Avery didn’t know about Colton’s brain injury.
I had to do damage control. “Uh, maybe you should go.”
“What? Why?”
“Um…because Caden is coming, and I think this is a family thing now.”
“Caden’s coming?” Her eyebrows arched. She grasped my arm. “Do you want to leave before he gets here?”
“He asked me to stay.”
“Oh.” She let go and moved back a step. “So you’re just trying to get rid of me?”
Why hadn’t I thought of a great lie? I would suck being a spy.
“No, no. It’s not that. I’m not going to be a part of the family thing either. I’m just staying here because Caden asked me to.”
“I can stay with you then.” She looked me up and down. “You look like you’re going to pass out.”
I wavered on my feet, but no. I shook my head. “I’ll be fine.”
“You really don’t look good.”
I wanted to growl. How dare she point out the truth? “I’ll be fine. Caden asked me to stay.”
She had to understand how important that was, how I’d been waiting so long to hear words like that from him. He was done waiting.
“I’m not going anywhere,” I told her.
I’d take root on one of those benches if need be.
She sighed. “Okay. Are you sure I should leave?”
I nodded. “Caden will give me a ride home.”
She grinned. “You thought that through, huh?”
“I’m not a complete nincompoop.”
“Score one for using the word nincompoop in a conversation.”
“Thanks. It’s the largest word I’ve used in a while.”
She laughed, raking a hand through her hair. “Okay. I’ll leave you to it, but promise me you’ll tell Caden you’re not feeling the best. And maybe try to eat something. That’s why we came here, remember?”
“Oh fooey. I’ll be good.”
Her concerned eyes skimmed over me again. “Maybe I should mention it to Colton.”
“No.” I grabbed her before she could go. “He has enough to deal with. He doesn’t need to worry about me too.”
“Okay…”
It was obvious she didn’t mean it. I gently pushed her toward her car. “I’ll be fine. I promise. I really will get some food in me. They offer bread to the people waiting. I’ll just grab some of that.”
“Okay, okay. I’m going.” But she kept glancing back as she made her way to the car. I was sure Marcus would be calling in the next five minutes.
And when my phone lit up before I had even moved around two large groups, I congratulated myself on being psychic.
I sighed, answering as I made my way back to Colton. I rounded a third group. The waiting list seemed to have doubled in the last ten minutes. “Summer Stoltz’s Fan Club Line. How may we help you?”
“Cut the bullshit, you’re not funny.”
“Au contraire, mis compadre. I’m a walking laughing stick.”
He groaned. “I don’t have time for this. Av just called me and said Colton’s at some restaurant with you.”
“He is, and I already called Caden. You can get the deets from him.”
“He won’t answer my call. Is Colton okay?”
“Did you try calling your twin?”
I sat next to Colton as I asked that question, and he looked over, hearing it.
He checked his phone, and shook his head.
“Forget it. Call him if you want answers.” I hung up, hearing a roar from Marcus.
Two seconds later, Colton’s phone was blowing up. He pressed the ignore button, looking pleased with himself. “He’ll have to come here to find out what’s going on.”
“Did he and Caden have a talk with your mom about accepting your brain injury?”
He nodded, frowning. “Yeah. It didn’t go well.”
“So she’s still denying?”
“Yeah. So’s our dad.”
I scratched behind my ear. “I have to ask, why are they talking in a restaurant if they’re actually getting a divorce?”
“They booked a private room here, and they can only talk about stuff out in public. People just end up leaving the room at home or throwing and breaking things. Mom and Dad both have horrible tempers.”
“Gotcha.”
“Colton.”
Caden was here.
Holy mother of my ovaries. My mouth was already watering. He looked delectable in low-riding jeans, a white shirt, and his leather jacket over the top. He’d lost weight. I hadn’t been the only one. Marcus had told me, but seeing it was another thing. He had on a cap. It didn’t hide his features like a baseball cap did, but it gave him a serious no-nonsense vibe. I almost asked him if it was a serial killer stocking cap, if he could pull it down and do some damage, but I bit the words back. He didn’t look to be in the joking mood.