Page 22 of Harboring Secrets
“Damn right you are. If you and Brodie patch things up, maybe the four of us can go on one of those gloriously indecent gay cruises. I know Will would shit kittens if I booked one. He says he doesn’t want to go, but in that way that makes me know he really does. It’s the same face he gives me when I ask if he wants a bowl of chocolate ice cream and he says he shouldn’t, and I bring him one anyway because I know he really means that he wants one but doesn’t feel like he’s allowed to have one.” Oren’s sudden laugh gave me a jump scare. “Okay, I talk too much. It’s official.”
“You just love your husband and I think that’s sweet. Now get off the phone with me and get your shit done so you can get him dinner. And chocolate ice cream. And, Oren?”
“Yeah?”
“You better not bill me for this conversation.” It was my way of sayingthank you, I love and appreciate you.
“Watch me.” Oren ended the call with his way of sayingI know you do, who wouldn’t appreciate me. I’m awesome.
Where would I be without friends like Oren? I asked myself that as I drifted off to sleep.
Chapter 11
Brodie
ThoughIdidn’texpecthim to be out front when I walked out the door the next morning, my eyes searched for him anyway. Because I was lovesick and stupid. Last night he’d been a temptation, just not enough to get past my hurt feelings. I had to admit, though, the deceased wife thing kind of made sense.
When I met Liam, it wasn’t like he was actively sad. There were no tears or frowns, or faraway gazes. But he seemed lost and empty. Like he’d given it all to something and had nothing left. He gave the impression of a man whose light had gone out.
The pleasure of watching that light come back to him was addicting. Every laugh I coaxed out of him warmed my chest. Day by day, little by little, I watched Liam come alive. I loved knowing I was the one who’d done that for him. I was convinced that I could do anything.
And then Liam got that stupid phone call and all the lights in him shut off. He closed himself up like Fort Knox and pushed me away. It had felt like jumping off a cliff and getting smashed against the rocks. But he’d come after me. That counted for something.
Last night, despite my better judgement, I’d googled him and his late wife. I knew Liam came from money, but his wife had come from even more money. They were the kind of rich people who were so rich you’d never guess how rich they were. The uber wealthy could be a lot more stealth about their money.
All the money in the world hadn’t saved his wife from an aggressive cancer. She was a beautiful woman. She had that classic look about her, like a woman who came straight from a red carpet event.
The Uber I’d hired pulled up to the curb and I got in. “Bennett’s, please,” I told the driver of the Honda Civic as I buckled my seatbelt. I laid my laptop bag across my legs and the car started moving.
“You got it,” my driver, Toni, said. Toni was a girl, probably no more than twenty, whose car smelled of vanilla body spray and bubble gum.
I spent the ride over looking out the window of the car, secretly hoping to see a sleek black sedan chase us down. Alas, there was not, and I arrived at Bennett’s a few minutes later. I gave Toni a nice tip, despite the fact that the scent of vanilla and bubble gum was burned into my brain.
Bennett’s was a family diner run by Ethan Bennett. My brother Shane was friends with Ethan and I’d heard all about Ethan’s fiancé, Mickey. He was a bartender at Shane’s bar, The Anchor.
Because I’d woken up late, again, the morning rush was over and I found a table easily enough. I slid into the booth and took my laptop out of my bag. Unless I wanted to live in Kieran’s spare room forever and subject myself to an eternity wearing noise canceling headphones, I needed my own place.
Ethan came over and greeted me with a bright smile. A coffee pot in one hand and a clean cup in the other. “The prodigal son returns. Shane said you were back. How was… where were you again?”
“I was everywhere, and it was amazing. But I think home is nice too. I could murder a stack of Taylor’s waffles. I’ll take some bacon on the side, extra crispy. And I’d love a coffee.”
“Coming right up.” Ethan put the cup down and poured me a coffee. His gaze slid to my laptop. “If you need a place to plug in, there’s an outlet under the table. I also offer free WiFi now.”
“Really? That’s great, thank you.”
“No problem. If you need anything, just shout. I’ll be back soon with your order. Welcome home.” Ethan gave me a friendly clap on the shoulder, then went to put my order in.
I added a couple of sugars to my coffee and took a tentative sip. Restaurant coffee was always a gamble. For such a seemingly simple beverage, there were a million ways to fuck it up. Thankfully, Ethan avoided all of them and I took a second, larger sip before sliding my laptop out of the bag and getting set up.
Rentals were scarce, as it turned out, but if I wanted to buy something, there was a complex of townhouses that were freshly built and ready to go. Several units were still available to purchase.
Back when Shane first won the money, we’d gone a few rounds about it. It was his money. He had no right to spend so much on me or other people. It was his. And then he’d reminded me that yes, it was his, and he could spend it how he saw fit. And he saw fit to take care of the people who were important to him. Even annoying little brothers.
He’d funded my travel and I’d tried not to think of where the money came from at first. But after a while, it became easier. Every time I talked to Shane and he’d ask about where I’d been and what I saw, he did so with an enthusiasm that rivaled a kid on Christmas morning.
But could I ask him to buy me a house? He probably would because it meant I’d be staying. I’d be putting down roots. Not that I didn’t already have roots here. My family was here and I had no good reason to be anywhere else.
There had been a brief period of madness after the first sum of money Shane dropped in my account when cold sweat climbed my back and pushed me down into a spiral of doom. I’d genuinely worried about how I was going to pay him back. Shane had looked at me like I’d grown a second head.
