Page 6 of The Drummer

Is he reading my mind? He always could. A virtual brother thing, and one of the biggest gaps in my life since he left. Funny how much we can miss something right in front of us.

I lean back on the couch with a smirk. “Handle me? I need to be handled?”

“Uh, yeah, dude. If that thing with Jana was any indication.”

“Eh, that’s over. Again.”

“Exactly.”

Fair enough. He doesn’t know the truth about the situation. No one I care about does.

“So you want me to go to breakfast to hang out with you, or to meet my future girlfriend?” I joke.

He thinks for a moment, a slight smile spreading over his lips. “Casey and Callie. Kind of has a ring to it, no?”

Maybe. And maybe I will stay for breakfast. What could a few eggs and toast hurt? I’ll need to eat before hitting the road anyway. Besides, I can count on one finger the number of times Luke has tried to set me up with a woman.

One: Callie, the breakfast club girl.

“I just wanted you to be okay, Case. That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”His eyes search mine from across the room, begging me to understand something that can’t be explained.

“That’s why you left?”

He lowers his eyes. “I had to. I almost killed you too.” Stripped raw, his voice sends a shiver through me.

I want to argue, but maybe he’s right. Ignoring the truth does neither of us any good. It’s what got us here.

“You let me in this time,” I say quietly. “What’s changed?”

His saturated look has my hands clamping around the glass.

“Notwhat. Who.”

I lower my gaze to the amber liquid I haven’t touched.

Callie.

“Come with me tomorrow,” Luke says, a subtle plea in his voice. “I owe you so much. Let me introduce you.”

“You make it sound like you’re setting me up with my soulmate or something. How well do you even know this person?”

“You don’t have to know a lot of facts about someone toknowthem. Actions are way more honest than words.”

My chest is tight with a mix of emotions I can’t sort out. “I’m not looking for a relationship.”

His mouth lifts in a genuine smile for the first time since I arrived. “Neither was I.”

CHAPTER TWO

I couldn’t tell you the last time I was up at 7am, but I can promise it sucked that day too.

Luke seems tired as well when I shuffle out of the guest room to meet him in the kitchen. And since it’s a big part of whatever this breakfast thing is, there isn’t even coffee.

Jemma’s Café. Some miracle-worker named Callie.

That’s the extent of what I know.

“You sure you’re fine with me crashing your date?” I ask as I pull open the door.

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