Page 139 of Knot That Serious

Beckett raised both palms. “Guilty. To be honest, I was afraid she’d get swept up in the romance of…” He waved a hand at Raj. “...You. So, I wanted to make sure she didn’t forget about us, or something. My schedule lines up, and since I’ve been staying there for a bit, I figured, why not?”

“And the coffee?”

“Oh, that was Jack’s idea. Very cute of him, I have to say.”

“She likes it, keep it up. How is the apartment coming?”

Beckett shrugged. “Oh, well enough. It’s technically livable now. I was going to stay there tonight. But then I decided to surprise Jack, and at the last second, saw you instead.”

“Well, what are you going to do now?”

“Since Jack and Eli are having a night in, I think I’ll just go home. Maybe the proximity will do the two of them some good.”

Raj shook his head, a smile twitching at his lips. “Well, I told Eli I couldn’t hang out because you showed up, so you might as well stay. Since we’re hoping to be a pack, maybe I can learn a little about you while we’re at it.”

“I’m an open book,” Beckett said.

“Couch?” Raj offered, walking out of the kitchen and past Beckett to motion towards the living area.

“Sure,” Beckett agreed. It wasn’t like he had anything else to do.

“How long have you and Jack been dating?” Raj asked.

Beckett took a seat on the left-hand side of the couch, and angled his body toward the right, where Raj eased in. “A few weeks now. We met the same way you and Eli did.”

“By…”

“Running into each other on the street. Jack was late, and bowled me right over one morning.”

“Bet Eli was not happy with him,” Raj mused, lips curling around the rim of his bottle.

“Oh, I’m pretty sure that’s why he was running,” Beckett said. “I don’t think he’s been late since.”

“She said he’s been arriving early.”

“See? She notices the little things he does. I just wish he’d fucking talk to her.”

“Maybe that’s what they’re doing right now. You never know,” Raj interjected.

Beckett lifted his gaze to Raj, brow arched, and a single beat passed before they were laughing together.

“Yeah, right,” Beckett teased, shaking his head.

“How’d you get here?” Beckett asked once their giggles had subsided. “You just moved in, right? But you’ve been in the city a while, to have built that place you took Eli on your first date.”

“Someone’s done his research,” Raj drawled.

“I’m just a good listener, like you so kindly pointed out.”

“Well, I used to live across the city, closer to the Vine Tower, since I was on site so often. It was supposed to be temporary, but the firm I was working with liked me so much they offered me a permanent position. And now, here I am.”

“Is your family here as well?” Beckett asked.

“They used to be. My mom passed away a few years back, and Dad and I only talk every so often.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Beckett offered, chest tightening with empathy. “I don’t really talk to my family a whole lot, either; we were never a close-knit bunch. Not like Jack and Eli’s families.”

“They grew up together, too, right?”

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