Page 36
Story: The Grump Next Door (Steele Brothers of Starlight Cove #1)
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
SUTTON
A couple of weeks later, I sat at the kitchen island, laptop open in front of me, while Laurel ran around like a chicken with her head cut off.
What had once been a pristine space—beautiful, but not really lived-in—now had touches of chaos everywhere.
Atlas was order and routines.
Laurel and I were…not.
Half a dozen scrunchies decorated several doorknobs around the house, a pair of fuzzy slippers lay haphazardly next to the couch, and one of Laurel’s textbooks was open on the island, her notebook and pencil next to it.
But he hadn’t said a word.
Actually appeared to enjoy how much we’d changed his space.
He seemed almost too good to be true.
“I thought you said the party didn’t start till eight,” I called toward my daughter’s bedroom.
“Why are you running around like there’s a bomb about to go off?”
“It doesn’t start till eight, but I wanted to get there early because Cami is freaking out that Jordan might be coming. Apparently, he and Madison broke up, which means he’s available. Finally . And she’s wondering if it’s too soon to make a move, or if she should take the signs that he’s been giving her at lunch that he’s actually into her and has been for weeks.”
“Wow, that is a lot of high school drama.”
“That’s not even the most dramatic part—Madison broke up with him because he said Cami’s name when he fell asleep in class on Tuesday, and it was all over school by lunch. Madison was mortified .”
“I have never been more glad to be out of high school than I am right now in this moment.”
“Yeah, it’s a real shitshow.”
“Same as it was when I was in high school. Romantic drama makes the world go round. Speaking of, anyone sparking your interest?“
“For the thousandth time, Mom, no,” Laurel said, storming into the kitchen with a bag slung over her shoulder.
“Besides, wouldn’t it be pretty convenient for me to find someone when my class literally has seventy-two people in it?”
“I’m not saying you’re gonna find the person you’re going to marry. I just thought maybe you’d like to do some kissing.”
“I think you’re doing enough for both of us,” she said dryly with a roll of her eyes.
“I know you think since you two are upstairs and clear across the house, it means you’re in some sort of soundproof booth, but you’re not. I had to put on my noise-canceling headphones last night just to fall asleep.”
I pressed my lips together to hide a smile.
“I don’t know what to tell you, Lolo. We’ve had this talk before—when two people care about each other, they?—”
“Save your old-person sex speech.”
My mouth dropped open as I huffed out an incredulous breath.
“Excuse you. I am not old.”
“Twice as old as me,” she said, not giving my feelings a single ounce of care.
“That was rude.”
She shrugged before darting into the family room, picking up and tossing the obscene number of blankets strewn across the couch, clearly looking for something.
On her way back toward me, Laurel picked up the kitten and nuzzled her.
“Have you seen my favorite hoodie?”
“You mean my favorite hoodie?”
Laurel groaned.
“I don’t have time for this argument again. Have you seen it or not? There’s going to be a bonfire tonight, and I need it.”
“Check the dryer. I think Atlas threw it in last night.”
“Love that big grump,” she mumbled as she set the kitten on the island and headed toward the laundry room.
I reached out and scratched the sweet girl under her chin, smiling at her soft purr.
“I really hate calling you ‘the kitten’ in my head. I wish your dad would just pick a name already. Personally, I thought Pawdrey Hepburn was a winner. But what do I know?”
Giving Not-Pawdrey one more scratch, I turned my attention back to my laptop.
Laurel mentioned the photography club adviser had sent an email with an opportunity for her, and I wanted to look it over before I inevitably forgot.
Unfortunately, the kitten was a real attention whore and didn’t appreciate any time she was ignored.
Clearly pissed that I’d taken my scratches away, she pounced on my hand, jumping on the keyboard as she did so.
“Oh my god,” I said with a laugh as I picked her up and held her in front of me.
She was bigger now than the one-pound thing Atlas had found all those weeks ago, but not by much.
The white fluff ball still fit in one of his giant hands, and she was damn adorable.
Especially when she curled up on his chest and purred.
Even more adorable was how he pretended to hate it but was clearly in love with her.
“You are a menace.”
I set her down on the floor and turned back to my laptop, ready to search for what I needed when the email on the screen stopped me in my tracks.
The kitten’s keyboard mischief must have pulled up an unread email, because I definitely hadn’t seen this before.
It was from the hospital I’d interviewed at in Boston.
My gaze darted across the screen as several key phrases jumped out at me.
Original hire didn’t work out…
very impressed by your credentials…
would love to discuss this opportunity…
looking for replacement by mid-November.
Exhaling a deep breath, I sank back in my chair, my mind spinning a million miles an hour.
This was the job Laurel had begged me to take in the first place.
The one I thought would have been the better fit for us—a bigger city, more like what we were used to, and a position in the ER, which meant a nonstop pace I used to crave.
My thoughts drifted back to what Quinn had said at the homecoming game—that she’d been ready to hire me permanently from day one, and I’d been the one to put on the brakes.
Even then, I hadn’t been ready for anything other than what we’d agreed to.
