Now I had his full attention. He studied me, reassessing. “You’re here because of Avery?”
“Who do you think Maggie went to for comfort?” I shook my head, making a tsking sound. “Not me. That’s for sure.”
“Maggie went to Avery?” He laughed, raking his hand over his head. “What a piece of work.”
Had Maggie called him too, sending him to Kevin’s to discover the new girl?
“It’s a little weird to have an ex-girlfriend call you when the boyfriend she left you for breaks up with her, right? That’s weird.” Unless… “Unless she called because she wants to get back with you.”
A light flared in his eyes. It highlighted his guilt before he masked it.
I shifted on my feet, crossing my arms over my chest. “Huh.”
“Huh?” His lip curled in a sneer. “What does that mean?”
I gestured to the door with my head. “I could change his mind.”
His nostrils flared. “You’re lying.”
I was. “I know how to manipulate Kevin.” I totally didn’t. “I could make him want to go back to Maggie.” I stepped toward him. “What do you think of that?”
I searched his eyes intently. If he wanted Maggie, there’d be a reaction—I saw it. A brief glimmer of irritation flared before he caught himself again.
I stepped back. “I see.”
“You don’t see anything.”
I pointed at his face. “No, I did. I saw the guilt in your eyes. You’re here to make sure Kevin really is over with Maggie. Aren’t you?” My nose wrinkled. “You’re an asshole.” I shook my head. “Is every guy an asshole?”
“I’m not here to make sure he’s done with Maggie.”
“Then what are you doing here?”
“I didn’t even know they broke up. I was fucking with you.”
“What?” I stiffened.
He gestured to the door. “I saw you from the sidewalk. You usually go around the house to see my brother, but you didn’t this time. You went in through the front door, so I thought maybe you were doing something else. Like I said before, you’re changing my brother, and I don’t like that. I wanted to know what you were doing.”
“Were you following me?” My mouth hung open.
“No!” He looked disgusted. “I was telling the truth. I really am here to see Caden. I was getting out of my car when you walked past me on the sidewalk. That’s it.”
Okay. That made more sense, but— “You’re protecting Caden?” Bombshell number one. “From me?” Bombshell number two.
“Don’t fuck with him, okay?”
“What are you talking about?”
“You know what I’m talking about.”
I honestly didn’t. “Huh?”
He jerked his head to the door. “Go see your bitch brother, but don’t go from his bed to my brother’s. Got it?”
“Caden told you?”
He didn’t answer. He just shook his head, shoved his hands in his pockets, and glared one last time before heading down the hallway that led out the back door.
I gulped. Everything was swimming inside of me. Did Caden like me? Is that what Marcus was implying? But I was the one who had feelings for Caden. He was going to hurt me, not the other way around.
I lifted my hand to open the basement door, but let it fall back to my side. I had to know what Marcus meant. Before I could turn, going to find Caden, the basement door swung open.
It hit me in the forehead as I stepped back.
“Ouch!” My hand pressed to my head.
“Oh, hey!” Kevin squeezed through the door. “You were coming to see me?”
Worst. Timing. Ever.
I scowled. “Who is it?”
“What?”
I didn’t have time for this. “The new girl. Who is it? Is it me?”
He had a bright smile on his face, but the more questions I asked, the more it dimmed.
His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. “What are you talking about?”
“You never break up with one girl unless you have another one in mind. You dumped Maggie, so who’s the new girl? I just want to know.”
“Um…”
I rolled my eyes. “For the record, I don’t want it to be me.”
“You don’t?” He looked pained, the lines around his mouth growing tight. “Well, it’s not you.”
“It’s not?”
“No.” He still looked pained.
“So who is it?”
He lifted a shoulder. “No one.”
“No one?” I motioned to my mouth. “This, right here. You don’t see it, but it’s on the floor.”
“Come on.” He glanced to the ceiling for a brief second. “I’m not that bad.”
“You are that bad. You’re the six-monther, remember? #Sixmonthguy.”
“Don’t start doing hashtags.”
“#Sorry.”
He let out a breath, sliding his hands in his back pockets. “Look. Truce, okay? There really is no girl. Ever since you said something about my pattern, it’s been bugging me. It’s not healthy, you know? To always have a girl with me? So I figure I should try to do something about it.”
“Like what?”
“Like—” He motioned between the two of us. “—what we’re doing here. We’re just talking. Nothing else. No flirting. No sexual innuendos, no signals being sent about hooking up later.”