Haley?” The sweetness in Trevor’s voice is for my benefit. Being that he just spent a decent amount of time alone with Red Dress, he can take that sweetness and shove it.
Yes, I’m jealous. I’m mad. I’m frustrated with myself. Trevor, Jake, and even Fig Boy because he ate the last caramelized fig.
“I am,” I say, giving it right back to him. “Noah and I have a lot in common.”
“Is that right?”
Noah takes his drink and a big step back. “Not that much, really. Just an affinity for pizza rolls.” He forces a swallow. “I’ll see you in the office next week, Trevor. Nice to meet you, Haley.”
“You too, Noah,” I say.
Trevor stands even closer to me, if that’s possible. A vibration ripples from him, sinking into my body. As I absorb his irritation, I do my best to project my own.
“Are you having fun, Trevor?” I ask, staring straight ahead.
I don’t know what I hope he says. I don’t even know where I’m going with this question. I only know I have to say something to break the ice and figure out what he’s thinking.
“Not as much as you.” His tone is rough. The rawness in the way he says the words scrapes over my skin. “I know you saw me with Liz.”
I’ve heard him talk about her a number of times. But hearing him say her name now that I have a face to put with it—a memory of the two of them together—makes it a different animal.
Before, she was an obsessed ex he didn’t have any desire to see. Now, she’s a knockout he sneaks around with at parties.
What isn’t any different is my non-relationship with him, and I’ll be damned if he thinks I’m going to chase after him like Liz.
His head dips to the side of mine. His breath is hot on my neck. “She didn’t appreciate me bringing you here.”
“Then I guess your plan worked.”
His chest shakes behind me. I hear his tongue swipe across his lips as he suppresses a chuckle. “What was my plan, exactly?” His hips roll ever-so-slightly. His cock sweeps over my behind. “I seem to forget.”
My insides tighten so hard it knocks the wind out of me. I find a black-and-white pencil sketch on the wall above the table and glue my eyes to it, hoping to find some balance.
Jake comes around the corner, locking eyes with me for a split second before glancing up at his brother. “Hey, Trev. Dad wants to see us real quick.”
I heave a sigh of relief. “You better go.”
Before I can react, Trevor takes my hand and pulls me with him. It takes me two steps to match his one.
My heart shoves blood down my veins at double the speed it should. That, in combination with Trevor’s hand against mine, makes me a little light-headed, and I’m glad when we stop in front of Branson.
“What’s up?” Trevor asks as we reach his father. Branson stands next to Jake, each of them with a glass in his hand.
I try to slip my hand from Trevor’s. He grips it harder. I want to yank it from his and would if it wouldn’t cause a scene.
“This is incredible,” Branson says. “You two are the best.”
“Thanks, Dad,” Jake says.
The three Kelly men stand in a row. Jake and Trevor bear a striking resemblance to their father, with strong jawlines and heavy brows and a subdued charisma that’s magnetic.
My hand still in Trevor’s, I plead silently with him to let it go. Every time I try to slip it away, he squeezes it tighter.
Emotions all over the place, I try to focus on Branson as he talks to his sons. His eyes crinkle at the corners when he speaks, like Trevor’s do, and there’s a lilt to his voice, much like Jake’s.
Branson searches the room until his eyes land on Meredith. His entire persona changes. It’s like his heart opens so fully that it spills into the room around us.
I look at Trevor and wonder if he has that in him. If he met the right person and could allow himself to believe in crazy things like love, like his father so obviously does.
If he could do that with me.
My heartbeat slows as Trevor casts me a small smile.
“And thank you for coming, Haley,” Branson says, pulling me back to the moment. “Meredith and I hope you’ll join us for dinner when we get situated in your neck of the woods.”