Tied to Trouble(53)

Marley set her mug on the counter and leaned on it. “He’s going through some stuff, personal and professional. And I think he’s okay, but I’m still worried about him. My little brother got his heart broken, and I’m not sure I’ve ever seen him like this.” She shook her head. “I shouldn’t even be telling you this. I’m sorry.”

Owen swallowed, wishing he could hear more, but also not wanting to know. A couple of days ago, he’d been in Chad’s inner circle—or at least, he thought he was.

And now he was nothing. It was like they’d never happened.

Owen blinked, wishing again he could call Chad and reach out. He hated that despite it all, he still ached to hear Chad’s voice.

But instead he stared at the black pool of liquid in his mug and said softly, “It’s all right. I know you two are close.”

“I just want him to be happy.”

“He is a happy guy, isn’t he?”

Marley bit her lip and stared across the room. “He is. But I think he’s starting to find the things that made him happy in the past don’t make him as happy as they used to.”

Owen didn’t know what that meant. Then Marley straightened from the counter and stared at him. “So, the meeting went okay on Saturday? Grant said he was really impressed with you.”

Owen swallowed. After his blowup with Chad in the strip club bathroom, he’d managed to return to the table. Maybe it was his disheveled appearance, but Cary and Monica were understanding when he begged off early. Monica texted him later to tell him they made it back to their hotel okay.

And Owen had spent Sunday cleaning his apartment. And his fish tank.

Of course, he wasn’t going to tell Marley all of that. “Yes, it was a good meeting. Does Grant think they’ll contract with us?”

“He’s optimistic. Said he likes your style and wants you along on more meetings.”

“Okay then.”

Marley smiled. “You did good, buddy.” She picked up her mug and made her way to the door. “Now get to work!”

Owen stood for a while by himself, staring at the opposite wall. He should be happy, because that was what he’d wanted all along—to matter to the company, to the higher-ups. To Grant. And now he did, and yet…he wasn’t as excited as he thought he should be.

Owen had spent some time in Chad’s spotlight, and he missed it. He missed it with an ache he wasn’t sure he’d ever get rid of. He wanted to matter to his company, and he wanted to matter to a man he loved. Was it too much to want it all?

…

Chad checked his phone as soon as he left the building of Nixon Design, where he’d just had an interview. In his in-box there was an email from Austin with a detailed itinerary for Saturday—aka D-Day, aka the Day Marley Gets Engaged.

Even though the planning of this party had wreaked havoc on his heart in the form of a bow-tied geek, he was glad to have been a part of it. Marley was going to love it all.

Chad answered the email with a smiley face, mainly because Austin seemed to hate emoticons, and then glanced over his shoulder at Nixon Design before continuing down the wide sidewalk of the main street of Willow Park.

It’d been almost two weeks since that night at the strip club. Chad had given himself one month—until the next ladies’ night—to find another way to fund school. If he couldn’t find anything, then he’d talk to Braxton about being a regular at the Peach Pit. It was good money, even if it wasn’t his favorite thing to do and brought back old memories.

But he was determined to find a way to go to school. No more wallowing and giving up when things got hard. He was going after his dream. He still wanted to give up sometimes, but the last time he gave up, he lost Owen.

And he sure as hell didn’t want to fuck up like that again.

So he’d had an interview at Nixon Design. Their entry-level positions, which paid kinda crap, would give him a stipend for further education. He’d showed them his portfolio, and they were impressed. So if he got that job, he’d work his ass off there, get his degree, then hopefully move up in the company once he had better training.

It was something, at least, and he’d finish his degree with real-world experience.

He hiked his bag on his shoulder and kept his head down, thinking he needed to get a haircut because it kept getting in his eyes.

He blinked and tossed his head, noticing out of the corner of his eye a neon sign for a bike supply shop. He stopped, staring in the window at a set of mannequins wearing helmets.

He took a step closer, eyeing one that was all black with a green stripe along the top. The color made him smile and think of the bow tie he had tucked in his drawer at home that he couldn’t bring himself to throw away.