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I frowned. “What do you mean?”
“We’ve been through things that were out of our control, so what we crave now is control, and we do whatever we can to get it and keep it. It looks different for different people. For us both, in different ways, it’s business, but everyone does it differently.”
I studied him. “That’s a lot of profound introspection you did there.”
Troy laughed. “Hey, Iknowwhat I’m doing isn’t always healthy, I’m just not planning to change it. Since I’m an adult, I don’t have to.”
I chuckled and nodded. I guess he was right—we didn’t have to change things in our lives if we didn’t want to because we were just fine where we were. At least, that was what I told myself all the time, too.
I worked hard because I wanted to live up to the image I’d have wanted my mom to see. I worked hard because I wanted Rachel to be proud of me after she’d given up everything to raise me.
We’d both thrown ourselves into work, letting it take over so that other parts of our lives faded into the background.
Work isn’t everything,I wanted to tell Troy, but until I lived my life accordingly, I couldn’t say that to him without sounding like a hypocrite.
“The pizza was a great idea,” I said when we finished eating. “And barely any dishes now.”
“That was the plan,” Troy said. “Work smart, not hard.”
“Work smartandhard,” I countered.
Troy laughed. “I think you’re the only one who really gets it.”
Warmth rushed over me when he said it. We really did understand each other in ways that no one else understood us.
That counted for a hell of a lot more than Troy realized.
15
TROY
“What’sthissupposedtobe?” Scott asked.
He’d arrived unannounced while I was getting ready to go out.
“It’s a picnic,” I said.
Scott scratched the back of his head. “What are you going on a picnic for? That’s… weird. Even for you.”
I shook my head. “I’m just taking Mackenzie out for something fun. We’ve been working really hard, and we could do with a break.
“Like, on a date?”
“It’s not a date."
Scott snorted. “A picnic sounds like a date to me. Who else will be there besides you and her?”
I didn’t answer him because he wasn’t wrong. It pissed me off that he wasn’t wrong, but that wasn’t the point. I just wanted to spend some time with Mackenzie.
A car pulled up in the driveway.
“Hello?” We heard her voice a moment later.
“In the kitchen,” I called out.
“So, she knows your house, huh?” Scott asked with a grin.
I rolled my eyes. “She’s worked here before.”
