“You don’t know her!”
“I know that she’s a decent person.”
“She sold out your best friend,” he points out dryly.
“And she feels awful.”
“She was paid to sell out you too and look where that got her. Right in the middle of it all.” The judgement in his tone reminds me of the times he talked about Leighton Grier, and I know this has nothing to do with me and Rylee anymore.
“Sometimes,” I tell him carefully, “we have to risk getting hurt if it means doing the right thing. All of what you said may be true, but she’s never willingly done anything to harm me. The least I can do is hold up my end of the bargain since we’ve made the agreement already.”
He looks away, staring at the wall of mirrors behind the work out equipment while he considers what I said. When he glances back at me, he sounds cautious. “I still think she’s getting more out of this then you. Just be careful, okay?”
“I will.”
“Have you talked to Mom?”
Wincing, I put the air fryer back into the box it was delivered in and close the flaps. “I spoke with her this morning, filling her in on what’s bound to come up in the media.”
“She knows about Rylee then?”
“Well…”
Chase rolls his eyes. “You’re scared of her, aren’t you?”
“I wouldn’t say ‘scared’ exactly.” But not even I’m convinced by that. “I told her to give us a day or two before she comes over. She wasn’t very happy, but she agreed.”
That conversation involved a lot of raised voices, genuine apologies, and countless questions about my new bride. There may have been some cussing to, and not from me.
But overall, Mum wasn’t angry.
Disappointed, yes.
Sad she wasn’t at the wedding, yes.
But not angry.
I’d take it.
“Have you found a house yet?” I pry, grabbing a towel and wiping off. “Mum mentioned there may have been one or two you were considering.”
“Want me out already?” he jokes. I whip him with the damp towel, making him scowl and step back. “Gross, man, I don’t want your stank on me. And yeah. I’m talking to the realtor today about one of them. It’s not in this area, but not too far away. Burbank.”
I’m not surprised he’s planning on going to a different suburb. He’s always been here, whether at Mum’s house or mine, but prefers the area Zayne lives when we go to his place. “Well, I hope you get it. You’ll have to show me sometime.”
“When the papers are signed,” he agrees.
We fall to silence for a few minutes.
Taking a few swigs of my water, I gesture toward the door. “I need to shower and get some work done, but maybe later we can go do something? Rylee has been working on the article so she’ll be busy, but we haven’t been out just the two of us in a while.”
Chase shifts his weight, glancing down at his phone before dropping his shoulders. “I want to, but I’ve got some stuff going on today. Rain check?”
He’s been dodgy more so now than ever, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t dying to know what’s got him this way. “Girl trouble?” I guess, despite telling myself he’ll let me know with time.
“Something like that,” he murmurs.
“Does this mean you’re over Leighton?”
His shoulders go rigid. “How many times do I have to tell you that I’ve been over her for a long time now? She’s engaged to Kyler. I’m not going to pine over someone who’s obviously not interested.”
Chase’s heated tone tells me to back off, but I’ve never been that smart. “I’m sorry, but I saw them in the city the other day and she asked how you were. Have you talked to her at all?”
“I apologized,” he grits. “What more is there to say?”
Realizing this is a losing battle, I hold my hands up in surrender. “Fine. I’ll drop it. But I know you two were friends before…things progressed.” I remember an old conversation about just how far things went with them but force it away. “Thought maybe it’d be nice to see you two talking again is all.”
“Can you just…” His eyes dull with hurt as he shakes his head. “Can you just stay out of it? There’s nothing going on with me and Leighton. We’re not friends. We’re not anything. I’m cool with it and she seems happy. I’ve got plenty of friends anyway.”
I can argue that easily, but I stay quiet.
“So, rain check?” he prompts, backing toward the door.
I nod once. “Sounds good. Let me know when you’re free and I’ll make sure to set time aside.”
It’s never hard to flex my schedule when I’m not touring, but whatever is going on in Chase’s life might make things slightly more difficult. And as much as I want to know whoever this chick is that’s clearly got him flustered, I know I have no reason to butt in where I don’t belong. Brother or not, he deserves to have his secrets.
After bringing the box to the kitchen with a note on it for Rylee, showering, and changing, I grab an early lunch and lock myself in my room to work.
It’s a few hours of writing lyrics and trashing them, cursing myself for not feeling the song, and nearly throwing my earbuds across the room when my phone buzzes where it rests on the desk.
I expect to see one of the guys’ names on the screen, maybe some ridiculous photo of Jax’s food since he loves wasting our time with pointless shit like that, a hounding Reg asking for progress updates, or a string of suggestive emojis from an old hookup that occasionally grace my phone when they want something from me.
Instead, it’s Rylee’s name.
Rylee: Thank you for the air fryer
Rylee: You didn’t have to do that
Grinning, I thumb out a reply before turning it on silent and shifting back to the open laptop in front of me.
Garrick: I
