Page 93 of The Last Goodbye

Meatball is a man of many talents.

Some of us have to work for a living. Talk later.

I spent the next few hours placing orders and organizing the pantry. Tonight I had Joey and Franco covering the kitchen, and I was taking the night off. I’d come in early to get paperwork done and get the kitchen stocked and ready.

It had been a few days since Briar and I had crossed the line and…knocked boots. And it was all I could fucking think about. But she was taking a completely different approach. Whenever I met her at the new location to go over the finishes or meet with subcontractors, she acted like we were business acquaintances, barely giving me the time of day.

And yeah, it frustrated the hell out of me. Worse than that, it stung in a way I didn’t want to name, like I was the only one still carrying the weight of whatever had shifted between us, while she’d already put it away like it didn’t exist.

I’d worked late the last few nights, so I hadn’t seen her outside of work stuff. I’d texted her a few times, and she’d been short with me.

Hell, maybe she regretted it.

She’d shared that she’d never had a casual thing before, yet she was the one who was insisting that we keep it casual.

So who was sending the mixed messages now?

I’d never said it had to be a one-time thing. She was the one who’d drawn the line in the proverbial sand, not me.

I glanced down at the text I’d sent her yesterday, which she’d yet to respond to.

Hey. I feel like you might be avoiding me, and maybe you regret what happened between us, but I wanted you to know that I don’t regret it all. Call me. I miss you, Magpie.

I felt like an idiot. I was practically begging the woman to talk to me. I needed to shake it off. Clearly, she wasn’t interested.

I prepped the meals for Cannon and tossed Meatball’s leftover steak in a container.

It was getting dark as I walked over to Phoenix’s place, where Cannon was recuperating and Gracie and Cutler were having dinner tonight.

“Hey, how’s he doing?” I asked when I stepped inside. Meatball charged toward me, and I pulled a large beef bone from the Tupperware and gave it to him, then opened the back door for him to take it outside.

“Good. He swam without a life jacket today,” Cutler said.

I snorted. “I was talking about Cannon, not Meatball.”

“I’m kidding,” Cutler chuckled. “He’s still asleep.”

“You want to join us for dinner?” Gracie asked. “Cutler just put some ribs on the grill. We made plenty.”

“Nah. It’s the first night I’ve had off since we went out of town, and I’m beat.” I unpacked the containers and put the food in the refrigerator. “Let him know there’s five meals here, and I’ll leave Meatball’s steak on the counter, because I’m sure he’ll be hungry when he finishes his bone.”

“Thanks, brother.” Cutler pulled the back door open and said he needed to check on the ribs.

“Are you doing okay?” Gracie asked. “You seem a little off.” We’d known each other a long time, and we’d always been close.

“Yeah. Just tired.”

She stopped chopping the veggies and turned around, wiping her hands on her apron as she looked at me. “Is something going on with you and Briar?”

I groaned. “Why does everyone keep asking me that?”

“Because she seems a little off, too.” She tilted her head to the side. “I’m sure you noticed, but she’s not as tough as she comes off. She’s stoic and proud, but she’s also got a very tender heart. So you best not be messing with it.”

I stepped forward and snatched a carrot off the cutting board. “Would it surprise you to know that I’m not the one avoiding her? It’s the other way around. So maybe you should be giving her the same talk.”

She smiled. “Maybe she just needs to be reassured that you aren’t going to hurt her.”

“I don’t think she’ll give me a chance to hurt her.” I shrugged, because it was the truth. “Every time I get close, she shuts down and pulls away.”