Oh no. Whenever he used my full name I knew he was mad.Kind of like how he always called Rob Robert. This wasn’t good. “Like, 7:30.”
“7:30. In the morning! I expected you home by midnight, youngman. Do you have any idea how worried I’ve been? I’ve been up all night waitingfor you.”
“I’m sorry…”
“You’re sorry? I thought you were dead in a ditch!”
“Tanner, I really am sorry. But I didn’t know I had acurfew.”
“Of course you have a curfew! How else am I supposed to knowif you’re alive?” His voice cracked.
Tanner didn’t look that angry. He looked more…sad. And Iwondered if this had anything to do with him losing his girlfriend when he was young.He’d never told me much about her. But had she not come home one night? Is thatwhat this was about? “I’m okay, Tanner,” I said. “I just lost track of time. Ireally am sorry.”
“Just don’t do it again, man.”
“I won’t.” I didn’t want to see him look this upset again. I hada feeling that if Tanner suddenly started crying, I’d start crying too. And noone wanted that.
He nodded. “Where were you?”
“I spent the night with an old friend.” Wow, that sounded waymore sexual than I meant for it to. “A friend from high school. Kennedy. Actually,she was Brooklyn’s best friend. But we were friends too. I’m pretty sure I’vetold you about her before.”
“Did you sleep with her?” Tanner asked.
“No.” I guess he thought it was as inappropriate as I wasworried it was.
“Are you going to?”
Oh. He wasn’t concerned about the fact that it wasimmoral to sleep with Kennedy. He was just concerned because he loved to meetall the women I slept with ahead of time. Because he was Tanner. “Um.” I didn’tknow how to answer his question. Because I didn’t know the answer.
“Are you going to sleep with her?” Tanner asked again.
I sat down on the sofa across from his makeshift worried-dadscene. “I mean, we’re friends.” It would be wrong, right? To sleep with Kennedy?To even want to? I ran my hand down my face. Fuck. Did I want to? Ismiled, picturing her in her adorable pajamas.
“Penny’s your friend and you want to sleep with her.”
“Yeah, but I think Penny and I are better off as justfriends.”
“I guess your dinner to seduce her went poorly?” Tanner asked.
I nodded. “She brotherized me.”
Tanner laughed. “Brotherized? What is that?”
“When someone friend zone’s you in a brother way. It’s even worsethan a friend zone.”
“Ouch. So you haven’t secured the camera then?”
“No, I got it.”
Tanner just stared at me. “So where is it? Wait, don’t tellme.” He stood up and started examining my shirt.
“I meant I will have it. Rob’s bringing it by practice.”
Tanner let go of the collar of my shirt. “But he can’t come. It’sa best friend’s secret mission.”
“He’s my best friend too.”
Tanner lowered his eyebrows. “Best friend isn’t plural.”
Seriously, Tanner and Rob might as well be twins. How couldthey not see that they had the same sense of humor? And the same obsession withsingular and plural nouns? Why did they hate each other so much? It wasridiculous. “He didn’t give me a choice,” I said.
“Stubborn little ass. Well, that’s fine. We’ll get his cameraand tell him to get lost.”
“Why can’t the two of you just get along?”
“Because there’s only room for one of us in this town. AndI’m not leaving. I love it here.” He sat back down.
“Then why haven’t you properly moved in yet?”
“I have.”
I gestured to the sheet that was covering what I thought wasa tree.
“Oh that?” He laughed. “Nigel already has so much to dust. It’sjust easier this way. Speaking of Nigel, he was worried sick too. You owe himan apology as well.”
“I’ll do that when I see him. But right now I need to go homeand change before work.” I stood up.
“No need, Nigel brought all your things.”
“All my things?”
Tanner pointed to the couch I’d been sitting on.
I turned to look at the very familiar couch. “Is this mycouch?”
“Yes. Nigel has a good eye for these things. As he put it, ‘aleather couch has no business being in photos to sell a family home.’ He letBill know you’d need a few more things for the staging.”
“So my clothes…”
“All in your room here.”
Okay. “Well, I should probably go change.”
“I’ll be waiting. We can take my car to work. I’ll just havemy driver drop you off first.”
I knew Tanner was trying to keep me safe. But I couldn’t bein his sight all the time. I left Tanner in the great room and wandered downthe hall to the room I’d stayed in the other night. I swear the room seemedbigger. And everything but my couch was in it. Really, how did this room notlook more cramped?
I opened up the closet to see all my suits, perfectlyorganized by color. Just the way they had been at my house.
“Mr. Caldwell,” Nigel said.
I jumped. “Nigel, please stop sneaking up on me like that.”
“Sorry, Mr. Caldwell. I just wanted to let you know that I’veremoved everything from your home and brought it here.”
I looked around. Actually there was one noticeable thingmissing. All my paintings of Brooklyn. Probably because the room was locked.
It was like Nigel could read my mind. “Well, everything butthe paintings, sir. They weren’t my taste.”
I looked over at him. Not his taste? Maybe he was justjealous that I’d been painting Brooklyn’s face and not his. If anyone else hadseen them, I would have been embarrassed. Or worried they would think I wascrazy. But Nigel was staring at me like he always did. And it didn’t seem likehe thought I was weird or crazy. There was only love in his eyes. A little toomuch love. But still love. Or was that just the look of a man hoping to
