Page 68 of Holding You
Just like that. He trusts me to only delete this message.
No worries or comments that I’ll snoop.
No teasing about what the text could be.
I said I wanted to delete it and he was fine with it.
Fuck. Why does that make me want him even more?
I swipe on the text and delete it, then I sit down.
“Feel better?” he asks.
If only.
CHAPTER TWELVE
DECLAN
I didn’t sleep much last night, and every time I woke up after dreaming of Ruby, I had to talk myself out of not un-deleting her text. I’m not proud that I know how to do these things, but right now, as I do something as mundane as drive through town, I’m still convincing myself not to do it.
But I want to know.
I need to know.
What could she have said tothe girlsthat she didn’t want me to know?
It has to be about the other night.
I could do it and never tell her.
But that would be considered an invasion of privacy.
Right?
Then again, the text was sent to my phone, so it’s on my property, and that means I have a right to look at it.
Plus, it was about me. That’s the only reason she would want to delete it, right?
I groan, get out of my truck, and head into our town’s small recreation center. It’s not much, but it’s freshly remodeled andhas a basketball court indoors where the boys and I meet far too many times a month than I'd like. Only for the sole fact that it was their idea to start playing this sport I never grew up playing, yet somehow, I have managed to be a better player than the rest of them.
I’d be fine with just hanging out at someone’s house with a beer or two or even no beers, like we normally do.
I push open the front door and spot Hudson, Miles, and Luca at the front counter. The receptionist is handing them water.
“I’ll take one of those,” I say as I approach.
All three turn to look at me. They’re smiling, but it’s Luca’s massive grin that stops me in my tracks.
“What?”
They each look at each other, and then Miles slugs Luca. “Bro, you’re so damn obvious.”
Luca slugs Miles back. “I’m not obvious. Declan has no idea what we’re thinking right now.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” Hudson groans. “Now you have to tell him.”
I imagine this is what it would have been like to grow up with brothers.
