Page 31 of Tangled Hearts (Mended Hearts #4)

Nic

A s soon as Eli climbs in my passenger seat, he reaches across and grabs my hand. It’s one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen. It’s also a little heartbreaking considering when I think back, I can’t remember the last time I held Leo’s hand.

I say I did my best with him. And to be fair to myself, I was juggling a lot, and there’s no excuse for cheating, but…

Did I neglect him and his needs more than I thought?

Did I stop doing small things? Like holding his hand in the car?

Opening his door for him? Did I stop making him feel seen and important?

Watching Holden and Julian together is night and day from what I experienced with Leo.

Even my admittedly short interactions with Beck and Roman are making me wonder if I lost the magic somewhere.

Somewhere long before Leo stepped out on me.

I think I just assumed that after being with someone for so long, that just…

goes away. But the thought of Eli climbing in the car and not immediately wanting to be touching me makes something tight and uncomfortable burn through my stomach .

Even after years together, Beck and Roman sat so close together on the couch the other day you couldn’t fit a piece of paper between them, all but melted into each other.

Holden’s favorite place in the world seems to be in Julian’s lap.

When did I lose that? And how do I stop it from happening again?

I bring Eli’s hand to my lips and press a kiss to his knuckles. I catch his surprised smile out of the corner of my eye, and my heart does a little tumble. I blow out a breath.

We get close to the bakery far sooner than I’d like, considering Mia has the eyes of a hawk, and I know we’re going to have to be extra cautious here. “Pull over up here,” Eli says, gesturing to a little side road.

“Why?” I ask, but I’m already pulling over.

The second I’ve got the Jeep in park, he’s gripping my shirt and pulling me in to kiss him. When our lips connect, he smiles. He asked me to pull over just to kiss me? Fuck. I really did lose the magic. He breaks the kiss and sits back in his seat, shooting me a shy grin. “Okay, you can go ahead.”

Oh fuck no. I let go of his hand and lean across the console, cupping his face and pulling him back to me.

He hums, his fingers finding their way into my hair.

I never, ever want to lose the magic again.

I never want to make Eli feel unworthy or like I don’t care about him.

I want to keep this alive. Holding hands and pulling over just because the thought of not kissing is too much to bear. Goddamn.

Eli’s breath hitches as his fingers tighten in my hair, and with a final sigh against my lips, he breaks the kiss, a blinding smile taking over his face, his cheeks flushed. I let my eyes roam his face, taking in his features, committing them and this moment to memory. “Thank you.”

He shrugs. “I just wanted a kiss. Thanks for pulling over. ”

The irony is that he thinks he has nothing to offer me. He thinks he’s not good enough. But one simple request to pull over, and he’s elementally shifted me.

With shaking hands, I pull back onto the highway, and a few seconds later, we’re turning into the parking lot. “Stay there, doll. I want to come help you out.”

His eyebrows draw together. “I can get out by myself.”

“Of course you can, but you can also wait for me.”

“Suit yourself.” He rolls his eyes, making me smile, and I climb out and make my way around to his side. I open the door and chuckle when he shoots me an unimpressed look. “What are you going to do? Get me down like I’m a princess or something?”

I hold a hand out, and he huffs, unbuckling his seatbelt. He places his hand in mine, and I help him step out of the Jeep. “Not very roommatey of you,” he grumbles, making me laugh. He has a point, though, so I drop his hand and follow him into the bakery.

“Eli!” someone shouts as soon as we clear the door.

“Oh fuck,” Eli whispers, and then we’re being surrounded.

“Why did you disappear off the face of the earth?” the woman whispers, ignoring me entirely.

“Yeah, what gives, man? You call me freaking out, and then that’s all I hear from you for weeks?” the guy says.

Freaking out? When? What the hell is going on right now? “Eli,” I say, hoping to catch his attention. He looks at me with wide eyes. “I’m going to get our drinks. So you guys can… catch up.”

“Wait, who are you?” the guy asks, but I’m already walking past them.

Not that I’m not interested in meeting Eli’s friends, but we haven’t talked about any of that, and I actually don’t know what I’m supposed to be doing.

Do they know who I am? Has he talked to them about me?

Probably not. Not if they haven’t talked in weeks and they’re saying he fell off the face of the earth.

I need to talk to Eli before I make a fool of myself or accidentally give someone more information than he wants them to know.

“Hey, Mia.” I step up to the counter, only barely resisting the urge to look over my shoulder. “Eli’s regular, times two, please.”

