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She’d said yes.

As I watched her disappear into the shop, I reminded myself of that fact. When she was saying yes, hope remained. Keep doing whatever it took to get her to say yes, to me, to us, to our future.

And remove all obstacles in my way.

“I thought we fucking talked about this,” I said to Hunter. “Did we or did we not?—?”

“We did.” That mulish expression said I was not gonna like what came next. “Or you told me and I nodded along, like I usually do.”

“Usually do?” My voice was too sharp, too loud, so I was forced to modulate it. “Usually do? Who’s the one who was always getting us into shit at school?” I asked. “Who decided what footy team we played for and who our friends were? Who decided we’d both become carpenters?”

“Who decided he was head over heels for Jamie in high school and did nothing about it for over ten years?” Hunt moved closer, his expression making clear he was ready to throw down if that’s what it took to get the message across. “Who stopped the rest of us from seeing if she was into us as a result of your indecision? Nice to see you grew some balls, brother.”

Right then I wasn’t in the garage driveway, but at home. The two of us at ten, twelve, fifteen years old, squaring off even though we knew we were evenly matched, but ready to fight anyway.

“But the way you move, we’ll all be dead and buried before you’ve managed to convince her to become yours. Let’s face it, Hay Bale.” He went to ruffle my hair, but I knocked his hand away. “Part of you is shit scared she’s gonna say no if she finds out what you really feel for her.”

There were plenty of times I hated Hunter. He was always the life of the party, whereas I was the one hanging back, my social battery depleted way faster than his, but now? His words were vicious, stabbing into me as deeply as a knife and hurting twice as bad.

Because he was right on the money.

I’d been hovering around, wanting to make a move, looking for some sort of sign Jamie was interested and not daring to put myself forward in case she wasn’t. When I said nothing, the potential was always there, tantalising me with the possibilities, but if I did, then I’d know. One way or another, my dreams would either come true or I’d lose hope forever.

“Jamie was with me last night,” Brock said, the jubilation clear on his face if you knew where to look for it. “I took her out and then brought her back to my place. We’ve got a connection?—”

“But she hasn’t chosen you,” I said. “Otherwise she’d be introducing you as her new boyfriend to her mother and she wouldn’t be going out with us.”

Hunter grinned.

“You slept with her last night,” he said, “but only time will tell if she’s in your bed tonight.” Brock’s brows jerked down. “You get to show her you’re the right choice during the day, Hayden will take her out after work, and I…” Hunter’s smile widened. “I’m dessert. Delicious, tempting and most of all, just the kind of naughty treat our girl needs.”

“Did you just call yourself naughty?” I shot Hunter a scathing look as we walked back to our vans.

“You saw how that vein started to pop in his forehead,” he replied. “It’s always fun to mess with Big Brother, but…” I was forced to stop when he did. “I mean it. I’m not stepping back, not letting you pretend to be me. I’m making it clear that I want Jamie.” That shit-eating grin faded. “Need her.”

“So we agree to respect Jamie’s decisions and let her work out how things have to go,” I said, holding out a hand.

His jaw muscle popped as he reached out and took it, shaking it way too hard before pulling away.

“You can be my best man at our wedding.”

I smirked then because I knew something he didn’t. I actually listened when she was talking to Millie, making clear how uninterested in conventional relationship dynamics our girl was. There would be no wedding, which was fine by me. A fancy dress and an uncomfortable suit wasn’t my idea of the future. Just her and me, spending the rest of our lives together was what I needed. At that, I pulled out my phone and tapped on the tentative booking I’d made and confirmed it. All I had to do was make sure she had so much fun she was thinking about me, not Hunter or Brock, before the night was done.

Chapter 20

Jamie

“What happened to you last night?” Mum spluttered. “I rang and rang?—”

“I was out, Mum.”

“Obviously, but that doesn’t explain why you didn’t answer the phone when your own mother called.”

Her voice was like nails on a chalkboard, setting my teeth on edge.

“So I should chat to my mum when I’m on a date, should I?”

Snapping never got me the results I was after, but that didn’t seem to stop me. I rubbed at my temples, feeling a dull throb there.