Page 20 of Wildflower and Whiskey
Her blond hair caught the light and looked like spun gold, and those jean shorts… I had no business noticing how they showed off the kind of legs that could wreck a man’s self-control. Now it felt like fate had a sick sense of humor because she waltzed into my place with her baby, my sister, and Luc, acting like she belonged here. I schooled my face into indifference. It was a skill I had perfected over the years, even though my insides were boiling.
“Hi, Bean,” I said, keeping my voice even, casual. “Luc. Elyna.” My eyes flicked to her, just for a beat, and I forced myself to only give her a curt nod. Anything more and my sister would see right through me.
“Hi,” Izzy chirped, the only person who could drag me into a conversation I didn’t want to have. She started explaining, “I wasjust telling Elyna, the loft is hers if she wants it. She wanted to hear it from your mouth though.”
My gut clenched. I’d wanted to tell her about it myself, and now they came secondhand, through Izzy’s good intentions. I looked at Elyna and scowled because if I didn’t, I might let something else slip.
“The place is yours for as long as you need,” I forced out, flat, matter-of-fact.
Her big gray eyes lifted to mine, cautious, like she was waiting for me to take it back.
“You do realize I have a baby who can cry loudly?” she asked. This woman I was offering a safe place to live, and she was convincing me why it was a bad idea. She really wasn’t the same girl from high school. She was a changed woman, burdening herself with holding the hardships of her life on her shoulders. Not wanting to share the weight with anyone but herself. It was commendable but not necessary.
Luc hissed beside her. “Are you trying to convince him not to give you the place?”
“Won’t matter, the place is hers if she wants it,” I answered, keeping my tone clipped, even as every instinct in me screamed to tell her I didn’t give a damn if Braden cried all night, I wanted them safe. “The place is furnished, but I don’t have a crib.” I reached into my pocket, pulled out the key, and dropped it into her palm. Our skin brushed, and her lips parted, trembling, before she caught herself.
“Thanks, Phoenix. I appreciate this, but I’m paying you rent,” she insisted. She was stubborn to the bone.
“I don’t want your money,” I told her.
“I won’t take it for free. Tell me what I can do,” she pressed.
Her eyes were too much, holding mine like she was daring me to see past her pride. My jaw locked. I couldn’t say what I wanted to really say, which was she could stay forever if sheneeded to, that I’d take care of her and the baby whether she asked or not. So I gave her the out she needed.
“Fine.” I narrowed my eyes. “If you really must do something, then you can fill in when one of the servers calls in sick.”
Her shoulders loosened. “As long as I have a babysitter for Braden, you got it.”
“I’m happy to babysit him. He’s the sweetest baby I’ve ever seen,” Izzy piped in.
“He’s probably the only baby you’ve ever seen,” Luc joked.
“He is not. Young families come here all the time,” Izzy argued.
“But you don’t watch their babies,” Luc shot back.
“Can you believe these two?” Elyna said suddenly, turning to me like she was trying to pull me into their banter.
And damn if it didn’t crack something in me. I let half a smile slip. “Glad to see you happy, Bean.” I was happy for my kid sister. My brothers and I had come to terms with the fact we weren’t meant to settle down. Life was too unstable. Too many curveballs could be sent your way. But Bean and Luc had something different. Anyone with eyes could see they were soulmates.
Elyna watched her brother with nothing but love in her gaze. It was the same way she looked at her baby. This woman had tenderness lying beneath her stubborn-ass shield, and it only made her more beautiful. Shit! I’d always been a goner where Elyna Chabot was concerned, and apparently nothing had changed over the years. I didn’t just want to give her a place to stay. I wanted her. And it was killing me to keep it locked down. So I did what I always do. I shut it off and got back to work. I pretended none of it mattered. I turned away before anyone could catch what was really on my face. I grabbed a rag off the counter and wiped down a spot that didn’t need cleaning,keeping my shoulders squared like none of this mattered to me. But it mattered.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Elyna shift Braden’s stroller. I heard the faint jingle of the key I’d dropped into her palm. She looked at it like it weighed a thousand pounds, like it meant more than four walls and a roof, and that made something inside my chest grow even more. I was supposed to hate this woman. She had been a spoiled brat in high school, but maybe I was no better. I always kept my emotions in check. I never showed my cards except for the day she screwed me over. Now I’m thinking maybe there was a side to her I didn’t see. I was seeing her now. All of her, and maybe it was because she was tired of shielding her life. As hard as she tried to hide the situation with her dad at home, there was no hiding, and she must have come to terms with that in the last twenty-four hours. I felt sympathy for her, knowing what she had been through. She would hate to know that but it was more than sympathy that had my feelings in a twist. It was her strength and perseverance to do what was right by her son. He was her priority. Anyone could see that from a meter a way. It was commendable.
Luc hovered at her side, already scheming about how to haul her things over. Izzy practically bounced, thrilled to play babysitter. The three of them made for a picture I wasn’t sure I could stand staring at any longer. They said their goodbyes, turned for the door, and I told myself not to watch. But hell if I could help myself. Elyna walked out with that stubborn sway of her hips, her blond hair catching the sunlight through the open doorway, streaks of gold lighting her up like she’d been carved out of summer itself. That’s when she turned around and our gazes met. My heart felt like it took a pause as she watched me a moment, her gaze softening.
It gutted me.
I braced a hand on the bar, jaw tight, pretending to be the man who didn’t give a damn. Pretending I hadn’t just given her the only piece of myself I had to offer. She gave me the smallest of smiles and then turned back to her brother.
Then they were gone, the door closing behind them, and I went back to scrubbing glassware like none of it mattered.
“So, she’ll be living at your place,” Dominic said, interrupting the turmoil inside me.
I gave him a look. “That seems to be the case.”
“That isn’t a bad thing, boss,” he said.
