That was a dangerous underestimation.Who knew what new manipulative tricks Jack had learned?
“Eevee—”
“We spoke for barely five minutes!He just kept apologizing and asked if I could give him a second chance.I told him I’d think about it.That’s it.”
Baz swallowed any reprimands, all reminders of how this could end in disaster.If Sami had shown him one thing today, it was that not everything was as doomed as it seemed.
God, getting life lessons from Sami-fucking-Adam.He’d have a crisis about that later.
“And will you?Meet him?”
“If I will, are you gonna hate me?”
“I’d never hate you.”She must know that, or Baz truly was the worst brother ever.
Eevee’s fingers tightened around the side of his hands.“If you aren’t ready, that’s okay.I won’t mention him again.But I want to get closure.”
She had already made up her mind then.Baz closed his eyes and sighed.
Accepting her terrible decision would be no easy feat, but he supposed all he could do was be there for her when it backfired.
“No.Do tell me.If he hurts you again, I want to know.He isn’t allowed to get away with that again.He’ll have to face both our wraths.”
“Deal.”Eevee’s lower lip pushed forward.Her eyes grew impossibly round, melting all his remaining objections into mush.
He pulled her against his chest.Eevee’s arms slung around his neck in return.Her chin dug into his shoulder.
“I’m sorry I got mad,” Baz whispered.
“I knew you would.You’re always looking out for me.”She pulled back just enough so that Baz could see her smile.The tension bled from his shoulders, made him feel five pounds lighter.“But whatever happens, you and me, right?”
“You and me,” he agreed.He’d count on that for the rest of their lives.
“Are we all friends again…?”That was Joel, poking his head out of the kitchen.
“Yes,” Eevee chuckled.“We’re okay.”
“Good.I’m making dinner.Care to join, Baz?”
Moving on without a grudge was one of Joel’s best qualities.Eevee’s too.Just another way in which they were perfect for each other.
“You know I can’t pass up on that offer.”
The way Joel nodded, he didn’t just know it, he took pride in it too.
“Interesting shirt, by the way,” Eevee remarked, fixing Baz’s collar and smoothing out one of the many crinkles as if that would make the baby-blue abomination any more presentable.
“Long story.”
“I’m listening.”
Well, if she insisted.There was so much they hadn’t had a chance to talk about yet.
He started with the case, the doors that might open for him, then told them all about the annoying opposing counsel who had drenched him in coffee.Neither Joel nor Eevee volunteered conspiracy theories about Sami having masterminded this.Baz was about ready to believe their run-in had just been a coincidence, too.A weird one, sure, but what else was new with Sami?
He was bold and rude and unapologetically flirtatious.Baz wished he knew whether he meant it or whether he was playing a game.Either way, the fact that he had helped Baz out when most others would have left him to his misery hadn’t been terrible of him.
Though, obviously, one nicety didn’t mean Sami wasn’t also every bit the awful person Baz had pegged him to be.Really, getting some thrift shop shirt was sabotage in its own way.
