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“So, I’m not normally slow on the uptake, but I don’t remember you and Jezebelle even dating,” Jaxson said as he put another book in a box.
Brick cocked a brow. “I didn’t realize I had to share every detail of my life with you.”
He added a book next to it in the box.
“I mean, we share everything with you,” Jaxson said with a laugh. “You have to be getting sick of wedding talk.”
Brick chuckled. He wasn’t yet. Although Jaxson and Dane didn’t talk wedding stuff as much as the ladies did. Dane and Gabby had set their date for early May next year. Jaxson and Mia a few months after that in September. They had a long time to go talking about wedding shit. But he didn’t imagine he’d get sick of it. That’s what friends were for. For everything, especially the big moments in life.
Dane chuckled. “You’re so good at gleaning details from everyone else but so tight-knit about sharing your own stuff. I don’t remember even hearing about one date.” Dane eyed him strangely. “Now you’re engaged?”
Maybe he had bent the truth when he told Jezebelle he could convince their friends they were engaged. Since the moment he had called Jaxson and Dane to help Jezebelle pack some of her belongings to bring to his place, they hadn’t gotten off his back.
Jaxson tried to add another book at the same time he did. Jaxson backed away first. “Why are we only packing books? I don’t think it takes three strong men to pack one box of books. This is ridiculous.”
Brick cocked a brow. “I’m doing as I’m told. Jezebelle pointed to the books. I’m packing the books. It’s her stuff.”
Dane nodded. “Gabriella wasn’t fond of my packing skills when we packed my apartment to move into hers. And it was my stuff. She probably told Jezebelle not to let me touch much.”
Jaxson pressed his lips together in contemplation. “Hmm. Okay. Makes more sense. Mia wasn’t fond of my skills either. I did break two of her plates. On accident.” He pointed a finger, his brows arching as if needing to reinforce it had been an accident.
“We’re only packing a few things tonight. But I thought it was best to get a head start. Her lease is up at the end of the month, and it only gives us a little over a week.”
And considering most of that week would be dealing with her mother, Brick wanted to get as much of it taken care of now as they could. Jezebelle had agreed when he suggested it. He didn’t waste any time calling in Antonio to come in and take over his shift. Because Antonio had been looking for the extra money to help pay for his student loans, he offered some of his other shifts for the week to him. He was determined to give Jezebelle his entire focus.
While it made him wonder what she would have done with her lease—especially since she said she wouldn’t have been able to pay next month’s rent—he didn’t ask. It didn’t matter anymore anyway. She would be in his domain now.
This might be a silly ruse to convince her mother to leave her alone, but it was also Brick’s opportunity to show Jezebelle how much he cared about her.
Her moving in with him could get a little tricky. He meant what he had said about being roommates. If she was struggling to make ends meet, he had no problem helping out a friend. If they did start dating for real when this was over, great. If they for some reason broke up, not so great. The whole roommate part would be blown to hell.
He was riding a slippery slope.
To engage his real feelings or not to.
“It just seems so fast. Engaged. Moving in. Yet never heard one word about you dating.” Jaxson propped a hand to his hip as he tilted his head and stared at him.
The look unnerved Brick. Yeah, sure, he had a way with words, getting people to divulge things they normally wouldn’t. He had a knack for it. He’d always been good with people, talking, bullshitting, shooting the breeze about nothing. It’s one of the reasons he loved being a bartender. Conversing and interacting with a wide range of people.
“Not that we’re disappointed. I like Jezebelle. She’s very nice,” Dane added.
But Dane and Jaxson were right. He loved to hear the juicy bits about everyone’s life, but he rarely spilled his own.
“It’s complicated, gentlemen.” Then he added another book to the box, having to rearrange a few already inside so it fit more perfectly.
Geez. Maybe the women were right to only assign them this small task. They couldn’t even pack a box of books correctly. Instead of stacking them one on top of each other, they were putting them in different directions, creating a puzzle of great proportions.
“Only if you make it so.” Jaxson smirked.
Oh, to have his exact words thrown back at him. Jaxson being a detective, retaining information and picking out details to remember for later. Brick shouldn’t be surprised he had remembered the same words Brick had said to him once when his relationship with Mia had been on the rocks.
“Look, I…” Brick straightened, rubbing his bearded chin a bit. “Jezebelle might not want me to say anything.”
“Oh, a secret.” Dane’s eyes twinkled with mischief. Then he frowned. “Secrets don’t get you anywhere but in a bad place. I think we all know that. Too many secrets have formed before in this group.”
Yeah, Brick couldn’t deny that either. Gabby had met Dane under false pretenses. Mia had gotten engaged to Jaxson, keeping the entire thing a secret—for no good reason.
