Page 135 of Need You to Choose Me

Bodhi holds his hand out.

I don’t warn my brother that I’m passing him over before dropping Bodhi’s cell back into his palm. Our waitress comes back with our plates of food as Bodhi’s voice drops and a serious expression molds onto his face.

“Look, man. She’s right. What she does isn’t any of your concern, much less who she does it with.”

I blink, ignoring the delicious smell of fried chicken goodness below me. Even the waitress seems interested, lingering for a moment longer than she should before finding her way back around the counter.

Bodhi listens intently to whatever bullshit my brother is spewing. “I did know about them. She told me not to say anything. What do you mean ‘why’? She’s a grown adult, Bash. And she wanted to be the one to tell you herself. It wasn’t on me to do it for her.”

I smile at him.

His eyes darken. “And I don’t know what you told her about me or my business, but that wasn’t your call to make. She and I are friends, not that you need to know the details of whatever itis we have. Let her be the one who chooses what she wants out of her life without butting into it.”

He presses a button and sets his phone face-down on the table.

“Did you…?” I blink. “Did you just hang up on my brother?”

He dips his chin. “Yep. Dig in while it’s still warm.”

His tone sounds…off. “You’re upset.”

He wets his lips and he breaks apart Gemma’s chicken tenders to let the steam out. “Wait until that cools a little before eating them, sweetheart,” he tells her. When he turns back to me, his shoulders are stiff. “I didn’t know he said anything about me to you, and that pisses me off.”

I frown. “He was looking out for you.”

“He didn’t need to.”

What can I say? “I relate to that. Seb cares. Sometimes too much. The conversation about you wasn’t my favorite to have with him. He made me feel like I was going to hold you back somehow. But that doesn’t have anything to do with my decision. And I appreciate you standing up for me to him. That means a lot.”

He rubs his lips together as he picks up a fry and glares at it. “Was that why you were weird at the team event in New York?”

Limply, I shrug.

He cusses under his breath. “I knew it was something. I just didn’t think your brother was involved.”

I fidget with one of my chicken strips. “You standing up to my father and my brother is one of the sweetest things. But when the public came after me over that picture…” It still hurts he didn’t do anything. “That sucked, Bodhi. You had the opportunity to shut those people down or tell your agent off, and you didn’t. But Alex did. He wasn’t going to risk putting my name out there to be destroyed.”

There’s a difference between loving somebody in the dark and loving them in the light. Alex didn’t hesitate to make things right when people came after me.

I have no doubt Bodhi would be an amazing partner. But he didn’t defend me when I needed it. Being a father is only part of the problem. I’m not sure I can get over him staying quiet while people tore into me just because his agent told him to.

If there’s one thing Alex has shown me, it’s that love can be lethal. But lethal isn’t always a bad thing.

He obviously sees that now. “I’m sorry, Olive. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“I have no doubt in my mind that you’re going to find somebody worth your time and energy one day,” I tell him. “But that person isn’t going to be me.”

His smile is sad, barely curling his lips. “I think I already knew that. Wishful thinking and all…”

I’m quiet.

“I hope O’Conner is worth your time,” he says, pulling my gaze up.

I think about the application.

About the fear of what-ifs.

But… “I think he is.”

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