Page 89 of Always Knew It Was You

Micah makes a choking sputtering sound. The look on his face is a combination of shocked and wounded, and he stares at me like I said something so insanely crazy.

“You thought I was flirting with your friend in front of you?”

I try another shrug. Once again, I think I miss the mark. “I mean there’s nothing wrong with it. We’re not exclusive or anything.”

“Yes we damn sure are,” he snaps, shocking me. “Let’s not lie to ourselves. For as long as this fling lasts neither of us is fucking anybody other than each other. And if I see you with thatfriendof yours, touching all over you again, I’m gonna snap his wrist for good this time.”

I snort at the impassioned look on his face. “Okay, Don Corleone. I get it.”

It takes a second, but amusement finally appears on his features, and his anger retreats.

He sighs. “Maybe it’s my fault for not discussing it before, but I thought it was understood that we’re exclusive. And even if we weren’t, I’m not that much of a heel that I would flirt with your friend in front of you. Come on, that’s tacky as hell.”

He looks so offended that I would even think such a thing that I have to believe him. Now that I think about it, my view of that scene was probably already colored by my feelings of inadequacy and jealousy toward Tate.

And now that I realize it, I can’t help but be ashamed. I duck my head. “Yeah, you’re right. I was probably just PMS-ing.”

He smirks. “Yeah. Same way I was PMS-ing when I hit your friend Bobby.”

“Robbie.”

“Whatever.”

I smirk at the dark jealousy in his voice. He’s still mad about that conversation with Robbie. It’s unbelievable, but also unbelievably vindicating.

And because of that, I find myself admitting, “It’s just that, with Tate, there’s something between us that I can’t explain. Maybe it’s because we’ve known each other most of our lives and we’re both friends with Emma. But I can’t help but compare myself to her, and I fall short every time.” There. The words are out. I also feel the need to clarify that Tate’s not at fault here. “She’s never done anything to explicitly stoke the jealousy though. She’s always been nice and thoughtful, but for some reason, I can’t help but be jealous of her.”

Micah takes a few thoughtful seconds. And I start to feel a bit more embarrassed. And then he says, “I think I know what you mean.”

“You do?”

“Yeah.” He smiles. “My brother and I went to the same private school, and everyone always compared me to him. I think that’s standard when it comes to having an older brother, but Tristan was also just better than me in every way. Smarter. Kinder. Calmer.”

“Was he a ladies’ man too?” I tease softly, and he shakes his head.

“Nah. That was the worst part though. He was decent with the ladies, but he never actually made an effort. It was like he didn’t have to. Girls just gravitated toward him and even some of my hookups would probably have preferred to be with him. All the smart girls liked him, wanted to be with him, but they only wanted to fuck me. And they weren’t shy about letting me know who they thought the better brother was.”

It’s my turn to stay quiet for a few seconds, sympathy blooming in my chest. “I’m sorry. That must have sucked.”

“It did. I almost hated him for a bit there, but it was hard to. He was just sonice. And super understanding. Really, the best brother.” He sighs. “Sometimes I can’t believe he’s gone.”

His loss magnifies in the air and I wrap my hands around his neck, burying my face in his chest. I let him have a few more seconds before he says, “Anyway, that’s probably why I’m the way I am with women. Maybe it’s a deep insecurity stemming from my brother.”

I can sense the forced levity in his tone, so I pull back and quip, “Maybe. Or maybe you’re just a horn dog.”

He winks. “That too.”

We both laugh and it’s like a weight lifts from the whole room.

We spend most of the night trading stories about our childhood and our insecurities. And then at some point, I fall asleep in his lap and feel him carrying me to bed.

It’s a bizarre night, but it’s one of the best I’ve had in a while.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

MICAH

The next day, Declan sends me an early text to “meet him in the office for vital business matters.”

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