Page 172 of Knot That Serious

“Why?”

Ben gazed between all of them before he said, “You were practically distraught. Mom said you were depressed as hell.”

“What? No I wasn’t…” Eli drawled out of reflex. But then she tried to remember. Jack had gone off to college for business, and yes, the school was local, but closer to where they lived now than their childhood homes. He came home every weekend, and Eli remembered those, hanging out and getting to hear about his college adventures. The in-betweens were a little more fuzzy.

“Aw, did you miss me, sweets?” Jack asked, grinning over at her.

But Eli was still frowning. “Yeah, of course,” she answered, turning her attention back to her brother. “He was, like, my best friend. Of course I missed him.”

“Oh, it was a little more than that, honey,” her mom said, appearing and joining the conversation. “You moped for days at a time, barely baking anything. That’s how I knew something was wrong. You love baking. The thing was, back then, I think you loved Jack, too, even if you didn’t know it.” She hummed and made a little pouty face, cupping Eli’s cheek. “My little baby’s heart was broken.”

Unbidden, Eli felt a rush of tears, and she blinked them away. “That’s…”

Probably not as crazy as it sounded. The sympathy in her mom’s voice made her chest hurt, and through the bond, Jack was growing worried.

Ben wouldn’t let it rest, either. “I was convinced you guys had something going on, and I didn’t even live here. Then when he got done with school, you guys moved to the city together like nothing was wrong. Opening a business, too—I mean, can you blame us for assuming?”

Eli’s brow furrowed. When he put it that way… “I guess I can see why… So, was I the only one who didn’t know?” Had everyone thought she was lovesick and pining for Jack all these years?

Jack came to the rescue. “To be fair, I wasn’t aware of this either. I mean, until…”

As he cleared his throat, Eli filled in the blank. Her heat.

“Maybe you guys should have this conversation somewhere more private,” Raj interjected softly.

Eli was painfully aware of the camping chairs surrounding their little corner, with nosy relatives probably listening in. Raj was right.

“Yeah, I think I need a minute,” Eli said. She turned to Raj and Beckett, who both had matching little dips in their brows. She wanted to smooth them with her thumb, so she did, and told them, “Stay out of trouble. We’ll be right back.”

Her mom’s and brother’s concerned expressions followed her into the house, Jack right behind her. She didn’t want an audience through the glass door, so she led Jack through the kitchen and living room and up the stairs to what used to be her childhood room. Jack had followed this same path hundreds of times.

“Bummer,” Jack said softly as she pushed through the door of her old room. Gone were the band posters, twinkle lights, and old furniture. Now it seemed to be a hobby room, filled with yarn and half-finished do-it-yourself projects.

“That’s okay, I don’t mind,” she said, and it was true. She’d been worried for the longest time about how her mom would take the whole empty nest thing. “Better than it being some weird shrine to my youth.”

Jack chuckled and closed the door, leaning against it.

“So, what the fuck?” Eli asked, beginning to pace. “Everyone just thinks I was, like, pining after you for twenty years?”

“Were you?” he asked.

“Were you?” she questioned, turning it around on him. He stood up a little straighter and ran a hand through his hair. An echo of his emotions spilled through the bond, confusion and worry and a little bit of humor.

“I missed you, too, you know. In college,” Jack said.

Eli nodded. “Weekends were the best part. I do not remember moping.” But she’d only been nineteen. Moping sounded like a dramatic teenager thing to do.

“I wouldn’t blame you even if you were a little depressed in my absence,” he said, holding his forefinger and thumb about an inch apart.

Eli rolled her eyes. “My best friend had moved away. I’m sure I wasn’t unaffected,” she said softly. “It just feels like everyone was in on some big secret except me. Did you know everyone thought I was in love with you?”

Jack was already shaking his head. “No, because I think they thought I was in love with you. I’ve been getting quite the earful from my own family.”

Eli grumbled, and Jack crossed the room to grasp her shoulders. “It doesn’t matter what they thought all these years anyway, or how many of them were ‘right,’” he said, framing his fingers in quotation marks. Then he took her hands in his. “All that matters is we finally figured it out. And now here we are.”

“If everyone was in on this inside joke, why didn’t anyone ever say anything? To either of us?” Eli mumbled, letting Jack pull her in for a hug. She bumped her forehead against his shoulder. “Maybe it would’ve knocked some sense into us.”

Jack shrugged. “Maybe. Or maybe it would’ve derailed everything, made it too awkward for teenage Eli and Jack to handle. Maybe it wasn’t right for us then.”

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