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I’d never lied to Mason.Never withheld information from my closest friend in the Boston area, but for some reason, I didn’t want to share.Didn’t want to get into the details and relive the emotions JJ had stirred up inside me I’d been trying to set aside.
Instead of bullshitting, I shrugged.“Nothing serious.”
Mason didn’t push for more since he was well aware of my dislike for nosiness, and I pulled into Jasper’s driveway.
I turned toward him when he didn’t make a move to open the passenger door.Concern filled his eyes as his gaze flitted over my face.“You know I’m here if you need to talk.”
A heavy sigh emptied my lungs.“Yeah—and thank you.”
He held out his hand, and I shook it firmly.“I appreciate you.”
“Same.”I nodded toward Jasper’s front door, slapping Mason’s shoulder.“Now go show your man how much he means to you.”
Another soft smile curved Mason’s lips, and I chuckled at the look in his eyes.All dopey and shit.“You’re so fucked.”
“I’m about to be.I hope.”
Laughing, I shook my head.“Definitely will be.Go on.Don’t be nervous.Jasper is going to love it.”
With a fortifying breath, Mason shoved open my SUV’s door and climbed out.“Thanks again, Kellen.”
I nodded.“Any time.”
I drove toward my apartment, feeling as though gravity had doubled, attempting to pull me into the ground.While I was thrilled for my friend, jealousy chewed on my insides like a hungry bitch set on devouring the life from my soul.
My cell rang, interrupting my pity party.
A grin split my face when I saw my brother Jacob called.“What’s up, bro?”I answered on speaker.
“Hey.”He didn’t sound happy, and my smile dissolved.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing—everyone is good.Promise.Dad’s still a stubborn fucker, Mom is spoiling him rotten, Amy has her nose in a book, and the kids are all on electronics—so it’s quiet for once, thank fuck.”
I waited, the hair on my neck alert regardless of his assurances.
“I, uh, heard some news through the grapevine while down at the station this morning.”
Jacob was a firefighter, and same as the rest of small-town USA, when there was downtime involved with a bunch of people sitting around, gossip filled the hours.
“Lay it on me,” I muttered, already knowing I wasn’t going to like whatever he had to say.
“Xavier’s cousin said he got engaged.”
I attempted to process what his co-worker had claimed but needed clarity.“His cousin got engaged?”
“No—Xavier did.”
I waited for pain to smash me in the chest like a hammer on an anvil.A slight sting raced through me but nothing like what I would have expected a few months earlier.
“You there?”Jacob asked, and I realized I’d been silent too long.
I cleared my throat.“Yeah.”
“You okay?”
“Yeah,” I repeated.“I actually am.I hope whoever he’s fallen for cheats on him and leaves his life in ruination.”