She looks past me, not acknowledging me for a second. I want to turn around too and see what she’s looking at, but again, hawk eyes. When her eyes find mine, she smirks. “Do his dads know?”

My stomach drops out. “What are you talking about?”

She rolls her eyes. “You think I haven’t seen a Hart fall in love? Be serious.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“You can lie all you want, but you’re not fooling me.

” She leans over the counter. “Since I’m sure the family doesn’t know yet, I’ll leave you with this.

” The smile falls off her face, and she gets more serious than I’ve ever seen her.

An expression devoid of all emotion is not something I thought she’d be capable of, and it’s chilling in the most fucked up way.

“If you hurt that boy, there won’t be a place you can run to get far enough away from us.

I failed his dad. I won’t fail him. Do you hear me? ”

Holy fuck. I nod slowly, slightly terrified.

She studies me for a second longer, then the mask falls away and she smiles brightly. “Great. Let me get those drinks for you.”

My heart beats an unsteady rhythm. What the fuck was that? “Mia.”

She turns to me. “Yeah?”

“We aren’t telling them yet.”

“Because he’s a dirty little secret? You better think carefully about what you say next. ”

I shake my head vehemently. “No. Not at all. We just need to find the right way.”

She hums, unimpressed. “Well, I’ll keep my mouth shut.” She turns to start making our drinks. “For now.”

I’m still shell-shocked when Mia hands me the drinks and I turn from the counter. Eli’s sitting at a table in the corner, his two friends across from him are leaning over the table and speaking in hushed tones. The second I’m close enough that I can start to hear them, they go silent.

Well, if that doesn’t make me feel like an outsider. I set Eli’s cup down on the table and turn away. “Where are you going?” he asks, almost a little frantic.

I look back at them, trying to plaster a smile on my face. “Giving you space. I’ll be in the Jeep when you’re done.”

“Uh. No. Sit down.” Bossy little shit, but I do sit down beside him, so really, what does that say about me? “This is Molly and Liam.”

Ah, makes sense. I remember Eli talking about them at The Foundation. “I’m Nic.”

Liam looks me up and down, then smirks. “Holden’s brother?”

“Yeah.” Why do I feel like I’m about to get interrogated?

His eyes light up, and he leans back in his seat. “Interesting.”

Molly nudges his side. “Don’t.”

“Well, I thought Eli was full of shit, but you really are hotter than Holden.” Eli chokes on his boba and Molly smacks Liam. He doesn’t seem to care because he keeps going. “I thought he was wrong. I mean, fuck, no one is hotter than Holden.”

Eli holds a hand up. “Stop talking about my uncle like that.”

Liam ignores him, blazing on. “But you? Now I get it. You’re single, right? ”

Everyone falls silent. I’m not, obviously. I’m Eli’s. Is he ready to tell his friends that? Would it even be a good idea for him to? I don’t care, I don’t think, but… “Yep,” Eli says through gritted teeth.

Liam’s eyes light up. “So, what are you doing when you’re not out being hot and mysterious?”

Molly’s studying Eli, who hasn’t said a word. “Well, right now, I’m just volunteering with Eli, but I’m a vet tech.”

“Good with animals? Fuck. Maybe I picked the wrong brother to pine after.”

Eli slams his drink down so hard on the table that it splashes up and gets on his hand. “Liam. Stop.”

The sharp anger in his voice has me wanting to reach for him.

To pull him into my arms and reassure him that he has no reason to be jealous.

Liam’s clearly playing. I can see that. Maybe it’s not landing the way he thinks it is, but even if he was truly hitting on me, it wouldn’t matter.

I’ve seen nothing and nobody since Eli fell at my feet seconds after meeting him.

Molly’s eyes widen and Liam looks taken aback. “I’m sorry, Eli. I’m playing.”

Eli growls. “Well, it’s not fucking funny. So stop it.”

“I didn’t mean to—”

“I said to fucking stop!” It goes so quiet you could hear a pin drop, and I chance a look at Eli.

“I’m sorry.” He looks at his lap, picking at a loose thread in the shorts he’s wearing.

I reach over, catching his hand in mine.

Mia already knows, and I’m not sure I care if anyone else finds out at this point.

Not if having to lie and hide makes him feel bad.

My heart thuds. I need to be ready to tell our family sooner rather than later.

“It’s okay. It’s my bad,” Liam says, true remorse in his voice .

When I turn to the two of them, Liam is looking at Eli, but Molly is looking at me. “He doesn’t have any home training.”

Eli laughs, and Liam gasps in mock outrage, breaking the tension. “You take that back right now.”