Hell, I wasn’t sure I was now.
So much of my life here was uncertain, especially whatever was happening between Atlas and me.
Was I willing to reroute my life—to give up a great-paying job with a two-year contract—for a guy I didn’t know where I stood with?
I needed to talk to Quinn.
If for nothing else than to get my head on straight and decide what the best course of action was.
She might’ve wanted me to stay, but she’d be unbiased in her advice—it was one of the things I loved most about her.
I typed out a quick reply to the email, asking for a bit of time to get back to them, my mind spinning the entire time.
“Found it,” Laurel said as she rushed into the room.
“Come on! Hurry up, hurry up.”
After clicking send, I rolled my eyes and stood from the island.
“Don’t even try to pretend that I’m the one who was holding you up.”
“Whatever, let’s go.”
I threw on one of Atlas’s hoodies and grabbed my purse before Laurel and I headed out.
He had a few things he had to do tonight and wouldn’t be home till later, so I’d planned to curl up with my latest book and gather some inspiration for our night in an empty house.
Instead, I made a detour to Quinn’s to hopefully make sense of the clusterfuck that had become my life.
ATLAS
After helping my mom with another project gone awry, I stepped through my back door.
I expected to find Sutton curled up on the couch with a paperback or her e-reader as usual, but she wasn’t there.
The house was still and silent, except for the soft meow that came from the kitten lying on the kitchen island, her head resting on Sutton’s open laptop.
“Trouble,” I called out.
Her car hadn’t been in the garage, but that didn’t always mean anything.
Not with a sixteen-year-old in the house.
When I didn’t get a response, I pulled out my phone and sent her a text.
Atlas:
I finished early.
Where are you?
Almost immediately, the bubbles at the bottom of the screen danced before her reply came in.
Sutton:
Change of plans.
I had to talk to Quinn about something important.
I’ll be back soon.
My brow furrowed as I read over her message.
I’d talked to her just a couple of hours ago, and she hadn’t mentioned anything important.
Atlas:
Everything okay?
While I was waiting for her reply, a text from Laurel popped up.
Laurel:
Pandora?
I snorted and didn’t even try to stop my small smile.
Shaking my head, I glanced over at the kitten.
“I have no idea where she comes up with these.” I scrolled back through our texts and began reading them off.
“Clawdia, Jinx, Pawdrey Hepburn, Mitts, Purrsephone, Mayhem.”
When the kitten didn’t so much as twitch, I said, “See? I knew you’d hate them. Probably hate this latest too. What kind of name for a cat is Pandora?”
Before I could type out the automatic “no” to Laurel, the kitten scrambled to her feet and pounced on the keyboard.
Phone in hand, I looked at her with my brows raised.
“Really? Pandora?”
If I thought her reaction had been a fluke, the way she did zoomies on the island, dashing across the laptop once more before leaping to the back of the couch, proved otherwise.
“Fuck. I guess that’s a yes.”
Atlas:
Fine
Laurel:
Knew you’d cave.
I’ve had that one picked out since the first day.
I just had to wear you down first.
Huffing out a laugh, I strolled around the island, intent on closing Sutton’s laptop so Pandora didn’t cause any trouble with it.
But as I reached to do just that, words on the screen caught my attention.
Job opportunity. Impressive credentials.
Mid-November.
Boston.
All the air left me in a whoosh as I dropped into the seat, unable to tear my gaze away from the screen.
Or the reply she’d sent.
Thank you so much for this offer.
Could I have a couple days to get back to you?
I’d been tackled by some of the biggest, meanest football players in history, but not even those had felt as jarring as this.
She was…leaving?
My phone buzzed with a text, Sutton’s name popping up on the screen.
Sutton:
Can we talk when I get back?
Talk about her moving to Boston.
Probably wanted to know if I’d let her out of her lease early so she could make that November start date.
The pain that shot through my chest caught me off guard.
I shouldn’t care this much—not when the entire basis of our relationship had been built on a lie.
But the thought of Sutton and Laurel walking out of my life hollowed me out in a way I couldn’t explain.
I rubbed at my sternum, trying to ease the tightness there.
Boston would be good for them—more opportunities, better schools, more pay.
This was the smart move, and Sutton always had Laurel’s best interests at heart.
I’d be a selfish prick to stand in her way…
to ask her to stay. For what?
This small town? Me?
She deserved better.
They both did.
Atlas:
No need.
Pandora stepped on your keyboard, so I saw the email.
Sutton:
Pandora?
Atlas:
The kitten.
The name was your daughter’s idea.
Sutton:
We can talk about that too.
I’ll be there soon.
Atlas:
I meant what I said.
There’s no need. It sounds like a great opportunity for you.
I bet Laurel will love the bigger city.
And don’t worry about the lease.
I’d let my guard down with Sutton.
Allowed her to glimpse the parts of me I’d never shared with anyone else.
I had no interest in repeating that mistake.
Letting people in was something I couldn’t afford—not when they always ended up walking away.
Table of Contents
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- Page 36 (Reading here)
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