Page 24 of Flame
I grin. “Only if the cabana boy is named Foxx Carmichael.”
“Get out of here.”
“I’m kidding, but I am staying with him.”
“You’re stayingwith him,as inyou’re staying at his house? Or in a hotel room? What’s happening, Bianca? Expound on this subject, please.”
I peek in the kitchen to ensure Foxx hasn’t snuck up on me.
“Long story short,” I say, “Jason didn’t want me to go home for a few days. There’s some fuckery afoot with Dad, and they want me out of sight for a little while.”
“But I thought you didn’t work with Foxx anymore?”
I stop next to the window and look over the backyard. There’s a pool with a diving board and a few chaise lounges. I wonder how often Foxx uses them. Beyond the decking, there’s a landscaped yard that leads to a tangle of trees and grasses at the far side of the property.
It’s so different from what I’m used to in Nashville. But I kind of love it.
“I don’t. But it was Foxx who basically told Jason and me that I am staying with him until this mess is figured out,” I say.
Hearing that aloud makes me smile.
“Okay…” I can hear the grin in her voice. “What’s that mean?”
“It means he’s doing my brother a favor.”
Slowly, my smile fades from my lips.
Thatiswhat he’s doing. He’s being there for Jason. As much as he’s attracted to me, and I know he is, he can walk away from the attraction.From me. He’s unable to walk away from his loyalty to my brother, and I need to remember that.
“Have things been weird?” she asks. “You haven’t seen him in six months. What was his reaction when he saw you?”
I blow out a breath. “At first, he looked happy, I guess.” I pause and decide not to tell her about the auction. “Then he was super quiet and pulled the noncommunicative bit on me. I took him to task about it, and he eased up a little, but he’s Foxx. What can I say?”
“Are you okay with staying there?”
I mosey through the living room and back to the kitchen. I take in all the little bits of Foxx buried in the details.
The salt and pepper containers are equally spaced on the counter. There’s a historical biography, his weakness, on the table. A pair of sunglasses sits next to a bowl by the door. Aviators. His favorite.
But even as I take in the nuances of Foxx, I realize that I know so little about him. I didn’t know he has five siblings. I didn’t realize he lives on the same street as his family. That surprised me, actually. And I don’t know his bedtime routine, or what grocery stores he likes to shop at, or what he looks like when he wakes up.
How can I feel so close to someone yet be so far removed?
“Bianca?” Astrid asks.
“Yeah. I’m sorry. What did you say?”
“I asked if you are okay with staying there.”
I mull that over for a long moment before answering her. “I am. Maybe this is what we need to sort of wrap up whatever this was or wasn’t between us. Do you know what I mean?”
“I do. He up and quit you out of nowhere. You deserve closure from that, especially with how close you two were getting.”
It wasn’t out of nowhere. It was the morning after the night I thought he was going to kiss me.
“Well, I’m not holding much hope that he’ll sit down and pour his heart and soul out to me,” I say, chuckling. “But I’m hoping that in a couple of days, I’ll go home and be able not to think about him every day.”
“I know what would also help that.”
