It's Definitely Not You - Abby Brooks Page 0,64

more I paced.

The chances that I’d wear a rut into the flooring of the guesthouse grew with each hour.

As soon as I stopped distracting myself, my thoughts darkened. Hell, even when I was distracting myself, I wouldn’t exactly have called my state of mind healthy.

“Come on, man. Get your shit together.”

Desperate to think about anything else, I wasted a few hours looking into what I’d need to open my contracting business. Surprisingly, it wasn’t that hard to incorporate, though I expected the learning curve would be steep when it came to actually running the place. I read about how to handle employees, payroll, and advertising until my eyes burned and my brain threatened to overload.

Clapping my laptop shut, I blinked at the walls in search of anything else to do. My gaze went to the box of pictures under the bed. Old Joe would have pulled them out and studied them one by one, reminding himself how many times people had let him down. New Joe ignored the temptation, but contemplated giving in so many times he nearly lost his mind.

No matter what I did to distract myself, Kennedy’s weird reaction to my joke about Collin kept stealing my attention like a storm rolling in. I’d push my worries away, then boom, all the signs my Penny was lying lined up for inspection, using a Marine voice even Lucas would approve of.

Present and accounted for, Sir!

The stuttering response after I joked about the two of them meeting behind my back was the wind whipping through trees.

Her non-answer to my question was the palm fronds lashing back and forth in a violent dance of deception.

The lip biting and blushing were lightening flashing in the distance as thunder rolled my way in ominous, bass-filled waves.

And yet, I knew…I just knew…Kennedy was faithful to me.

I could feel it. I trusted her.

Even if my monkey mind didn’t.

For every doubt it raised, I reminded myself of her virtues.

She’s using you, it whispered.

She’s the kind of woman who volunteers at a free clinic, I retorted.

She hated you when you first met, it muttered.

Yeah, well, she likes me now, I countered.

Seeing as my monkey mind was as stubborn as I was, I needed to fight fire with fire if I had any intentions of finding peace. Since I was determined to think something was going on between my girlfriend and my brother, I’d surprise her with the dinner she asked about. I’d watch them together and prove that all my worry was ridiculous. I placed the call before I could change my mind.

Collin answered on the second ring. “You realize no one uses these things as phones anymore, right? It’s all about the text, brother.”

“Since when do I care what anyone else is doing?”

“Since never.” He laughed and the tension in my neck uncoiled a fraction. “How ya been? Life still good?”

“Life’s still good.” I paced to the window of the guesthouse and stared at the backyard. “I’m crawling the walls this week, though. Maxine’s watching the market and doesn’t want me to spend money for a couple days, which means I have nothing to do.”

“That’s never a good thing.” Collin laughed. “Maybe it’s a sign for you to start making Channing Construction a reality. You know, so you don’t drive yourself and everyone around you crazy.”

“Way ahead of you.”

On both counts.

I launched into what I’d discovered about business owning, chattering away like nothing was wrong while he asked questions and seemed impressed with my answers. The more we talked, the better I felt. I trusted Collin, just like I trusted Kennedy. The two of them together were on my team. The beginnings of my tribe. I was sure of it.

“I’m here for you,” he said when I finished droning on about business. “You had my back, now I have yours. Whatever you need, I’m there.”

“Well, good. ‘Cause I’m gonna need you and Harlow here tomorrow night. All this research made me realize I haven’t seen my dear, sweet brother enough lately. I thought, hey, you know what? I should invite him to dinner.”

“Look at you, all domesticated and everything.”

“Actually, Kennedy suggested it. I’m just following through—though I guess that does make me domesticated, doesn’t it?”

With the mention of Kennedy, the last remnants of my tension dissolved. Her name hit the conversation with zero impact. Collin loved Harlow, not my girl. I’d been ridiculous to worry that anything shady was going on between them. The kind of guy who thought stalking was the solution to a business