I wrap an arm around his shoulders and lean in, squeezing his neck. “I will happily take your money, brother.”
A balled up fist lands on my side, gentle enough to be playful. “Thought you’d say that.”
Chuckling, I unwrap my hold from him. “It’s good to see you smile.”
Anderson nods toward the middle of the room where Hope is laughing hysterically with Silver. “It’s all her. There’s something to be said about being friends first. You know, before all the sex gets tangled up in it.”
I nod, knowing exactly what he means. “You’re lucky.” An image of Violet flashes through my mind. “Friends first doesn’t always guarantee smooth sailing. Sometimes all of it gets destroyed in the transition. Then you’re left with nothing but memories and dreams of what could have been.”
My brother eyes me curiously, and I know he’s trying to read my mind. “You sound like a man who’s speaking from experience.”
I shrug. “It’s just reality.”
He eyes me suspiciously. “This doesn’t have anything to do with a certain new hire, does it?”
Shit. My internal groan rumbles through my whole body. “I meant to tell you about that.”
“No need. I had to sign off on her paperwork when it went through payroll. Can’t say I wasn’t shocked.” He tilts his head. “I didn’t realize you two were still friends.”
I swallow hard over the lump building in my throat. “We’re not. I mean we haven’t been.”
His body swivels so he’s facing me head-on. “Okay, then spill. Last we talked about Violet Hart, she was running off to marry Trevor out of nowhere. I always thought you were going to marry that girl. She broke your fucking heart, dude.”
Anderson’s version of events fills me with a darkness that brings me right back to that day. “I’m well aware of what she did to my heart. Doesn’t mean I can’t help her out now. That’s all in the past.”
Anderson scrunches his forehead. “Bullshit. You don’t owe her anything.”
I bow my head, averting Anderson’s stare. “Yeah, I kind of do.”
“What?” Anderson laughs, his confusion and frustration blending together.
Looking back up at him, I sigh. “It’s a long story, but it is what it is, okay? Just leave it be.”
Anderson’s jaw drops. “That’s it? That’s all you’re going to give me?”
With a tilt of my head and a grimace, I rack my brain for the right words. I’m not sure there are any. There is no right way to tell Anderson about how I came to see Violet again—not without confessing her secret. And there’s certainly no possible way to unload years of history between us—history that we were never able to make sense of ourselves.
Anderson searches my eyes like he’s digging deep down into my soul. “Is she the reason you came back?”
“What?” My reaction is instant, incredulous, defensive, and Anderson’s expression only seems to reveal more understanding.
“She is, isn’t she? That’s why you mysteriously showed up when you did. You weren’t just in town on business. You were here for her?”
I hold up my hand to stop my brother from speculating any further. “First of all, I was in town for business.” I let my hand fall with my sigh. “I just happened to see Violet while I was here, and to be honest, I couldn’t stop thinking about her.”
Anderson’s exhale is long and steady while his eyes only widen. “Holy shit. It makes total sense. But she’s married.”
“Divorced.”
Anderson slinks back slightly. “I see. And you’re into her?”
I shake my head, almost too vigorously. “It’s not like that.”
“Then what is it like?”
My unease shakes through me with my laugh. “I don’t know. She’s a single mom killing herself just to make ends meet. So I offered her a job.”
The look on Anderson’s face tells me he understands more of the story, even when I haven’t said much. “I see.”
The inquisition is too much. I kind of hoped I’d have time to warm up to the idea of working with Violet myself before figuring out what story to tell Anderson. While he’s my big brother and someone I’ve always considered my best friend, there are things even he doesn’t know. My intimate relationship with Violet throughout our entire friendship being one of them. But there’s so much more to the story.
“Give me a break, okay? It’s just two old friends helping each other out. She needed a new job, and I needed someone with her qualifications.” My shrug is an awful attempt at nonchalance. “She bartends. I think she could be your new bar manager. She’s already fully trained.” Before he can continue his line of questioning, I take a step back. “I better get things prepared for the other new hires. See you over there, brother.”
Leaving the staff room quickly, I take the first trail through the woods that leads directly to the saloon. On the way, it’s hard not to witness a young couple making out on the couch—their curtains are open, and by the flickering light in front of them, it appears the television is on. It’s also hard not to think about Anderson’s words about friendship from earlier.
“There’s something to be said about being friends first. You know, before all the sex gets tangled up in it.”
His relationship with Hope may have started with friendship, but their path to forever seems so simple compared to what I shared with Violet. There was so much history woven into our years together. We saw each other through so much that anything more than friendship felt like a threat to what we had already built. I never even wanted to toy with the idea of messing that up. Even in the moments when we crossed those fragile lines, nothing was more important to me than the bond we shared. But I remember the exact day I began questioning whether a friendship with Violet Hart was enough. And it all started when we were nineteen.
12 YEARS AGO, JAMISON
“Let’s watch a movie.”
Violet made the suggestion so casually that I didn’t think too hard about my answer. “Rain check? I think I’m going to crash.”
She pushed her bottom lip out in an exaggerated pout. “Crash in my room. Syd’s gone this week. It’s too quiet when she’s gone.”
I chuckled and wrapped my arms around her. “You’ll talk my ear off all night, and I have an exam in the morning.” When she tried to wiggle out of my grip, I held on to her tighter. “Don’t be mad. I need my beauty sleep.”
She relaxed her hold and stared up at me with a glimmer in her pretty brown eyes. “I won’t argue with that.” She squinted, bringing her face closer. “Those wrinkle lines are deepening by the minute.”
I glared before planting a kiss on her cheek and pulling back. “On that note…”
She laughed as I started walking away. “You know you’re a beautiful man, Jamison Bexley.”
Throwing her a wink over my shoulder, I continued down the hall to my dorm room only to make a pit stop when I heard laughter coming from one of the rec rooms. My curiosity piqued, and I stepped into the room to find the couches crowded with a dozen or so of my dorm mates, with their eyes glued to the television.