view our hanging out in the same light. I hated empathizing with her. Again. But this didn’t seem like the time to tell Rob he’d screwed up. Clearly he already felt bad enough.
He continued, “It sucks that she thought I’d cheat, but—”
“With me of all people?” His incredulity stung, reinforcing how he absolutely did not see me as a woman. “Yeah, right.”
“No, that’s not what I mean. You’d never hook up with someone else’s boyfriend. And it pisses me off that she said you did. Especially when I’m him.”
“Wait...so you broke up because of what she said about me?”
His mouth tightened. “She crossed the line. I can fix a lot of things, but I can’t change a person with that kind of mind. And if she doesn’t trust me now, it’s unlikely to get better.”
Since I didn’t want him dating Avery in the first place, I could hardly argue, but it seemed odd that he was more bothered by what she said about me than by her condemnation of his own behavior. “You’re mad about what she said about you, too, right?”
Rob shrugged. “I’ve heard it before.”
“What?”
“That I’m too dumb to notice when somebody’s hitting on me. Mind you, I don’t enjoy being accused of shit I didn’t do.” But he seemed more resigned than angry; his outrage was reserved for me, apparently.
“And wouldn’t. You’re positive I’d never go after a guy who’s taken, but I know you, Rob. You’d never cheat on your girlfriend, either.” I paused, wondering if it was too soon to ask. But what the hell. If they got back together, at least I’d know the answer. “What did you like most about her?” It couldn’t be as simple as her looks.
He sighed softly. “She said I had potential.”
“Excuse me?”
“Avery was always saying I could make something of myself if I tried. Nobody else ever thought that, not even when I was a kid. My parents talked about Nadia going to college from the time she was eight years old, but with me, it was always, ‘Rob’s got a good heart. Rob gets along so well with people.’ My aunt’s always mumbling, ‘At least he’s handsome,’ like I don’t know what that means.”
Wow. I normally liked Rob and Nadia’s family, but right then I wanted to punch them.
He went on, “There was a state school that offered me an athletic scholarship. Football. But my dad goes, ‘Some people are meant to work with their hands, and there’s no shame in it. I got you through high school but I can’t carry you to a four-year degree. So unless you can make it on your own, I think you have to pass.’”
“Why didn’t you try?”
“Because he was right,” he said quietly. “I’d have needed tutors to get through pretty much every class and I’m not so great at football that the university would’ve paid for that, definitely not good enough to go pro. Even if I did squeak out a degree, I can’t think of any job that would suit me better than what I’m doing. So what would’ve been the point?”
I had no answer for that. Though I had all kinds of quirks, my brain was sharp enough to do pretty much anything I wanted it to. Rob’s pain was tangible, built up over years of people dismissing him as a sweet, good-natured lummox without the acuity to register the offense of it. And that just wasn’t true. I reached over and took his hands; they were big and rough, a testament to years of building. He cupped his fingers around mine, apparently taking comfort in the connection. For me, it wasn’t enough. But he didn’t let down his walls often enough for me to pull back.
“So then Avery came along. She was smart, pretty and ambitious. When we started dating, she said she saw the potential for greatness in me—between the two of us, we could go places. With her help, I could run my own business. That’s why she was so critical...she was trying to make me better.”
I didn’t think that was why at all, but now I understood why Rob let her get away with it—because of what she represented. She was clever, no question, and if it took her questioning my morals to make him break free, then I wouldn’t argue that point. But I couldn’t let the other assumption stand.
“That’s predicated on the bullshit opinion that you need fixing,” I snapped. “You don’t need to be molded into somebody else. Right now, without Avery’s help, you can run a business. Outsource the bookkeeping. A lot of business owners do it to free up time for more important stuff. And you can do it without listening to somebody catalogue your faults.”
He stared at me with a guarded expression. “You think I can make a go of the furniture design thing we talked about?”
“Absolutely. That, or house flipping. You’re kind of amazing. I mean, you’re a great cook, you bought a house already and you’re renovating it top to bottom. I’ve already learned a lot from working with you. Bottom line, I believe in you, Rob, and not because I’m sleeping with you. I don’t want to change anything about who you are. I also don’t expect you to make a ton of money and buy me things.” I stared at him, hard, willing him to make the connection.
Comprehension dawned slowly, but there it was. “I had a lucky escape, huh? If I’d married her, the divorce would’ve wiped me out.”
There was no benefit to being anything but brutally honest. “Knowing you, if there were kids involved, you would’ve stuck it out, no matter what she did or said.”
“Probably,” he admitted.
I grinned. “Then you should thank me for being such an irresistible home wrecker.”
“Thanks, Lauren.” He tugged gently on our joined hands and I tumbled into his arms.
He smelled of minty soap and snowy air, a freshness that made me breathe him in. I was in no hurry to get free, so I tucked my face against his neck and shivered each time he exhaled into my hair. Maybe he thought it was weird that I didn’t just thump him on the back a few times, but the last time he held me this way, I was sobbing too hard to enjoy it. This time I registered the strength of his chest and arms, his fierce, protective heat. Once Rob came down on your side, he never wavered. His hands were gentle as he stroked my back; each pass lit me up with more tingles.
I never saw him touch his sister like this.
Though I’d be happy to do this all day, we had work to do. So I sat back and curved my hand against his cheek, not something I’d have done before this talk, but we were closer now. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” Rob said in apparent surprise. Then he pulled my palm down so it was open, facing up, and with one fingertip, he traced a curve. “You...” Then he repeated the motion on the other side, joining the invisible lines. “Are good for me.”
As he released me, and I curled my fingers instinctively, I realized he’d drawn a heart on my hand. Flustered, I tried to downplay my role in this conversation. “Avery wasn’t right for you. Anyone who cares would say the same.”
“Not everyone sees me like you do,” he answered.
Tiny shivers washed over me as I replayed how good it felt in his arms. “Their loss.”
Our eyes
