Caleb looked down at his hands. "Maddie."
"Holy shit," Alex muttered, his tone one of disbelief. "You want this girl, don't you? Did you fuck her already?"
"Alex!" Olivia snapped, shooting him a look. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
But Alex had already latched on, just like the sales executive he was. "She got one over on you, didn't she? Why else would she be working at your garage? Man, when can we meet her?"
"Never," Caleb snapped, his jaw clenching in irritation. Why had he come here again? "There's nothing going on. She's the most annoying, irritating, stubborn woman I've ever met." The lies were dropping from his mouth like stones. He scowled. "And even if I do fuck her, that's all it'd ever be."
"Caleb!" Olivia snapped. "Jesus, I can't believe you guys sometimes. You guys are worse than Luke."
In response, Alex grinned and Caleb tipped up his beer. Olivia sighed, shaking her head, but Caleb didn't miss the way her smile curved up slightly at the corners, like she was amused but trying to hide it. Alex nuzzled his head into her neck, dropping a kiss.
"I'm sorry, darling," he murmured. "I can make it up to you later."
Caleb barely refrained from rolling his eyes. Maybe he wouldn't stay the night, after all.
"That's if you get anything later," Olivia said back, matching his tone, her eyes twinkling.
Alex groaned, shooting Caleb a dark look, looking like he was on the verge of pouting. "I'm mistreated, as you can obviously see."
"Obviously," Caleb drawled, trying to ignore the stab of jealousy that went through him. Often, he'd wondered what it would be like to be in a relationship like Alex and Olivia's. Like any of his friend's relationship, for that matter.
He knew that he wouldn't work right in a relationship. There were things that he needed that no sane woman would allow regularly. He was taciturn with a quick temper and had enough baggage to fill even Alex's massive house. He didn't even know if he could love someone anymore. He thought he'd been in love not once, but twice, with Charlotte, his high school girlfriend, and Victoria. How wrong he'd been.
He knew he had no business wanting or needing a relationship. He didn't even really think he wanted one. But it was hard not to imagine it when he was around his friends, who were all in happy relationships with good women.
A white mass of fur suddenly rubbed against Caleb's leg and he reached down, plucking Bubbles, Alex and Olivia's cat, off the floor. He'd always liked animals. They'd never fucked him over and only wanted to be touched and fed. Much like men, actually, now that he thought about it.
Bubbles curled up in his lap and Olivia said, "She's always liked you."
"Yeah, she likes you better than she likes me and I've been feeding her all her damn life," Alex grumbled. Olivia laughed and Caleb couldn't help but crack a smile. Bubbles had been a stray kitten and always hung around Alex's house. He'd fed her, but when he started dating Olivia, she'd made him take her in for good.
Now, the happy cat purred on Caleb's lap as he scratched under her chin.
"Ever think about getting a pet?" Olivia asked, watching the two of them.
"No," he said, shaking his head. "I'm never home. It wouldn't be fair. And I still don't know what I'm going to do about the house."
"I know someone who said they would help you sell it," Alex said, clearing his throat. "If you wanted to, that is."
Caleb didn't know if Alex had told Olivia about his past, but something told him that he hadn't. The two men exchanged looks. Alex knew how much Caleb hated that house, but he didn't understand why Caleb was hesitant to sell it.
"I don't know," he murmured. His uncle had loved that house. It had been in the family for a long time. It felt like a betrayal to sell it. "I'm thinking about renovating it and renting it out. I don't want to live there, but I don't know if I can sell. It's something I need to think about."
Alex nodded. "Luke knows plenty of contractors then." Luke would, considering his family owned one of the largest construction companies in the United States, with a bank account to prove it. "Where are you going to live?"
Caleb had given up his lease on his apartment to move in with his uncle during those last few months.
"I'm planning to buy, to start putting money into a place. Once I'm done boxing up the house and putting everything in storage, I'll start looking." He'd had the idea for quite some time, before his uncle had even been diagnosed. He wanted a place for himself, something that no one could take away. A place that he wanted to come home to at night.