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His brother ignored him. “And we liked Addison. Figured she could get you to snap out of your comatose state.”
Oliver’s organs twisted into a raging ball of fire. He wanted to lash out, to yell. He slid his attention back to the traitor who’d ferreted her way into his home. “Guess you were better than a hooker.”
“Hey,” Hayes snapped.
But he was on a roll now. “No, I get it. You all sent me the last person I wanted to see in the world. And you, Yarrow? You were only too happy to oblige. Because you wanted to get to your brother bad enough to—”
Fuck me.
He couldn’t say the words, but they clamored through his head regardless.
Disgusted by both of them, he released the wall and managed a somewhat steady walk back to his room.
***
He was too much of a gentleman to finish the thought aloud in front of his brother, but Addison understood the intent just the same.
The hurt in his eyes told her he believed it.
Oliver was halfway upstairs before she could explain. She felt every single one of his retreating footsteps deep in the pit of her stomach. The slam of his bedroom door hurt.
Hayes stared after his brother. “It’s not like him to be volatile. He’s been all but catatonic the last three years.”
“Catatonic is not how I’d describe him. He doesn’t recognize himself, and he misses the person he used to be.”
He watched her with unsettling acuteness. “You’ve gotten to know my brother well.”
“Yes. I have. I like him, Hayes. More than I thought I ever would.”
Hayes’s sigh was painfully similar to his brother’s. “I thought the idea was harebrained. But looks like my wife was right. Oliver needed someone to shake up his existence.”
“I bring out the irritation in him.”
“You bring out more than that. I think you actually showed him that he’s an idiot for giving up on life. Should we give him time to chill out?”
“In a bit. I need to go clarify something with him first. You must be exhausted. There’re leftovers in the fridge if you’re hungry. And cake on the counter. I’ll be right back.”
Jogging upstairs, she stopped at Oliver’s shut bedroom door. But he’d left it unlocked. A small miracle.
Oliver sat on the rumpled mess they’d made of his bed. Her heart twisted at how alone and sad he looked. Just hours ago, they’d been in each other’s arms in that bed, laughing and making love. And now it was nothing but shadowed ruins.
She hated that she’d hurt him. She should have told him everything from the beginning, but how would that have sounded? I got your address because I made a promise to not let you spend your birthday alone? He’d have kicked her to the curb, and Netta’s wellbeing was too important to risk.
“You suckered my family.”
She considered joining him on the bed, then thought better of it. He wasn’t ready to have her that close again. “I didn’t. Oliver, I was desperate. I had to find Kyle. The private investigator wasn’t coming up with much. I found Evie’s email online. She agreed to meet me with your sisters-in-law. I begged them to tell me where you were. Your family was worried about you.” She paused, bracing herself. “You’d been distant and different. Your brothers were hesitant, especially Hayes, but eventually, they agreed to give me your address. Though it took a bit of time for Hayes to get on board.”
“Was fucking me part of the deal?”
She heard the note of uncertainty. He really did think she’d stoop that low. And why wouldn’t he? To him, she’d always be as selfish as her brother. “No. I slept with you because I wanted you from the moment I saw you. I was so attracted to you, I could barely look you in the eye.”
He turned away as if her words hurt. As if he still thought she was lying.
She had to curl her toes into the rug to hold still, to not run to the bed and fall to her knees in front of him and angle his face to hers. If only she could make him look at her, he’d see that she wasn’t hiding anything. “Your family wanted to make sure you’re okay.”
His features twisted. “They sent me a babysitter. Like I’m a pathetic child.”
“That’s not true.” It couldn’t have been easy to be treated like an invalid for years, to feel like one now. “I needed a way to find you, and they were worried about you.”
