still had their Halloween decorations up, but for the most part, the lawns were neat and tidy, security lights on on a few, the rest dark.
When he pulled up to her house, nerves took over. What would he do if she slammed the door in his face? Told him she never wanted to see him again? At the moment, they were in limbo. Once he went to that door, he would know exactly where they stood. Did he really want to hear her thoughts on the matter?
He decided he did, forced his body to move. Getting out of the truck was the easy part. Convincing his hand to knock was something else entirely. Kaden stood on her front porch for the better part of a minute before he got up the nerve.
Instead of opening it, Bristol shouted through the door. “What do you want, Kaden?”
Well, at least she was home and she’d made the effort to look out. Although, he was surprised she’d been able to tell them apart in the dark, but hey, if his parents could, why couldn’t she?
“To talk.”
“There’s nothin’ to talk about.”
“You know there is, Bristol.”
“I’m not in the mood right now.”
Christ. He hadn’t anticipated it going this way. At the very least he’d expected to see her. For whatever reason, he needed to see with his own two eyes that she was all right. After she’d slipped away from the auction, he hadn’t seen her. For the first time in a very, very long time, she hadn’t gone to Curtis and Lorrie’s for dinner yesterday. Now she was relegating him to a conversation through the door.
“Please open the door.”
“No.”
“Bristol…” He took a step closer so he could speak without shouting. “Let me in so we can talk.”
“Go away. I have nothin’ more to say to you or your brother.”
Kaden leaned his forehead against the door and closed his eyes. “Please. You have to let me apologize.”
“What? You’re sorry we slept together? Well, so am I. No apology necessary. It cancels itself out, Kaden.”
His stomach twisted in a knot. He damn sure wasn’t sorry they’d slept together. Hell, if he had his way, she would’ve been in his bed every night since then and every night going forward. He’d played this game for so long, Kaden was tired of waiting. He was ready to get on with his life now and he wanted Bristol to be part of it.
“Would it make a difference if I told you I love you?”
There was no response. Not right away. And that hurt. Like a fucking arrow in the chest.
“I’m not giving in on this, Kaden, so you might as well leave.” This time her voice wavered, like perhaps she was crying.
Goddamn, but she was stubborn.
“I’m sorry,” he finally told her. “I’m sorry for what Keegan said. I’m sorry that he can be an ass. But I’m not sorry for what happened. All three of us wanted it. Hell, I still want it.”
“Yeah, well, Keegan made it clear that he doesn’t.”
“No, Keegan made it clear that he’s scared, Bristol. That’s what he does when he gets scared.”
A mirthless laugh resounded inside. “Scared? Of what? Does he think I expected a marriage proposal after one night?”
No, the opposite. That you don’t expect it.
Kaden didn’t say that because he wouldn’t do that to Keegan. His brother’s insecurities were rational even if they were misdirected.
“Just go, please.” Her voice was softer. “I need some space from the two of you.”
Space.
They’d given her space for a long damn time now. If they gave her more now, he knew without a doubt Bristol would find a way to completely eradicate them from her life. But what other choice did he have? He couldn’t make her want him.
“All right,” he heard himself saying. “I’ll go. If you ever need anything…”
She didn’t respond, so he decided to leave it at that.
Unfortunately, like Keegan, he’d been burned, too. And a man could only grovel so much.
Chapter Eleven
One month later
Friday, December 4, 2020
The month of November flew by for Keegan.
Then again, he’d been so damn busy, most of the time he hadn’t known what day it was. He’d looked to Kaden to direct him where to go and when to be there. To the shop, church, Curtis and Lorrie’s for Sunday dinner. They’d had Thanksgiving there, too, along with Eve, Quinn, and Wesley, who’d all managed to be in town for the holiday. The rest of the time he’d spent working on the house, fixing what needed to be