Tied to Trouble(52)

She dropped them on the table, and Chad tentatively reached out a hand to a postcard that was a picture of the famous fountain on the campus of William Penn. He picked it up and flicked the thick paper in his fingers.

He thought about his bedroom walls, plastered with drawings. His bursting file on his computer. The Dapper Dick.

He thought about doing something he loved, every day, and getting paid for it. He thought about having that degree on his wall and being able to point to it and say, I did that.

“I do want it for me,” he said softly.

Marley sighed. “If there’s anything I can do to help, please let me know.”

Not accepting help like a stubborn asshole was how he got into this mess. So he smiled at his sister. “Yeah, okay, I’ll let you know.”

“Uh”—she winced—“if I may make one suggestion, you can start with opening up a new email account with something more professional than chadtothebone.”

Chad reared back with a hand to his chest in mock outrage. “Chadtothebone is a classic! How dare you?”

“Chad—”

He dropped the act and sighed. “You’re probably right.”

“I’m very right.”

“Tomorrow I’ll make a new account with something boring like”—he shuddered—“just my name.”

Marley sniffed and wiped away an imaginary tear. “My almost thirty-year-old brother is growing up.”

He laughed. “Took me long enough.”

“Hey,” she said softly. “I think this is exactly the right time. Don’t you?”

She was right, like she always was. He finally had it in him to get serious. Now was the time. So he smiled at her and nodded.

She smiled back. Then they ate their sandwiches and burned more villages and took a dragon for a swim in the ocean.

And even though half of Chad was eager to take the next step in his life, he needed to wallow in this moment for a while. He wasn’t ready to move into the next chapter of his life that didn’t include Owen. Especially because Owen was one of the biggest reasons he felt he was ready for the next chapter.

…

Owen hated that he cared so much.

He hated that even though Chad had never been in his apartment, he saw him everywhere he looked. The bow ties in his closet reminded him of Chad. His bookshelves reminded him of the time they organized Chad’s books. His couch reminded him of the night Chad had fallen asleep on his lap.

He was in Owen’s head and heart and damn it, he had fallen for the wrong guy. Fallen for Chad’s laugh and his spontaneity and his love of life.

He’d wanted Chad to feel wanted, and instead he’d smothered him.

He tugged on his tie—not a bow tie—and made a frustrated sound in his throat when the knot looked lumpy and crooked.

It was Monday, and he had to get to work. Marley would be back from her trip, and he’d have to face the sister of the man he’d fallen for.

He might have to sneak into Marley’s office and somehow change out that photo of Chad, because he wasn’t sure if he could concentrate staring at it.

He tugged off his tie and threw it on the bed with a grunt. He’d go tie-less today.

He drove to work, going faster than he should. He found himself smiling at the memory of Chad calling him Turtle Toyota. It was drizzling, and he wondered if Chad was out and about on his bike. If he was safe. If he was wearing a helmet in these conditions.

“Stop it,” he chided himself, banging his hand on the steering wheel.

It was no use. He still checked his mirrors frequently for a sign of that bike, for Chad’s dark hair and that leather jacket.

By the time he pulled into the parking lot at work, he knew he needed another cup of coffee, pronto. Or a drink. Or maybe a spiked coffee. Kill two birds with one stone.

Instead, he made a beeline for the Keurig machine in the lunchroom and made himself a cup of dark roast.

It was early, and most of the employees weren’t there yet. As Owen picked up his cup and inhaled the aroma, heels clicked on the floor. Marley walked toward him, smiling. “Ah, you got the right idea. Coffee.” She crossed her eyes and held out her hands in front of her like Frankenstein’s monster.

Owen huffed a laugh into the steam wafting from his mug. “Late night?”

Marley shrugged as she made her coffee. “Not really, just didn’t sleep well.”

“Any reason?”

Coffee made, Marley picked it up and blew into her mug. “Just worried about my brother.”

Owen was proud of himself that he didn’t drop his mug. In Chad’s anger, had he told Marley about them? And more importantly, was Chad all right?

He blinked at his boss and licked his dry lips. “Uh, is something wrong?”