Page 84 of The Operators

Declan raises his eyebrows, smiling at me. “So?”

“So what?”

“So how far have things gotten?” he questions.

I shrug him off. “What do you mean?”

He rolls his eyes. “Have things gotten physical?”

My eyes drop to the ground again. “Yeah, I guess.”

“You guess?” he laughs.

“We slept together,” I grit out. “Okay? You happy?”

He smiles like he thinks this is all so funny. “So what’s with all the secrecy? Do you know how many times we all thought you were going to get together?”

“What are you talking about?” I ask, opening and closing the fridge to distract myself.

“You two have been at each other’s throats since forever. What’s the hold up?”

“We’ve been friends a long time. I don’t want to fuck things up.”

“Do you love her?” he asks.

I sigh. “Of course, I love her.”

“Are you in love with her?”

I give him a half smile, knowing the answer without even having to think about it. “I don’t want to think about that right now. I need to think about what’s best for Thea. I don’t want to make any decisions based on how I feel. And I have to make sure things would be cool with Trevor. The last thing I’d want is for Thea to have a strained relationship with the last family she’s got.”

Declan gives me a sad smile. “Just don’t make that decision for her. Tell her how you feel.”

“I’ll figure it out,” I say, tapping the counter a couple times. “I have to get going. I’ll see you Friday.” I give him a quick hug. “And congrats again man. Maybe the next time I see you, you’ll be an engaged man,” I whisper in case Addy comes out again.

I jog out to my truck and hook my phone up to the bluetooth to call Thea. She sounds so sexy when she answers.

“Hello?”

“Hi, what are you doing?”

She lowers her voice. “Hanging out with Amanda. Why?”

“I’ve been thinking about you all day. My flight doesn’t leave for another couple hours. Maybe we could meet up.”

She laughs. “Is that so? Sorry, Carver. It’s girls’ night.”

“But I’m going to be gone all week,” I whine like the desperate man I am. “Aren’t you going to miss me?”

“Oh my God,” she laughs. “Miss you or miss your cock?”

“Ugh,” I groan. “I love when you say cock.”

“I’m not alone, Carver. Wrap this up.”

“So what do I have to do to get you to quit this job?”

“Jealous?” she taunts.

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