“Thank you,” I smile back, stroking her arms up and down. “I wish you could come with me tonight. I don’t know how I’m supposed to impress him. I mean, one on one time with Dr. Powers means a lot,” I laugh. I’ve been working my ass off for the past few weeks, perfecting my presentation and now here’s my chance. “I want tonight to go perfectly.”

“It will. And when you’re done,” she kisses me again, “you’ll come to the party and meet us. We’ll have celebratory drinks and then,” she leans in and whispers in my ear, “I’ll let you do naughty things to me.”

God, I love this girl. Tonight’s the night I ask her to marry me. We’re going to spend forever together and nothing will change it.

“Oh, I look forward to tonight Miss Murphy.”

“You can count on tonight being the best night ever, Mr. Scott.”

The night was going well until I got the call that the love of my life was in the hospital and my brother up and left.

“Ty, everything is going to be okay. Don’t worry.”

“I worry because it’s you. You know I don’t trust him. Hell, it’s why we haven’t talked in two fucking years. I want you to stay away from him. You can’t trust him.”

“Well, I think I’m capable of making that decision,” I hear the annoyance in her voice and it’s taking so much of me to not fly back to Rochester and kick his ass. “Stop worrying. You have a lot going on in California and you need to focus. Right now, this is your chance to make a difference in your life, so don’t worry about me.”

I pull the phone away from my ear and press it against my forehead. I need to be calm and not freak out because I don’t want to scare her. I don’t trust my brother and there’s nothing she can say to me that’ll make me change my mind.

“I love you, Bay. Promise me you’ll be safe.”

I hear her sigh and sniff back her tears. Fuck, I hate this shit. “I love you too and yes, I’ll be safe,” she softly says, “I’m going to go, okay? It’s been a long few days and I’m tired.”

“Have a good day, Bay.”

“You too, Ty.”

I hang up the phone and annihilate my bed. There’s anger and frustration inside me. Ryan fucking better not touch what’s mine. I can’t help but remember what he told me before that night.

“So you really love her, huh?”

I look at my brother and smile, “Yeah man. She’s the best thing that’s happened to me. I mean, it’s Bayleigh. Everyone knew we’d be together and now we are. There’s nothing that can happen to make me leave.”

Ryan stares at me and gets up from the bed. “Just don’t hurt her, okay?”

“Yeah, of course not. What’s your deal?”

“Nothing okay.”

Then it dawns on me. “You love Bayleigh.” Ryan doesn’t answer. He sits up straighter and looks down. When I think back to all the times we’ve spent together, I realize I’ve been missing all the signs. The looks he gives her and the tenderness he has for her.

“We’re in love with the same girl and she picked you,” he says without emotion to his voice. “She’s yours.”

Don’t go back there, Ty. She loves you, not him. Shaking myself out of my thoughts I make myself get ready for the day. Training goes pretty well. Later that evening the guys want to hit up a bar for happy hour. It’s a nice place and we’re sitting at a high table, drinking beers, and talking about the firm. I feel someone touching my back and turn around to see Anna. The guys eye me with raised brows. I roll my eyes. Her attempts are annoying.

I met Anna when I first started. She was nice at first. We went on two dates, and then she became clingy and wanted more. She knew about Bayleigh and knew more wasn’t an option. After a few talks, she accepted us as friends. Things were fine, then came the I want you’s and let me make you happy. Needless to say, when I left California without saying another word to her, I was hoping that was the last time I saw her. I didn’t think I’d be back and here I am.

And here she is.

“Hey Tyler,” she says, taking my beer and drinking it, still eye fucking me.

“What’s going on?”

“Nothing much. Just wanted to join you guys since we’re all going to be working together.”

“Well, sit here,” I get up from the stool and make room for her, “have a great night guys. See you in the morning.” I leave before she can say anything and feel her eyes on my back. I’m not playing these games or using her for mindless sex. To me, sex is about emotion and feeling the other person’s heart with yours. Yeah, I’m a fucking sap and pussy. That’s fine with me. I know I can get girls and I know I can have sex whenever I want. The problem is, I only want to have sex with one girl. She’s going to make me fight for it and that’s okay too.

I head back to the loft and get ready for bed. It’s still pretty early and I’m anxious to talk to Bayleigh. Sliding under the covers, I pull out my phone and text her.

Me: Hey. How was your day?

Bay: Good! Busy day. How are you? Still mad?

Me: Pretty awesome, actually. I like it here. It’s hard adjusting with the time difference lol. I’m glad you had a good day . . . and I’m pissed

Bay: Well, you’re only there for two more weeks so you’ll be fine haha . . . Everything at the firm is going well. I like working for Damon . . . And stop being pissed! For the love of God, he’s your brother . . .

Me: Doesn’t matter. I trusted him to take care of you and he picked random pussy instead

Bay: You can’t live your life blaming him, Ty. Please try and talk to him

I want to ask her to come see me. I begin typing the message and then delete the draft.

Bay: Please?

Me: I’ll think about it if you think about coming to visit me

My chest swells thinking about the possibility of her coming out here to visit me. Baby steps, I tell myself. I’m in love with this girl and it’s the kind of forever people look for. Some find it and some don’t. Well, I have my forever love and I’m going to keep telling myself this is how I have to behave and I have to be patient.

Bay: I’ll think about it. I’m heading to bed. Thank you for texting me

Me: You never have to thank me . . . I like our talks

Bay: LOL. Night Ty

Me: Night Bay

Today’s my day off. I’m awake this morning and feel a little better from last night. There’s no weight on my chest and I’m smiling on my own. Having Ryan back in my life is surprisingly making me feel . . . better. Being around him is making me feel like me again. He’s not walking on eggshells or asking me a million questions. For the first time in a long time, I want to live and breathe again.

Putting on my sneakers, I grab my phone and headphones and decide to go for a run. I need to clear my head. Stepping outside in the warm sun, I put in my earbuds and start running. I think of the past few times we’ve talked and hung out. Instantly I feel like an asshole. Tyler and Ryan haven’t been on good terms since the night of the rape. Tyler blames Ryan and Ryan hasn’t made an effort to talk to his brother. I hate this feud between them. Part of me wants to bring it up. I need to know if Ryan has talked to Tyler.

Mentally yelling at myself, I continue running. Finishing my run, I sprint the last quarter mile. Catching my breath, I look up and see Ryan on my porch, looking at me with a smile.

“Hey!”

“Looking good, speedy,” he tells me. “How are you?”

“Tired,” I laugh, “so don’t get mad, okay?”

“Okay,” he smiles, “what’s going on in that pretty little head of yours?”

“Have you talked to Tyler?” He rubs the back of his head and looks away. I already know the answer. “He knows you’re back.” I hear him sigh and see him sitting on the railing. “You can’t keep fighting with him.”