Page 46 of Daily Grind
He continued. “Justin had moved upstairs to Sam’s and the shop had this huge hole in the schedule and I—” He sat back, choking on the rest of the words. He’d been upset then. Worried. Sleepless and working all hours. No time for Anita at all. The shop was more important—which said something about him. “We started fighting about the time I spent at Grounds N’at. My hours. Everything.”
Grounds N’at still hadn’t recovered from Justin leaving—the chaos in the shop spoke to that, as did his hours. People quitting.Shit. “Anita has her own career—she’s a patent lawyer. It’s nine-to-five. Orderly.” Like Rob’s.
The horror ofthatsank into his flesh like teeth. He didn’t want to lose Rob. What if he did?Shit shit shit.
Rob wore his concern intently, leaning forward, his lips parted, brows knitted together. “You loved her.”
“Yeah.” He had, but not enough. “She’s engaged now.”
Rob’s shoulder’s dropped and sadness pushed the curve of his mouth down. “Must have hurt to find out.”
“Yes and no. I’m happy for her. She’s a damn fine person and deserves joy.” In the end, he’d made his choice. “The shop eats a lot of my time—as you’ve seen. That’s not the kind of partner she wanted for the long run. I can’t blame her for that.”
Part of him had wanted to be that man for Anita—but he couldn’t let Grounds N’at go and that’s what it would have taken. The shop was hislife. He’d put everything he had into it.
Rob took his hand. “You deserve joy, too, you know.”
Such a simple statement, spoken in that soft, sweet voice. It hit Brian like a gunshot through his gut and he blinked a few times against the sting. When was the last time he’d beenhappy?
Right now. In the moments he’d shared with Rob, joy infused him.
When he looked over, Rob’s smile was tinged with sadness. “You work so hard, do so much. You need to remember yourself sometimes, even when you’re the one running the show.”
The words were like water quenching his parched soul. “Will you help?” He wanted the delight Rob brought. Craved it. He could merely sit next to Rob, and he’d have everything he needed.
“Any way I can.” Rob tightened his grip on Brian’s hand.
“Things are rough now.” He spoke around the lump in his throat.
Rob’s chuckle was low. “Then I’ll make sure to drag you away whenever I can.”
Perfect. “I can be stubborn and pigheaded.”
“No.” Rob mimicked surprise. “You? Never!”
Laughter bubbled up and he let it out. He smoothed a thumb over Rob’s knuckles. “What about you? You said you were a workaholic, too.”
“I am.” Rob stretched out his legs. “And my jobisdemanding, but I’ve had to let go of my iron grip here and there.” He chuckled. “Right now, I’m trying to take my own advice.” He nodded at their bikes. “You can help me, as well.”
That might keep them both sane. “Now that you’ve heard my tale of woe—why the hell are you single?”
Rob snorted. “Similar reasons. Often worked long hours. Then I was moving from one town to another.” His expression turned inward and distant. “After the debacle of my last relationship, I decided to take some time off from dating. Or fucking. Or whatever the hell we were doing.” Bitter, bitter words.
“I sense a story there.” Tension reigned in Rob, from the cords of muscles in his arms to the way his knee bounced. Brian stroked his hand.
“Not really.” Rob shifted on the bench. “He was young and hot and great in bed, but not interested in me outside of it, which made sense considering my age.”
“You’re not old.” There was a bit of silver in the red at Rob’s temples, but he’d seen Rob naked. Prime of his life.
A sly smile and a dark chuckle. “To him I was and he was correct to think so.” He shook his head. “I was a right idiot with that one.”
There was more, given the way Rob pushed his sports watch around his wrist and stared at the bubbling fountain.
Brian knew better than to push. He’d learned that lesson from his siblings, from Anita, and from himself. More would come in time.
“There’s something I should tell you.” Rob met his gaze and there was trepidation in his eyes. “I’m not an engineer at CirroBot.”
Wait, what?Brian blew out a breath. “You don’t work there?” Why lie aboutthat?
