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I wanted to tell him I wasn’t planning to, but I didn’t know what I was doing. The basic plan was to work at the dealership to see if Kyle was going to blurt out what I had done to our parents. After that happened, I was at a loss, but it was clear he hadn’t done it yet.
It started as me trying to get Adam his job back too, but now . . . After letting his words sink in, it wasn’t. It turned into me actually wanting a car so I didn’t have to wait on a ride.
Plus, if I had a car, it would be easier to leave.
“Say you’re not gonna leave, Grace,” Cameron demanded. He pulled into the parking lot of my apartment complex. He didn’t shut off the car and turned to glare at me. “Promise me you’re not gonna go anywhere.”
“Don’t you think if I wasn’t here that it would be easier for you to get things back to normal?” I asked. “You wouldn’t have to worry about me coming to your door in the middle of the night. You could salvage your relationship with my brother. You could go back to how things were before I came in and fucked things over for you.”
“I don’t want to go back to normal,” he shouted suddenly, catching me off guard. “I don’t want to write you off like amistake. I tried to do that after the first time, and you just lingered in the back of my mind to the point I was dreading not seeing you.” He released a growl and leaned back against the driver’s side window. “I accept that you’ve kept your distance. I understand. We were moving in a major direction, something that was different on a massive scale, so I respected you might need some space.” He put a hand to his chest. “I’m not Adam. I will not wash my hands of the situation, because I still want you.”
“Why?” I asked, quiet. I felt dumb because I couldn’t understand the reason he would. Out of the three of them, Cam was the one that I had majorly fucked over. While he might not have lost his job, he had a reason to hate me. I had started it all with him.
“Because,” he started quietly, “when we were together, it was mind blowing. I wasn’t able to get you out of my head from the beginning, and I don’t want to.” He took a breath. “I only have a say for myself. I can’t decide for you or for Darius or Adam. I just know what I want.” He leaned over the center console and cupped my cheeks with both hands. “Don’t leave before you even find out how good this could be.”
I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t want to argue with him. “Okay,” I said,= hoarsely. “I won’t leave without at least giving things a chance.” I turned as much as his hands would let me, so I could press a kiss to his palm.
He tugged me closer but didn’t kiss me. His brow just pressed against mine. “If you want, I can try to talk sense into Adam,” he murmured. “Or fuck him. It can be me and you.” He released a breath. “As long as you’re willing to give it a chance.”
“It would be easier if it were just me and you,” I murmured, closing my eyes. I could see how loving Cam would be so easy.
“Easy,” he agreed. “But it wouldn’t be the same.” He pulled away from me and I met his gaze, letting him finish the thought.“You felt it, right? When it was all of us?” He cupped my chin, as if he knew I would withdraw when he asked about this. “I’m sure it’ll be good between us, but . . . if it’s just us, how long would it last?”
“Don’t twist Adam’s arm into doing something he doesn’t want,” I said, trying to resist sinking into a hole. “He’s blaming me for all of it. Let him hate me.” He tightened his grip on my chin, not letting me pull away. “I don’t even know what Darius is thinking.”
“I’ll find out,” he whispered. “I’ll figure out where they stand. I won’t throw you to the wolves.” He leaned forward to press a soft, fluttering kiss against my lips. “Just be willing to try.”
I couldn’t argue with him. I could only hope this wasn’t just another stupid mistake I was making. I could only hope that things would work out.
Chapter 7
Grace
Iwiped a microfiber cloth over the leather backseat until it looked glossy. I backed out, using the cloth to keep from leaving fingerprints. This was worse than working at the bar during the New Year. It was hot, the work was strenuous, and the pay did nothing to reflect what I was doing. At least I got tips while I worked at the bar.
Why was I doing this again?
“You need to work faster,” Kyle said, catching my gaze at the trunk of the sedan I was detailing. “There’s more cars to get through and you only have two more hours left in your shift.” He nodded toward the inventory that I was working through. “How many cars have you cleaned today?”
Oh, there’s the reason.
I tried to smooth down the frizz that came with manual labor, but there was no looking cool while I was sweating my ass off. “This is my second and I’m doing wipe downs while Sean is vacuuming,” I said as I closed the door. “You can try to rush me all you want, but it’ll just make me sloppy and my coworkers willcomplain.” I took a breath, then looked at him. “You’re gonna have a harder time getting me fired than you did Adam.”
Kyle didn’t even twitch. He didn’t show his anger. His face was placid, and I thought for a moment he was going to call me on my shit. Or hurl more insults at me, considering I’d brought up his friend.
“I could probably get you fired right now if I wanted to,” he said without looking at me. “I could tell Dad how you sabotaged my relationship with my friends, people that I’ve known for years.” He put his hands in his pockets, his gaze moving over my head as if he couldn’t stand to look at me. “It’d be fair, considering you told him what I was doing with Shay.”
“I didn’t tell Darius,” I objected. “And I’m pretty sure he would tell you family should be your priority.”
“It didn’t take much to get you shipped off to an all girls’ school,” he pointed out, meeting my gaze. “One picture of you in your bra when you were fifteen, and they shipped you off like it was nothing.”
That knocked the words right out of me. I didn’t know what to say because he was right. I looked down, twisting the microfiber cloth in my hands.
“You didn’t tell Darius?” he asked. He sniffed. “Wasn’t that the whole point of you two getting in everyone’s pants?” He paused, rubbing his jaw. It was as if he were trying to cover his discomfort. “Did Shay fuck Adam and Cam, too?”
“No,” I said without hesitation. “She just bagged you.” I tried to shake off the feeling he put in me. I cleared my throat while I knotted the cloth between my hands. “She just wanted you. I think we thought doing this would be like stabbing you in the back and she’d be pouring salt on it.”
He shrugged, acting unaffected. “Why not tell Darius?” he asked. “I’m pretty positive he’d be kicking my ass if you did.” Hetilted his head to the side. “He didn’t take a swing at me. Fucker even had the balls to come check on me.”
