“Jesus, she wears odd socks anyway. She hasn’t looked that hard for them, because they’re in her fucking closet.” I finished my beer. “Unlike the insoles of my shoes, which appear to have grown legs.”
“They’re in the trunk of her car,” Preston answered. “I ran into her in the grocery store parking lot and saw them.”
“Son of a bitch.” I sighed.
Leo laughed, sitting back. “What are you gonna do now?”
“Grovel,” Halley suggested brightly. “Because he’s on her shit list.”
“Thank you for that,” I muttered.
“You’re welcome.”
“What did you do?” Leo asked, still smiling.
“Told her we couldn’t be together because of you,” I answered. “Nothing major.”
He rubbed his hand down his face. “You both thought I’d be pissed off?”
“I was expecting you to punch me.” I scratched the side of my neck. “Still waiting.”
“I’ll punch you if you want me to.”
“Don’t get carried away.”
Noah chuckled. “Let me guess, we’re now on a group mission to get Ethan back in Ava’s good books.”
“No.” Leo shook his head. “But Reagan and Halley are gonna tell her I know without me even asking them, so that helps.”
“Hey!” Reagan knocked her fist against the table. “We can keep a secret. We didn’t tell you they made out like a couple of horny teens.”
“Thanks, Reagan,” I said dryly.
“You’re welcome.” She gave me the same bright smile Halley had. “What are friends for?”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
* * *
AVA
Cat Amongst The Hedgehogs
“Leo knows you kissed Ethan.”
The glass in my hand slipped from my grip and shattered on the floor. “What?”
Reagan nodded, backing up Halley’s words. “Ethan just told him.”
“What? Why would he do that? What—” I paused and took a deep breath. This was not how I’d expected the end of my shift to go.
I grabbed a dustpan and brush and swept up the mess I’d made.
“Start from the beginning,” I demanded. “Did you force him into it?”
“I take offense at that.” Reagan swept her hair around one side of her neck. “We are totally innocent. For once.”
Yeah, right.
“It’s true,” Halley said. “He came back from getting his key—did he even need it?”
“Probably not,” I answered.
“Right. Well, he came back, and he was in a weird mood. Spaced out.”
Reagan nodded. “Leo asked if he’d asked you about Butler.”
“Ugh.”
“Indeed,” she mused. “And when he said that you weren’t seeing him again, he suddenly told Leo he had something to tell him.”
“Okay… And he just said it?”
“Pretty much.” Halley leaned over the bar.
“Oh, God.” I buried my face in my hands. “Why did he do that? He’s spent the last few days telling me that nothing can happen because he can never tell Leo. Why would he do that, if only to tell him?”
“I think you seeing Butler made him shit his pants.” Reagan grinned. “Nice move.”
“I didn’t—whatever.” I shook my head. “What did Leo say?”
“Ooh, this is the good bit!” She clapped her hands together. “He said it was about fucking time.”
Come again?
“What? Say that again.”
“He said it was about fucking time,” Halley repeated. “Looks like he knew you had feelings for Ethan and that Ethan was slow on the uptake.”
“But how?”
Reagan shrugged. “You just know this time. It was me who figured out both Halley and Preston had feelings for each other before they told me. I’m close to them both, so it’s not that crazy that I’d notice it. That’s probably what happened with Leo. You said Angelica knew that Leo had feelings for you. Siblings know stuff.”
Halley grimaced. “Yeah, that was fun when you told me.”
I remembered that conversation. It was fun. “So what now? Leo’s okay with it? Ethan’s suddenly going to change his mind?” I shook my head. “It’s not going to happen. He only told him because I was with Butler. I was right. He doesn’t want me, but nobody else can have me, either.”
They shared a look.
“Actually,” Halley said slowly. “I think he does want to be with you. His loyalty to Leo meant he thought he was doing what was right. It was weird for me at first, too, and Reagan knew how I felt about Preston. Like, what if we break up? How that would affect our friendship was a huge thing for me. I didn’t want to put her in a position that meant she’d have to choose.”
“Right,” Reagan agreed. “But it doesn’t matter, because if they break up, it’s going to be Preston’s fault anyway.”
That was probably true.
“How does that relate to me and Ethan?” I looked between them. “It’s more than just that. I don’t even know if he’s going to stay in town. He never stays anywhere for long.”
“He did what he thought was right by his best friend. Ultimately, his first loyalty lay with Leo. They’ve lived and traveled together for years,” Halley said. “Whatever you said to him earlier obviously made him realize that he can either keep that loyalty to Leo and be miserable, or he can take the risk of breaking it to potentially be happy with you.”
My lips were dry, and I ran my tongue over them a few times. “It didn’t need to take this long.”
“Devil’s advocate,” Reagan started. “You didn’t tell Leo either. It’s not all on him, no matter how much easier it is for you to believe.”
I went to respond but couldn’t. She was right. As easy as it was to blame Ethan for it, I hadn’t told Leo how I felt. Maybe if I’d outright admitted it, none of this would have happened.
I sighed, sagging against the bar. “You’re right.”
“Wow. I didn’t think you’d admit it.”
Halley elbowed her. “Neither of you have handled it well. He’s played it safe, and you’ve let your temper get the best of you. Leo wants to talk to you after work, but Ethan just went home.”
I rubbed my hands down my face. “Okay. I guess we have to figure it out at some point.”
“Yep. Oh, and your socks are in your closet.”
“Son of a bitch.”
***
“Want a ride home?” I jingled my keys.
Leo grinned. “I was hoping you’d ask. Come on.” He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and hugged me. “We need to talk, huh?”
“So I’ve been told.”
We stepped out into the darkness. I scanned the parking lot for signs of anyone slumped over, but thankfully, that woman appeared to have been an isolated incident.