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“Okay.” I nod, getting off, and allowing him to put my bike in the back of his pickup truck while I climb into the front seat.
“I’m sorry,” he says when he gets to the driver’s side. “I was an asshole.” When he turns his blue eyes my way, I melt like putty in his hands.
“It’s okay. I understand.” I give him a sad half-smile because it’s the best I can do right now.
“It’s not okay. Can I make you dinner tonight? We’ll catch up, and I’ll win your forgiveness with a delicious meal.” He wiggles his eyebrows at me, and I agree easily. The truth is that I’m starved for company and lonely as fuck. A friendly face will be fucking amazing. Even if it’s short-lived.
“That would be nice, but I don’t have much as far as groceries go,” I admit, and he chuckles.
“That’s alright. I’ll drop you off, and then go grab some stuff, right after I wash the antiseptic smell off of me,” he chuckles, and I smile.
“Sounds good,” I say with a smile, I might not have been prepared to run into him today, but I’m so thankful that I did.
CHAPTERSIXTEEN
“I’m sorry,” Isaiah says, cringing when I open the door a few hours later. He’s got bags of groceries in both hands, but I can’t tell why he’s apologizing…until I see them.
My heart stalls and my breath catches as two people shove their way around Isaiah, and one of them bear-hugs me.
“It’s so good to see you, Sapphire!” Jer squeezes me tight, lifting me off my feet, and giving my entire body a shake.
“Oh jeez,” I giggle as he puts me back on my feet and steps back, so Zach can greet me. He’s quieter and softer than his brother. When he wraps me in a gentle hug, I smile.
“I told them you were back, and I couldn’t keep them away even if I wanted to. They piled into my car and refused to get out,” Isaiah sighs as we all step into the house.
“So, this used to belong to Anton’s grandmother, right?” Jer asks, looking around the room like an excited puppy, while Zach helps his brother to the kitchen.
“Yes, she left it to me when she passed.” Seeing all three of them in the house makes my nerves spark to life, but I can’t deny how good it feels to have the room filled with friendly faces. I get so lonely, but I’d take being alone over being an unwanted captive any day.
“Anton mentioned that a couple of weeks back. She left him a letter,” Isaiah says, as he starts pulling items out of the bags he brought.
“Oh?” I ask, nibbling my lip.
“Yeah, I think he’s just been giving you space, but I believe he plans to come for a visit.”
“Oh…” Fuck, I want to see Antonio, but I wasn’t expecting him to visit anytime soon.
I thought maybe I’d find out where he’s living and go hunt him down eventually. Beg him to forgive me. Again.
“I can tell by the look on your face that you’re worried, but Anton doesn’t hold a grudge against you. Your guys’ parents, on the other hand? He hates them. That crusty ass cousin of his, too.” Jer walks over and pats me on the back before wrapping his arm around my shoulders and tugging me into him.
Fuck, it feels so good to be held like this.
“So, tell me, what have you guys been up to the last two years?” I ask, needing to talk about anything else right now.
“Well, we all moved here with Antonio about two years ago. We were going to be moving into his Miami house, but then his grandma got sick, so we ended up here. And you know what, we love it!” Jer is like a ball of sunshine and happiness. I want to soak in his warmth and make it my own.
“As you already know, I work at the doctor’s office. I’m a nurse, much to our mother’s displeasure.” Isaiah is chopping something up, and as much as I want to stay pressed against Jer, I want to offer him help.
“He left law school after two years and went to nursing school without telling anyone,” Zach adds, and Isaiah nods.
“I hated everything about law. Nursing allowed me to help people.” He shrugs, and I finally pry myself away from Jer.
“Plus, it’s not like any of us actually give a shit what our mother wants. A fact that also pisses her off,” Zach says, and Jer chuckles.
“Can I do anything?” I ask, and Isaiah pauses.
“With that hand? No. Here.” He turns around and starts opening cabinets and finds most of them bare. Eventually, he finds my cups though, takes one out, and fills it with some wine. “You haven’t unpacked much, huh?” he chuckles, and I cringe.
