the whole package, and I was just me.
The girl who had a pretty face, if only she could just lose a little weight.
The girl who people think must be the funny one in a group of friends.
It didn’t even make sense why Wyatt’s words cut me like they did. It really wasn’t surprising. I already knew that this wasn’t anything more than a friendship, one we only had because of Jane.
