Page 94 of Pick Me This Time

44

DAPHNE

After talking to Rachel, I decided it was time to confront my brother. It was amazing how one talk with my friend always changed my perspective on things, and once the initial surprise had worn off, she’d been adamant about me standing up for myself.

According to her, Eric had no right to be mad at me about who I spent my time with romantically or who I chose to get in bed with. While he could feel betrayed as much as he wanted, he shouldn’t have been taking it out on me, and at the very least, the situation required a mature conversation in which I reminded him that I wasn’t a child anymore.

I liked it. I agreed with everything that she’d said and hearing it from her had given me the courage I needed to head over to the auto shop once I left her house.

Before I had though, I’d apologized profusely for treating her like she was made of glass, but it turned out that now that she knew what I’d been keeping from her, she was pretty grateful Eric already knew.

She wasn’t a fan of me hiding stuff from her, but she definitely agreed that it would’ve put her in an awkward position with Jake. Having caught up properly, she’d finally also opened up a little about being a new mother, and then Jake and Lizzy had gotten home.

It had been a good talk, and I was filled with the courage of my convictions as I parked in front of Eric’s garage. I parked in one of the demarcated bays for visitors, but I’d only just opened my door when one of his guys broke the news to me.

“Hey, Daph,” he said, smiling as he pocketed a set of car keys from the vehicle he’d just moved out front from the work floor. “If you’re looking for Eric, he’s not here”

Damn.

That knocked the wind out of my sails a bit, but I managed to return his smile. “Thanks. I was looking for him, but I guess I’ll just have to keep looking. Is he done for the day, or is he out for a collection?”

“He said he was done and went out back, but then I saw him leave about twenty minutes ago.” Which meant he wasn’t at home either.

After saying goodbye, I headed to Maverick’s. If he wasn’t at work or at home, it was a pretty good bet my brother was at the local watering hole.

Walking into the crowded space, I scanned the faces I could see, saying hi to a few people on my way in. Upbeat country music flowed from the speakers and most of the patrons were drinking beer out of pumpkins, which made my heart ache.

Maverick’s got their pumpkins exclusively from Northfield Farms, so all these pumpkins used to belong to Sterling. He might even have brought them here himself.

I dragged in a deep breath, trying to fight the wave of tears rising up from deep within. It had only been a couple days and one night since I’d last seen him, but I already missed him. It’s going to be so much worse once he goes back to New York.

A whimper almost escaped me, but it died a quiet death on my tongue when Fiona suddenly stepped into my path. With those cunning eyes blazing, she ran her fingers through her gorgeous hair and smiled at me.

“Daphne! It’s good to see you.”

“Really? How many pumpkins have you had?”

“A lot,” she said.

I motioned vaguely at the bar. “You haven’t seen my brother around here somewhere, have you?”

“Nope, but I hope you mentioned to him that it wasn’t Agatha who said it was cute that he was still in town the other day. She’s been on my back about it ever since. So annoying, but I promised her I’d clear it up with you.”

“No need,” I said. “I haven’t even told him that I ran into you, so Agatha has nothing to worry about. We’re square.”

“That’s a relief,” she said, but her expression remained unchanged, and there was no flicker of either relief or remorse in her eyes. “Where has he been? All those boys have been so elusive since we’ve been back in town.”

All those boys, huh?It didn’t take a rocket scientist to deduce that Sterling was one of them, but if he was being elusive, then that was a good sign as far as I was concerned. Losing Sterling was bad enough, but losing him to her would have gutted me.

“I, uh, I’m not sure. I think he’s probably just busy.” And I’m willing to bet he’s been actively avoiding you. “He’ll definitely be at the reunion, though.”

She sniffed. “Yes, of course. I was just hoping we’d all be able to catch up before then. At least I’ll be getting drinks with Sterling soon. I’m considering a job offer in New York that he and I need to discuss. He’s excited. He’s just so busy on the farm today, or else he’d have been here with me tonight.”

It felt like I’d been kicked in the chest by a horse. They were getting drinks together? He would’ve been here with her? Wait, does that mean she’s seen him?

Every breath I inhaled hurt like one of my lungs had collapsed. I nodded at her, unable to muster even a fake smile. “That’s nice. I should get going. I was just trying to find Eric.”

But he would have to wait. I had no idea where he was anyway and calling him wouldn’t help since I doubted he would pick up the phone for me.