Page 10 of Bourbon Wishes
"Do I have a choice?" I ask dryly. "You never fucking stop giving unsolicited advice."
He flips me off with a grin on his face before he sobers. "Loving someone from afar is a bitch, Bastian. Don't put yourself in that box unnecessarily. It'll suffocate you."
Shit.
A well of empathy rolls through me as he glances away, unable to hold my gaze when we both know he's speaking from experience. He's spent most of his life in love with my cousin, Chloe. But that shit is more complicated than me being Constance's boss. Chloe's brother is his best friend, and even though they aren't blood-related like we are, they were raised as cousins.
Aunt Cadence and Uncle Colton spent every summer here with us. Tryst feels like loving Chloe is wrong because our families are so intertwined, and there's no convincing him otherwise. But I don't think he'll ever get over her, either. He's never even tried.
"I'll take that under advisement," I mutter instead of giving him advice I know he won't hear. He never fucking does. When it comes to her, he isn't rational.
He closes his eyes like he's planning to fall asleep.
"If you don't get your big ass out of my office, I swear to Christ, I'll pay Oliver and Lucy to fuck on your new desk."
He cracks an eye open, looking over at me. "Fine, but how much do you think Uncle Carter would charge me to bend your mom over yours?"
I don't launch a stapler. But I do launch my pen cup.
He rolls off the couch, laughing as pens rain down on him like missiles. "Jesus Christ! I was kidding!"
"Get the fuck out, Tryst. Now."
He smirks, leaning down to snatch my favorite pen from the floor before tucking it into his pocket. "You're not getting thisback," he says, striding toward the door with a smirk. "It's what you get for fucking throwing it at me."
"It should have been a stapler."
He flips me off before sailing out, leaving my door standing open.
"Dick," I mutter, glaring at the mess of pens I now have to pick up. Instead, I leave them there, staring into space.
His warning about Constance finding someone else drifts through my mind, blaring like a warning siren.
Fuck.
I push away from the desk, hauling myself to my feet. I'm not entirely sure where I'm going or what I'm doing until I find myself standing outside of her cracked office door.
I'm about to knock when I hear her laugh.
I freeze in my tracks, listening.
"I can't wait to see you," she says, a smile in her voice.
What the fuck?
She can't wait to see who?
"Yeah, we should definitely do that."
Do what?Who is she talking to, and why does she sound so happy about it?
"Okay. I will." She pauses and then laughs again. "I love you too."
My goddamn legs threaten to buckle as jealousy rips through me. What the fuck? Hell no, she doesn't love whoever has her laughing like that. She can't.
Except…what if I'm wrong?
What if I'm already too late?
