AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Yes. We might need to share more information about our lives,” I said. Was that just an excuse to spend more time with him? I didn’t know, and at the moment I didn’t care.
“Do you think we should do it? Have dinner with them, I mean.” His gaze fixed on me, his eyes earnest and trusting. He truly wanted my opinion.
I would tread carefully. Whatever he chose, it should be because he was 100 percent sure, not because of my influence either way. “Depends. What would you get out of it? Or, what would you want out of it?”
A flash of humor sparked in his eyes. “Revenge?”
I laughed. “That’s good enough reason for me.”
He sobered and looked up at the sky. The late-afternoon sun sent slivers of gold through the trees. “I would like her to think I’m doing well, I guess. Both of them. That I didn’t sit around crying from their betrayal. Even though I did.”
I wanted to reach for him and fold him into my arms. I hadn’t known a man, not even my brother, to be as honest about his feelings as Darby was. It touched me and endeared him to me in a way that felt sticky. The kind of affection that lasts through time and space. “They don’t ever need to know how hard it was for you. We can pretend we’re happy and in love and you can politely let them know you’re thrilled with the way things turned out. That without her choice, you wouldn’t have found me.”
He nodded, seeming to think through what I said and coming to the conclusion that I was right. “Yes, let’s do it. We can get together later and talk through some of our past. Facts and all that. Knowing Arianna, she will grill us and want to know every detail. Any crack in our story and she’ll find it.”
“What if they want to go to the lodge for dinner?” I blurted out. “I can’t afford that kind of meal.”
“Nor I.”
“I could offer to cook,” I said. “Really show off my cooking skills.”
He gave me a gentle, grateful smile. “You’re a good one, Jamie Wattson. The type of friend a guy like me needs in his corner.”
“I’m here for you. I hope you know that.” A friend? Why did that word suddenly taste bad in my mouth?
“I’m grateful,” Darby said.
“Did you ever see those pictures in children’s magazines that ask what isn’t like the others?”
“Sure.”
“I think we’re like that. All our friends are happily in love and starting their lives together. We’re lone wolves, so to speak.”
“Not tomorrow night, we won’t be,” he said. “Tomorrow we’re a pack.”
I liked the sound of that. Pack had potential. Packs were family, connected forever.
13
DARBY
That night I texted Jamie and told her that I would take care of dinner and she should come to my house. I stopped on the way home and bought several frozen pizzas and one of those salads in a bag. Hopefully, she would forgive my philistine ways in the kitchen. I couldn’t have her cooking for me every night after working a full day. Over the last few days, I’d gotten the feeling that Jamie didn’t take good care of herself, pushing so hard at work and sacrificing everything for the inn.
She agreed to come by around eight after she returned from work. I’d left the building site when the sun had set, leaving a narrow window to shop and shower.
I was in the frozen food aisle when I saw Huck and Stormi picking out ice cream. Calling out to them, I pushed my small cart toward their large one, filled with copious domestic, nest-building items. Wouldn’t it be nice to have someone to share the ordinary events of the day? Grocery shopping, cooking dinner together, watching TV, or reading.
“Hey, guys,” I said, suddenly conscious of my dirty clothes and the fact that I probably didn’t smell too good. “Sorry. I just came from the job site.”
“You look fine,” Huck said. Ever since he fell in love, Huck was downright charming and positive. Two qualities that had previously eluded him.
“Frozen pizza?” Stormi asked, sounding mournful. “You need to come out to the house for dinner soon.”
“Our house,” Huck corrected her.
She laughed. “Right. Our house.”
It was obvious they were thriving together, which delighted me. Stormi had never looked more beautiful, with a glow that could only come from being in love. I might not have recognized her without my contacts in. Her usual ripped jeans and combat boots had been replaced with a conservative black skirt and silk blouse and black pumps. She must have just come from the art gallery.
