Page 87 of Heart Strings & Hotlines
There are a million possible explanations.
He’s a brilliant man who continues to prove that he’s firmly in my corner, so I really need to stop pushing my daddy issues onto him.
Thane is not my father—he’s not like most men I’ve ever met either.
Thane is exactly who he says he is, and it’s time I started listening.
CHAPTERTWENTY-ONE
THANE
Rafe has been sittingacross from me for twenty minutes, waiting for me to acknowledge him. He’s the most annoying man on the planet, even if he’s also the most loyal.
“Is there something I can do for you?” I don’t look away from my computer screen, but I know he’s smirking.
“It’s almost time for me to submit a report to the judge.”
Already? That can’t…
I open my calendar app, and there in bold red lettering is “Judgment Day.” Great. “Are you trying to tell me I failed?”
It’s much easier to deal with him when he’s on the other side of the building. Face-to-face, he prods and pries.
“This wasn’t a test.”
My stomach gurgles in protest, but maybe I’m hungry. Leaning back in my chair, I finally face my friend.
“It sure felt like a test.”
He nods. He’s still wearing a fucking sweater-vest in Tennessee in the middle of a heatwave.
“Do you wear those things to irritate me?”
“What? This?” He tugs on the light gray fabric.
“Yes. It’s ninety-seven degrees out.”
“And wearing a sweater-vest is…”
“It doesn’t make sense. It’s too hot out for that.”
“So, you’re saying it doesn’t fit?”
“No, it doesn’t make any sense.”
“But you never asked me why. Did it bother you?”
“It’s annoying that you’re a grown-ass man who can’t make informed decisions based on something as simple as the temperature.”
He nods as though I make perfect sense.
“You noticed it,” he says. “You assumed that I would be too hot. It annoyed you, but you never questioned it. Why not?”
“It’s not important. You can wear whatever the hell you want to wear. I don’t make those decisions for you.”
“Are my clothing choices something that would have annoyed you a year ago? Five years ago?”
“I notice everything.”
