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I didn’t deny it, and no other words would come to me either. These men had been my world for so damn long, but now it had expanded to include Kai—Kai, whom I was in love with.
Corbin gave me a look that said he knew and understood. My gaze went to Declan next, then Parker. None of them needed to say anything—I knew they supported me, that we would be okay and nothing would ever change with us, even if I left.
I thought about my parents, whom I rarely saw, and how I wondered if they were even in love with each other. I didn’t want that. I wanted to know, and I wanted Kai to know too.
When they nodded, I saw that again—we didn’t have to speak for them to see that if Kai wanted me, I would go with him. That there wasn’t a damn thing I wouldn’t do for the man who’d changed my world.
“I think this moment requires an extra-long Beach Bums hug,” Corbin broke the silence, making us laugh, the way only he could do, and the tension dissipated. “I love you guys.”
Corbin stood, tugged me to my feet, and wrapped his arms around me. I grumbled and complained the way I always did, but when Parker joined in, then Declan, I let myself feel it, enjoy it.
“I love you all too,” Parker said.
“Love you,” Declan added.
Mine was the loudest and steadiest of them all.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Kai
I kept telling myself not to freak out that Archer hadn’t returned my phone calls over the last week and a half. I’d only called twice and texted once. He was a busy guy. He was preparing to get a new Midtown gay bar off the ground. And it wasn’t like the guy didn’t have a life other than me—shocking, to say the least.
But contrary to what some people believed, I did know how to trust my gut, even though it was sometimes a little on the late side. It was that twisty feeling that made me call Archer again. Considering I was supposed to leave in about a week and a half, him not answering my calls wasn’t a good sign.
“Hey, man. Sorry, things have been crazy,” Archer said instead of hello.
I breathed out a sigh of relief. Like I’d thought, he’d been busy, but now he was going to tell me all the ways this whole thing was going to fucking kill it.
“No worries. I just wanted to touch base and see if there’s anything I need to do. There’s not that much time and—”
“Hey, listen, before you go any further, I have some bad news…”
My gut dropped, and I began pacing Marcus’s bedroom.
“I don’t think it’s going to work out…and by I don’t think, I mean it’s not. Nothing personal, Kai, but my business partner wants to go another direction.”
“Business partner?” We’d been talking about this for how long, and this was the first time I was hearing about a business partner.
“Yeah, a friend of mine. I didn’t mention him? Anyway, I talked to him about you, but he said he’s not interested. He wants someone who’s a sure thing.”
“I’m a sure thing! You never said this was something you had to run by another person. As far as I knew, this was one hundred percent going down. What the fuck, Archer? I already gave my notice at Driftwood. My boss has started interviewing people. You said I’d have an apartment there too!”
“Tell your boss you want to stay. I was just trying to help you out, but some shit fell through. That’s not my fault. You can’t depend on everyone else to take care of your stuff for you.”
You can’t depend on everyone else to take care of your stuff for you…
That’s what I was trying not to do.
“You called me!” I yelled, heart in my throat and bile burning my esophagus. But the thing was, Archer was right. I never should have depended on him or anyone else. I was so fucking stupid to trust some guy I used to hang out with, rearranging my whole life without any guarantee or contract. At twenty-six years old, I should have known better.
“I’m sorry, Kai, but I gotta go. We’ll talk soon, and if anything changes, I’ll let you know!”
And then, without another word, Archer ended the call.
Stunned, I walked out to the balcony and fell down onto the futon. But once the initial shock wore off, it morphed into something that felt even worse—embarrassment and feeling like a failure. I’d just recently told my family. They’d supported me and believed in me, and now I was supposed to tell them that nope, I still didn’t have my shit together.
I truly thought I would make that bar something special, that I’d be good at it. That Marcus would come see me in Atlanta, and while I knew I’d never have what he did, I’d have something—something I helped build.
