Page 94 of Where Roads Lead

But I wasn’t giving into her moods tonight. She chose to be here, for reasons unbeknownst to me, and now she had to deal with it.

“You didn’t have to come,” I reminded her.

“Neither did you,” she said and then turned the corner.

Elsie followed her, but Theo hung back, pulling me aside to whisper, “Since when have things between you and Ava gotten so bad?”

“Things have been weird with us for years,” I deflect. “Ever since—”

I didn’t say what we both knew.

Ever since she married my brother.

It was true, there’d been a time when we were close, but ever since the wedding, things between us shifted in a way that can’t be fixed.

As far as I knew, no one but the two of us know what happened that day, and I’d like to keep it that way. Anyone with eyes could see that things were different between us since that day.

Theo didn’t know the specifics, but he wasn’t an idiot. He knew better than to ask. At least back then.

“No,” he said now, staring me down. “She’s extra tense lately. Like normal Ava on crack. Times a thousand.”

“I don’t know what to tell you,” I said simply.

“If I’d known how weird it would be, I never would’ve invited you guys. I figured you could go off and skedaddle somewhere to give me time alone with Elsie, but clearly that’s not going to happen.” He tilted his head, looking ahead to where Elsie was half walking-half jogging to keep up with Ava’s quick stride.

“If you wanted to be alone with her, then why invite us in the first place?” I asked, irritated more at myself for getting involved in something that I shouldn’t care about in the first place.

“Group things are less pressure.”

“You’re twenty-eight,” I said. “Aren’t you over being scared of first dates?”

“I am,” he said, offended. “But Elsie wasn’t biting on any of the ideas I threw out there. I figured maybe if it was more casual, it would give us a chance to get to know each other better without the intimidating label of the word ‘date’ lingering over the night.”

“Maybe she’s not biting because she’s not interested,” I said, not caring that I sounded like a dick.

“I’ve considered that.” He huffed a laugh. “But she’s kind of hard to read. She turns down any chance to hang out, but she always seems happy to see me when we talk.”

“That’s just Elsie. She’s friendly to everyone.”

“Except you.” He narrowed his eyes. “I heard she really laid into you outside of the café when she first got here.”

“Yeah, well, I’m sort of an asshole.”

“Truer words have never been spoken,” he agreed with a good-natured grin. “But underneath that lies a heart of pure-gold.”

“You want me to be your wing-man,” I shoved my hands in my hoodie pocket, “don’t you?”

“You know it,” he said, clapping my back. “You’re the best.”

I heaved a sigh, taking my hat off to run a hand through my hair. Elsie wasn’t mine. I didn’t have a right to feel any jealousy over this.

Just because I’d been to her house to fix a few things, and gave her a few rides, and brought her coffee every morning didn’t mean I had any special connection with her that would explain the possessiveness I felt growling inside of me.

I just had to get over it. Whatever it was, in the first place.

I guess the only way to get over something was through it, right?

And I had a feeling getting through watching Theo try to woo Elsie for the night would take a hell of a lot more patience than I had to offer.