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“Yep. I heard the dean personally kicked them out for not upholding Astor standards and had them escorted off campus. I would’ve liked to see that walk of shame.”
“Me too.”
Donovan stopped moving, his hazel eyes laced with regret. “I wish I’d known. I always thought you could talk to me. Tell me anything.”
I did. At least until that moment, but I had planned on carrying that with me to the grave. It was only by chance that Daire had even found out.
Still, if it’d been the other way around, I would be just as hurt as Donovan was, wouldn’t I?
“You’re right,” I said. “I should’ve said something, especially to you, and I’m sorry for that. And I’m sorry for being an asshole to you and Kelly. I mean, I actually like him for you.”
“Yeah?” Donovan sat back in his chair, facing me. “You do?”
“Of course I do. He thinks you hung the moon, he treats you right, and he’s easy on the eyes. What more could I want for you?”
He tried to hold back a smile and failed miserably. “Thanks, Gav. I appreciate that. And just so you know, that’s all I want for you too.”
“Yeah? Even if it’s with Daire?”
“Fucking Daire…” He tapped his lips, lost in thought. “Is this for real? Because all he asked me in the Sprinter—wait, no,toldme was that he wanted to…you know.”
“Fuck me?”
“That. Yes. He didn’t say anything about dating.”
“Well, that just sort of happened. We haven’t really talked about it, so I was a little blown away he said that this morning.”
“And you…like him? Like that?”
The look of disbelief on his face had me chuckling. “You say that like it’s weird.”
“Itisweird. No offense, but he can be a scary bastard at the best of times. Although…”
“Although what?”
“I mean…” He blew out a long breath. “I think he’s always had a thing for you. Or a soft spot, whatever.”
My eyes popped wide. “What? Why would you think that?”
“Because of the way he’s always gone uber protective when it comes to you. I always figured it was because you’re the youngest, but now… I don’t think that’s it.”
But…Daire was like that with all of us. He gave every one of the guys shit, but at the end of the day, if anyone messed with our group, they messed with him. Had it been different with me and I hadn’t seen it?
“And something else,” Donovan said. “You’re the only one who can get him to calm down when he’s fired up about something. Like you’re the only one he listens to.”
“Oh whatever?—”
“Remember when he was about to throw down with that jock the day everyone found out about Preston? You stopped him from doing that. And the time some asshole looked at you wrong at the club, and all you had to do was put your hand on his arm and he chilled the hell out? I could go on and on.”
“That’s crazy,” I said, waving a hand to brush him off.
“It’s true, though. I never thought about it before now, but maybe it’s been staring us in the face this whole time but we couldn’t see past his scowls.” He tilted his head in thought. “Which would be a smart way to hide. If you just growl at everyone, no one would see or dare to ask what’s really behind that tough exterior.”
Holy shit.My brother had nailed exactly what I was coming to know about Daire—that there was more to him than what he showed the world. That there were so many hidden parts of him, things I wanted to know and hoped he’d open up about. He already had, more than I ever expected, but Donovan was figuring that out without knowing any specifics.
“Wow. No wonder everyone comes to you for a Van talk. That’s impressive.”
He grinned, showing off his pearly whites. “Thank you, that’ll be two grand.”
