Page 135 of A Little Crush
“Why?”
It’s a good question. One I’ve asked myself more times than I can count since kissing Rory the first time.
“Her dad’s not gonna be happy if he finds out,” Mack adds.
If?
I cock my head, not bothering to hide my confusion.
“It’s not my job to say anything, but itisyours,” he explains. “I’ll tell you this much, though. If I found out Griffin was hiding his relationship with Finley for over a month, I’d be pissed.”
To be fair, I’m pretty sure hewaskeeping his relationship with Finley under wraps for at least a month before they came clean, but I bite my tongue to keep from throwing my brother under the bus.
The bastard owes me.
Keeping my fingers laced, I cup the back of my head, letting my attention graze the ceiling as defeat washes over me. “I know?—”
“Do you?” he challenges. “Because Rory deserves more than being a dirty little secret.”
Dirty little secret?The thought alone is enough to make my blood boil. “You think I don’t know that?” I demand.
“Do you care about her?”
“Of course, I care about her,” I retort. “I love her, Mack.”
“Does she know that?”
“Yes.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
It’s another good question. I scrub my hand over my face. “We were…waiting.”
“For what?”
“I don’t know?” The lack of confidence leaves a bitter taste in my mouth, and I try swallowing past it. “To…to make sure, I guess.”
“To make sure it’s real?” he asks.
I nod. “Yeah.”
“Well, since you just told me you love her, I’m gonna guess it is, right?”
“Yeah,” I repeat. “But…”
“But what?”
The muscle beneath my eye pulses as I hold his gaze. “If I come clean to Henry, it means I come clean to everyone.”
“And?”
“And that includes Iris,” I say while hating how much control my ex has over me, even now. Even after drawing the line in the sand with her the other night. Because I can say whatever the hell I want, but it isn’t only me who will have to deal with the fallout. Am I so wrong for wanting to shield Rory from it? From Iris’s wrath?
Understanding swallows his frustration, and Mack sighs, resting his forearms on his knees in the quiet office. “All right, that’s the first reasonable excuse I’ll accept for keeping things quiet.”
My mouth lifts. “Glad I’ve earned your approval.”
“Not approving of your decision, only understanding the reason behind it,” he clarifies. “Rory still deserves more than what she’s getting.”
