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“Are you all right?” Reagan asked when I got back to the table.
“What? Yeah. I’m fine.” I sat down and grabbed my beer. “What’s the score?”
Preston shot me a questioning look. “Twenty-one, three to the Pats.”
I nodded and settled back.
“Did you ask her about Butler?” Leo asked.
“Huh?”
“Ava. Did you ask her about Butler? Are they dating again?”
“No. They’re not.” I tapped my fingers against the table, frowning.
“Are you all right?” Leo leaned forward. “You’re acting weird.”
“Really weird.” Halley tilted her head to the side, and her eyes widened like she could read my mind.
Fuck it.
I was going to tell him.
Right now.
“I need to tell you something.” I looked at Leo.
“Oh no,” Reagan muttered.
Leo sent a weird look her way before turning back to me. “What’s up?”
“I kissed your sister.”
Everyone at the table froze.
“A few days ago,” I continued. “I stole one of every sock she owns like you suggested. We had a fight. We kissed. That’s it.” I shrugged, holding out my hands.
Leo stared at me for a long moment. I had no idea what he was thinking, and I was ready for the fist to my nose.
It didn’t come.
Instead, he snorted. “Well, it’s about fucking time, ain’t it?”
It was my turn to still, where the girls both jerked in shock. “What?”
“It’s about fucking time,” Leo repeated. “God knows she’s mooned over you for years for some godforsaken reason. It’s about time you realized you felt the same.”
“I didn’t say anything about feelings.”
“You don’t have to. It’s written all over your face.” He smirked, glancing toward the bar. “Is that why she keeps looking over here like she’s plotting your murder?”
“As a rule, that’s how she looks at him anyway,” Reagan piped up. “But she still doesn’t have her socks back.”
“Jesus, she wears odd socks anyway. She hasn’t looked that hard for them, because they’re in her fucking closet.” I finished my beer. “Unlike the insoles of my shoes, which appear to have grown legs.”
“They’re in the trunk of her car,” Preston answered. “I ran into her in the grocery store’s parking lot and saw them.”
“Son of a bitch.” I sighed.
Leo laughed, sitting right back. “What are you gonna do now?”
“Grovel,” Halley suggested brightly. “Because he’s on her shit list.”
“Thank you for that,” I muttered.
“You’re welcome.”
“What did you do?” Leo asked, still smiling.
“Told her we couldn’t be together because of you,” I answered. “Nothing major.”
He rubbed his hand down his face. “You both thought I’d be pissed off?”
“I was expecting you to punch me.” I scratched the side of my neck. “Still waiting.”
“I’ll punch you if you want me to.”
“Don’t get carried away.”
Noah chuckled. “Let me guess, we’re now on a group mission to get Ethan back in Ava’s good books.”
“No.” Leo shook his head. “But Reagan and Halley are gonna tell her I know without me even asking them, so that helps.”
“Hey!” Reagan knocked her fist against the table. “We can keep a secret. We didn’t tell you they made out like a couple of horny teens.”
“Thanks, Reagan,” I said dryly.
“You’re welcome.” She gave me the same bright smile Halley had. “What are friends for?”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN – AVA
Cat Amongst The Hedgehogs
“Leo knows you kissed Ethan.”
The glass in my hand slipped from my grip and shattered on the floor. “What?”
Reagan nodded, backing up Halley’s words. “Ethan just told him.”
“What? Why would he do that? What—” I paused and took a deep breath. This was not how I’d expected the end of my shift to go.
I grabbed a dustpan and brush and swept up the mess I’d made.
“Start from the beginning,” I demanded. “Did you force him into it?”
“I take offense at that.” Reagan swept her hair around one side of her neck. “We are totally innocent. For once.”
Yeah, right.
“It’s true,” Halley said. “He came back from getting his key—did he even need it?”
“Probably not,” I answered.
“Right. Well, he came back and he was in a weird mood. Spaced out.”
Reagan nodded. “Leo asked if he’d asked you about Butler.”
“Ugh.”
“Indeed,” she mused. “And when he said that you weren’t seeing him again, he suddenly told Leo he had something to tell him.”
“Okay… And he just said it?”
“Pretty much.” Halley leaned over the bar.
“Oh, God.” I buried my face in my hands. “Why did he do that? He’s spent the last few days telling me that nothing can happen because he can never tell Leo. Why would he do that, if only to tell him?”
“I think you seeing Butler made him shit his pants.” Reagan grinned. “Nice move.”
“I didn’t—whatever.” I shook my head. “What did Leo say?”
“Ooh, this is the good bit!” She clapped her hands together. “He said it was about fucking time.”
Come again?
“What? Say that again.”
“He said it was about fucking time,” Halley repeated. “Looks like he knew you had feelings for Ethan and that Ethan was slow on the uptake.”
“But how?”
