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Reagan shrugged. “You just know this time. It was me who figured out both Halley and Preston had feelings for each other before they told me. I’m close to them both, so it’s not that crazy that I’d notice it. That’s probably what happened with Leo. You said Angelica knew that Leo had feelings for you. Siblings know stuff.”
Halley grimaced. “Yeah, that was fun when you told me.”
I remembered that conversation. It was fun. “So what now? Leo’s okay with it? Ethan’s suddenly going to change his mind?” I shook my head. “It’s not going to happen. He only told him because I was with Butler. I was right. He doesn’t want me, but nobody else can have me, either.”
They shared a look.
“Actually,” Halley said slowly, “I think he does want to be with you. His loyalty to Leo meant he thought he was doing what was right. It was weird for me at first, too, and Reagan knew how I felt about Preston. Like, what if we break up? How that would affect our friendship was a huge thing for me. I didn’t want to put her in a position that meant she’d have to choose.”
“Right,” Reagan agreed. “But it doesn’t matter, because if they break up, it’s going to be Preston’s fault anyway.”
That was probably true.
“How does that relate to me and Ethan?” I looked between them. “It’s more than just that. I don’t even know if he’s going to stay in town. He never stays anywhere for long.”
“He did what he thought was right by his best friend. Ultimately, his first loyalty lay with Leo. They’ve lived and traveled together for years,” Halley said. “Whatever you said to him earlier obviously made him realize that he can either keep that loyalty to Leo and be miserable, or he can take the risk of breaking it to potentially be happy with you.”
My lips were dry, and I ran my tongue over them a few times. “It didn’t need to take this long.”
“Devil’s advocate,” Reagan started. “You didn’t tell Leo either. It’s not all on him, no matter how much easier it is for you to believe.”
I went to respond but couldn’t. She was right. As easy as it was to blame Ethan for it, I hadn’t told Leo how I felt. Maybe if I’d outright admitted it, none of this would have happened.
I sighed, sagging against the bar. “You’re right.”
“Wow. I didn’t think you’d admit it.”
Halley elbowed her. “Neither of you have handled it well. He’s played it safe, and you’ve let your temper get the best of you. Leo wants to talk to you after work, but Ethan just went home.”
I rubbed my hands down my face. “Okay. I guess we have to figure it out at some point.”
“Yep. Oh, and your socks are in your closet.”
“Son of a bitch.”
***
“Want a ride home?” I jingled my keys.
Leo grinned. “I was hoping you’d ask. Come on.” He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and hugged me. “We need to talk, huh?”
“So I’ve been told.”
We stepped out into the darkness. I scanned the parking lot for signs of anyone slumped over, but thankfully, that woman appeared to have been an isolated incident.
Thank God.
“I don’t care, you know,” Leo said, stopping under one of the streetlights. “I’ve known for ages that you had feelings for him. It was the only explanation for why you hated him so much.”
I swallowed, looking down at my feet. “It was easier to fight him than anything else.”
“I know. I just wish you would have been honest with me, Aves. All this shit could have been prevented if you’d just told me.”
“I didn’t know what to say,” I said softly. “He was adamant that you couldn’t know we’d kissed and that it couldn’t happen again, but…”
“But you kept on coming back to it.”
“Yeah. I guess.”
“And tonight it broke down because you went out with Butler.”
“We had a huge fight last night.” I tucked hair behind my ear and shrugged. “He stayed at Noah’s two nights ago, and we kind of made up yesterday over food.”
Leo’s lips twitched.
“Then he texted me, and we had a huge argument, and I just gave up,” I admitted sadly. “I knew it would never happen because of you.”
Leo laughed, shaking his head. “Jesus, you two are fucking idiots. More than I thought.”
“What do you mean?”
“Ava, I lied. I don’t have a one-bedroom apartment.” His eyes twinkled. “I have a two-bed place. I knew Ethan had feelings for you. I knew you needed a roommate. I deliberately said I only had one bedroom to see if you’d finally get over yourselves.”
My jaw dropped. “What the hell?” I shoved at him. “This is all your fault!”
“Yeah.” He grinned.
“Don’t look so happy about it, asshole!”
He put his hands in his pockets and rocked on his heels. “I didn’t think I’d be such a big issue. I figured you at least would tell me what had happened. Obviously, I underestimated Ethan.”
