I frown. This is getting stranger by the minute. I’ve dated guys in the past and Travis has never acted like this. So weird. Before I can answer him, he makes a disgusted noise, then pops up off the couch. “Never mind.” He stomps over to the security panel, punches in the code, then stomps off. I hear his bedroom door shut a few seconds later. Not a slam, but a definite click.
What the actual hell was that? I’ve never seen Travis act like that. It was almost as if he were jealous of Carter, but I don’t get it. That would mean he had feelings for me outside of our friendship, and I know that’s not true. A guy doesn’t care about you and act the way he did to me.
My phone buzzes and I expect to see a message from Carter, but this one is from Travis. Okay, this is getting really weird.
Travis: Sorry. I was being an ass. Just don’t want you to get hurt.
Of course. He worries about me like he worries about Syd. It’s insane that I’m still acting like some goofy fifteen-year-old with a crush.
Me: No prob. Night.
Travis: Night.
I go to my room, ignoring the need to pause in front of his door. I can’t do that for a couple of reasons. One, he would hear me. And that leads to number two: he would hear me and know. Just know that I’m in love with him.
After a quick shower, I settle in bed wondering about my infatuation with him. It isn’t like it’s the only time I’ve ever been interested in a man who might not be interested in me. Usually, I walk away without a problem. I kept thinking the show is at fault for it. But…I don’t think that’s the case. It can’t be our friendship because that has been almost non-existent the last eighteen months. Well, expect for appearances. Most people would think our arguing is just banter. It hasn’t been that for a long time.
I miss our friendship, but there isn’t much I can do about it right now. But even as I slip under the covers, I know I will not rest well at all.
Saturday morning dawns and we’re barely out of bed before the front door swings open. Syd rushes into the kitchen, ignoring Travis and wraps her arms around me.
“I missed you!” she screams
I laugh, all my worries dissolving just a bit in the presence of Syd. She’s been my best friend since the moment we met. I’d been worried about the stalking, but I’d been forcing it to the back of my mind. With Syd here, I can let myself go a little bit. I never worry about showing her my soft underbelly. She will always be there to protect me.
“I missed you too, psycho.”
“Hey, I’m here too,” Travis says, sarcasm dripping from every word.
“I saw you the other day.” Syd doesn’t even glance his way. She pulls back and looks at me. Her smile fades. “You’re not sleeping.”
“I am. We’re doing a lot of streaming.”
“Is that what the kids are calling it these days?” Carter says. I turn and find the youngest Hawthorne smiling at all of us. There’s a reason he is on a lot of eligible bachelor lists. He’s just one of those guys, always smiling, his hair is beautifully arranged in that way that makes it look like it isn’t.
Travis nods in his direction, still being standoffish, which is weird. Carter picks up on Travis’ behavior, from the odd look he gives my cohost. Then, he turns is attention back to me. After Syd finally lets me go—I was worried she might not—Carter gives me a kiss on the cheek and a hug. There is nothing sexual or flirty at all about it.
“Hey, Travis,” Grady says.
“Hey.” That’s all Travis says as he keeps throwing nasty looks in Carter and my direction.
“So, I hear there is barbecue in my future,” Carter says. “I so need some. This week as has been a bitch.”
“Why do people say that?” I ask. “I think we need to start saying it’s a real bastard. That’s worse, right?”
“Hmm, I have to agree with that,” Carter says. “In fact, that needs to be something I put on my Instagram.”
“God help us,” Grady mutters and I laugh. Carter isn’t a bad man, but he can be a little…naughty. Or he had been, but I know lately he’s been working a lot. The new club he’s opening in Vegas is almost ready, and then there’s one he’s doing in Manhattan. He might pretend to be a playboy, but he’s anything but. He’s made a name for himself by opening clubs in several major cities, and there are plans for international locations in the coming years.
“What? My followers expect good content.”
The brothers look like they are about to start bickering, so Syd steps forward, grabs my arm and pulls me through the kitchen. I know she wants some girl time, but I stop her. “Not without coffee.”
Moments later, we’re in my bedroom, me sitting in an easy chair next to my window, and her on my bed. She makes herself at home.
“So, how’s it going here?”
I shrug. “It’s kind of…I don’t know. Weird I guess is the best way to describe it. I feel like this might all be overkill, but I’m not stupid. I don’t want to take any chances.”
She studies me for a long moment, then she asks, “Are you talking about this new development or your relationship with my brother?”
I feel my face heat. “Syd.”
“No. I want to talk about it.”
“I don’t.”
She sits up and frowns at me. “You need to talk to someone about it. I’m that someone.”
“You’re his sister.”
“So?”
“It’s weird.”
“Let’s start and if it gets too uncomfortable, I’ll stop.”
That’s a lie and we both know it. Being best friends was never about easy with us. We always had each other’s back, but we always seem to know when to push. Apparently, Syd’s decided that this is the time to start pushing me.
“What?”
“Tell me. Come on. I know how you feel and why you haven’t told me is beyond me.”
“It’s embarrassing. He’s your brother. Your younger brother.”
“Age doesn’t matter unless he’s jailbait, which he is not.”
“And the fact that this crush might be the reason I need to walk away from my dream…it’s embarrassing.”
“First, let’s get this straight. You’re walking away—hopefully not—but you are walking away because of Travis’ behavior, but also because the network thought Garrett Howard was a good idea.”
“He was not.” Something passes over her expression. “What?”
“First, you know I was against hiring him, right? As much as I love reality TV, whenever he took over a show, it went to crap. Sure, the ratings went up, but the content was just gross.”
“Yeah.”
She had been vocal about it at the time, but she was only Grady’s executive assistant at the time. Now as our liaison, she has more clout.
“I thought we didn’t need to mess with the formula. I mean, you’re the top show. Plus, last season had been a little rocky and introducing someone like Garrett is always dicey. I thought it wasn’t the best time to try something out like that. And I’ve been proven right. We let his contract go and now he’s trying to sue us. He’s freaking the fuck out.”