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“But,”she interjected, “I might grant you an extension if you participate in the lesson today. Raise your hand, attempt to answer, read aloud. You know, that sort of thing.”
The groans this time around sounded more lighthearted than before.
“Now, open your texts to page...”
After Jayden helped Vic untangle a cow that’d wrapped its leg in barbed wire, Vic invited him over for sandwiches. They’d been hard at work all morning, and he was half-starved.
In the Grandin family kitchen, Vic thanked the kitchen staff for setting out the sandwich ingredients on the counter before dismissing them. Privacy was a hard thing to come by in this house, and something he had been craving since Aubrey had kicked him out of her apartment.
“Slumming it today, I see,” Jayden joked as he grabbed a plate for himself.
“It’s good to get your hands dirty every once in a while.”
After a minute of them silently putting together their sandwiches, Jayden asked, “So, did you buy her something to hammer home your apology? New car? Another piece of jewelry?”
Vic didn’t pretend not to know whom his friend was referring to. He took a breath and confessed, “I bought her a house.”
Jayden stared at Vic in frozen disbelief. “A house.”
“Well, the same house.”
“The house you bought when you were dating her? Tell me you sold that.”
Vic shook his head. He probably should have sold it.
Jayden whistled long and low before taking a seat at the counter to eat his lunch. “You need therapy.”
“It didn’t seem right to live there without her. I couldn’t bring myself to sell it, either.”
“Because?”
Vic shrugged, but he knew why. “Selling it would be admitting I knew she’d never take me back.”
“Damn. I cannot believe you’ve been this gone for this girl for this long and never told me.”
“I was trying to get over her.”
“Well, it didn’t work,” Jayden added unhelpfully before he bit into his sandwich. After he chewed and swallowed, he regarded Vic with a modicum of sincerity. “What now? Is she done with you?”
Vic winced. “I don’t want to accept it, but she might be. She has the engagement ring. She hasn’t given it back yet, but I’m afraid to hope.” He dropped his sandwich on his plate without tasting it. “I love her, and I want to spend the rest of my life with her. I tried to prove to her that I’ve changed, but I fucked everything up.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself, baby brother. Hey, Jayden,” Chelsea greeted as she strode into the kitchen. She pulled off her work gloves and set them on the counter, surveying the spread in front of her. “Are we fending for ourselves today?”
“Apparently,” Jayden grumbled.
She began building her own sandwich. “I spoke to Aubrey the other day. It didn’t seem to me like she hated you.”
Vic, his sandwich halfway to his mouth, dropped it on his plate again. “Tell me you’re kidding.”
“Not kidding. We had lunch at that cute café downtown with the—”
“Chels, this isn’t any of your business.”
“Like Nolan and me weren’t any of yours?”
Jayden chuckled. Vic sent him a death glare.
“I care about you, okay?” His sister moved to where Vic was standing, elbowing Jayden as she passed by. “We all care about you.”
