“I kinda lost my appetite after the shit storm I’ve been dealing with today, but I have to eat,” Mason tells us. He’s interning to be a forensic investigator and works part-time for his dad who’s the district attorney. I can only imagine the shit he’s seen and heard working so closely to crime scenes. In fact, he’s told us about a few cases before, and I’ve purposely blocked it from my memory. I don’t know how he does it, but shortly after he graduated college, he took up boxing. Now he continues to do it because he needs an outlet from the shit he has to see and deal with on a regular basis. You wouldn’t know it by looking at him, but he’s strong as fuck, and even I wouldn’t want to get in a ring with him.
Liam makes a face, and I chuckle and shake my head as I look over the burger options. After the waitress comes over, takes my drink and food order, Liam almost immediately gives me a pointed look.
“What?” I ask, grabbing my phone from my pocket. I sent Lennon a text before I arrived to see how her first day is going so far, but she hasn’t responded yet. I hope that’s a good sign.
Before Liam can respond, the waitress arrives with my water, and just as I take a sip, he speaks up. “Where’s your wedding ring?”
Choking on my drink, I clear my throat and blink. “What?”
Mason shakes his head at me, then slides over his phone. On the screen is Lennon’s fake Instagram feed of The Mrs. Manning.
I study it, looking over this morning’s pictures and the rest of the photos she’s posted this summer. “So I guess you know.” I slide the phone back to him. “So what?”
“So what?” Liam’s voice goes higher as his tone deepens. He’s pissed.
“It means nothing. It was a favor to her.” I shrug, taking another drink of my water.
“Except it’s not nothing,” Mason chimes in. “We know how you feel about her even if you don’t want to admit it, and—”
Slamming down my glass, I narrow my eyes at him. “I have, okay? I know it’s fucked up, but when the situation arose, I did what I had to do for her. It wasn’t for me. Trust me, it’s killed me every single day.”
“So why didn’t you say anything?” Liam asks.
“Because I knew what you fuckers would say, and I didn’t need to hear it. Brandon was my best friend too, and I have to think of what he would’ve wanted me to do to protect her, and that’s all it was.”
They study me as if they’re waiting for me to crack some secret. I debate whether or not I should tell them that I opened my heart to her, told her how I truly felt, and that she ultimately walked away. Regardless of knowing why she did, it doesn’t hurt any less. We act like that moment never happened, and if that’s what we have to do in order to keep things platonic for the sake of the baby and her emotional health, then I’ll suffer through it. The last thing I need is Liam and Mason on my ass about it even more, so I keep it buried away.
“How’d you find out anyway?” I ask.
Mason gives me a side-glance and smirk. “How do you think?”
“Maddie slipped up,” Liam confirms. I notice the way his throat tightens when he says her name.
“The four of you still going on double non-dates?” I chuckle in amusement. Their whole awkward situation cracks me up.
“No, Little Romeo,” Liam snickers. “We were hanging out, and they happened to show up.”
I snort, knowing that was no coincidence. “Right.”
“Sophie confirmed it after Maddie’s word vomit,” Mason adds, the vein in his forehead about to pop as he talks about her.
Those four give me a headache.
There’s something about the way he acts when Sophie’s around or even when he talks about her that makes me wonder if something’s already happened between them? There’s way too much tension in the air when they’re in the same room.
What is it about these Corrigan sisters that keeps us all tied up in knots?
Our food finally arrives, and I hope it’ll change the subject, but after two minutes, Liam continues. “So you bought her a pretty expensive ring.”
“It had to be convincing to her parents,” I say. I haven’t told them about Brandon’s plan to propose or the engagement ring burning a hole in my nightstand. As I promised him, I’m taking that to the grave.
“And you couldn’t do that with a smaller diamond? Damn.”
I glare at Liam, knowing his mind is running with ideas. Setting my burger on my plate, I look him in the eyes. “Why don’t you just come out and say whatever you wanna say?”