Page 95 of Fish Out of Water

“Ready to go?” Alex asked. She had already checked out, her books nestled safely in the brand new tote bag she’d bought to go with them. Jake wondered if Robbie had added it on for free or let her pay, and as he caught sight of the receipt dropped hastily on top of the books, he saw that the bag had cost exactly zero dollars, and a twenty percent off sale had been applied to all the books.

“Yeah,” he said. “See you tonight, Robbie.”

“Tonight, Jake. Don’t be late.”

“I won’t.”

“That went well, didn’t it?” Alex asked as the door jingled shut behind them.

“Great,” Jake muttered. “Alex, I think I’m—I think Robbie and I are a couple.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

“Yeah, except that I’m not sure either of us is ready for that. I mean, besides the sex, whatdowe have?”

“Everything any other given couple has. You’re just too caught up in your little bubble to see it right now. What was that about seeing him tonight?”

“He’s breaking up with his parents.”

“What?”

“The whole family-business-inheritance thing. He sticks around because of all that and because he’s the only person who can keep them in line. Now he’s leaving in spite of them.”

“Wow, that’s a big step in the right direction.”

“I hope he follows through with it.”

Rain was falling intermittently, so they picked up their pace, and by the time they reached Isabel’s house, it was falling as hard as it had during the storm the previous week. Jake couldn’t help but wonder if it was a sign—from Mier, perhaps—telling him he needed to back off with Robbie before he made everything worse for both of them.

But he’d never felt quite like this with another man before, not even with Ethan. Whatever flimsy excuse for love he thought he had for Ethan couldn’t ever hold up to what he had with Robbie, hard as he’d tried to suppress it for so long.

If he couldn’t have Robbie, no one would do. And right now, he hated the idea of going back to being alone forever.

After havingAlex in the passenger seat for a full hour on their way to the train station, Jake’s drive back to Eventide was quiet and boring. He already missed his sister, though he’d promised her he would come visit her as soon as he was finished with his business in Eventide. Robbie was invited too, of course.

Carson was holding the first open house at Isabel’s the following day, and Jake continued to hope, perhaps in vain, that the place would go quickly. He was ready to leave, especially if Robbie got his things in order and wanted to go with him. The world was their oyster.

Almost.

Robbie still had his meeting with his parents to get through tonight.

Jake drove straight to the Eaton Manor. He’d tried to wear nicer clothes than usual, though they paled to the expensive looking three-piece gray suit Robbie had on when he came out to greet Jake. He wasn’t even fancy enough for the manor at its most casual of times, if he was being honest with himself.

“I should go home and change, shouldn’t I?” Jake gestured to his slacks and dinner jacket.

“No, you look great.” Robbie planted a kiss on his cheek, then hesitated, and graced his lips with a second one. “You smell good, too.”

“I put some aftershave on. You don’t have any clothes I could borrow, do you?”

“My parents would see right through that. I promise you, Jake, you look perfect. You look like yourself, and that’s what matters.”

“Yeah, they’ll hate me for stealing you away from them either way.”

“Mm, I don’t think that will be their main problem with you.” Robbie’s brow furrowed deeply.

Jake wanted to retort with something about how this wasn’t all about Robbie, and how Robbie’s world didn’t shape everyone else’s, except it was, and it did. This was Robbie’s domain. It was Robbie’s and his parents’ domain, and Jake had no real part in it aside from the fact that he had fallen in love with an Eaton. Now he, along with Robbie, bore the curse that came part and parcel with that five-letter name.

The doorbell rang, and Robbie jumped. He was a bundle of nerves, so before he set off toward the calling sound, Jake put his hand on his shoulder. “You’ll be all right,” he said. “I’ll help make sure you’re all right. That’s why I’m here.”