Red was giving me a look. He crossed his arms, leaning against the side of the big, stainless steel deep freeze.
“What?” I asked. “Did I forget something?”
He shook his head. “So, my brother is here.”
“Yes.”
“And he thinks you hate him.”
I lifted an eyebrow. “Rock thinks I hate him?”
Red gave me a nod. “He can be… a little naive. You know how straight guys can be, right?”
“Sure,” I said slowly. “But why on Earth would he think I hate him?”
Red paused for a moment, clearly chewing over something in his mind.
“I think,” Red finally continued, “that some of the things you and Rock did together… affected him.”
I could feel my cheeks burning immediately. “Oh God. He told you about that stuff?”
I sure as hell hoped that all Rock had told him about was the kissing. Maybe he’d told him that we needed to kiss and hug in front of the family members, just to keep up appearances. There was no way he would have told Red about all of it. I wrung my hands together.
“It’s okay, Perry,” he said, clearly sensing my distress. “It’s your business, not mine. But look at him.”
We both turned and looked out through the kitchen window. Rock was still at the bar, hunched over a pint of beer. He looked up, gazing at me, as if Red wasn’t even there. He was fucking beautiful, which was weird to say about a beefy, jocky looking dude in a baseball cap, but it was true.
“I’m going to say this,” Red told me. “I know my brother better than anyone else does. And I know for a fact that that look ain’t fake.”
“I don’t understand,” I said.
My chest felt oddly tight, trying to understand what Red might mean.
“I’m saying,” he continued, “that sure, Rock was just pretending to be your boyfriend. And he definitely is naive. But I know Rock can’t lie to save his life. He wears his heart on his sleeve, at all times. And the way he looks at you… it isn’t fake.”
“Red…”
“I told him to go easy on you. I can’t believe he showed up here, actually. But I want you to go easy on him, too, okay?”
“Red, I have no goddamn clue what I’m doing.”
He held up a hand. “That’s all I’m going to say on the matter. Not my place to intrude, and you know that.”
I cleared my throat. “Right.” The world suddenly felt topsy turvy.
Red gave me a nod and left the kitchen, and I stood frozen for a moment, trying to catch up with everything I’d just been told.
He couldn’t possibly have been saying that Rock actually felt some real attraction to me. But nothing else made sense.
I headed back into the small room full of refrigerators and leaned back against one, shutting my eyes and taking a deep breath. Suddenly the weight of what I’d gotten myself into was hitting me.
This was why I was such a loner. It was why I didn’t take risks, and why I ended up with nicknames like Foreveralone.
I couldn’t understand people’s intentions. Their desires. Their thoughts. Everything was overwhelming, and nothing was simple. And I was the reason I’d gotten into this situation in the first place.
But something inside me knew I couldn’t help it.
I felt like I was watching another person as I walked back out to the main kitchen, then swung open the door, heading into the bar. I was so nervous I could barely function, but I was doing something. I wasn’t going to hide away. I had no other option.
“Rock,” I said. “You made it.”
The smile that spread across his face shattered every last bit of resistance I had built up inside me. His dimples were on full display, and he took off his baseball cap, running his fingers through his hair before sliding it back on again.
That stupid little gesture was enough to make me realize how far I’d fallen for him.
“Hey,” he said. He was looking up at me, his eyes practically sparkling.
There was no way Red could be right. But when Rock looked at me like that….
“Thought you’d never come out here,” Rock said. “What’s going on back in that kitchen of yours?”
“Oh, y’know,” I said, waving a hand. “Certainly plenty of cooking. I’ve got a surprise for you, actually.”
“Goodness, Chef, I didn’t expect anything like that,” he said. “Is it a pineapple pizza, Perry-style? Because that would be admirable, and truly selfless.”
I snorted. “I would never sink that low,” I said.
“I’ll corrupt you one day,” he told me, winking. “You’ll never know until you try it your way.”
“So what did you make me, then?”
“I have to go finish it, and I’ll bring some out. I think you’re going to love it,” I said. “I hope so.”
“I already love it. Everything you make is good.”
I swallowed hard. The tavern was actually fairly crowded, but I hadn’t taken notice of it until just now. I was only focused on Rock, but even this early on in the night, the place was bumping with activity. A huge party over by the jukebox, people mingling by the front door, and a solid turnout down on the other side of the bar.