4. Evander

When I go to pick Briony up the next day to head up to the foxes, I know that I fucked up.

I know that I've been a total dick to her.

But at the same time, I have no idea how else to handle this situation.

Briony drives me absolutely crazy.

The past couple of days, I've been going nuts trying to keep myself from lusting after her. It's impossible. It is literally physically impossible, because working with her on things like construction projects and decorating?

It means that I'm around her when she's… in clothes.

Not normal clothes. Not pretty dresses or jeans or even like… those shorter pants that women sometimes wear.

No. The past few days, she's been wearing workout clothes. Leggings. Tight shirts. Her silky black hair has been up in a ponytail. Her eyes have been so close to me, I can see the darker green flecks in them.

Not clothes. Skin-tight, revealing garments that show literally every inch of her skin, without showing any of it.

It's enough to drive me fucking crazy.

So yeah, I was at the end of my rope when I picked the foxes up from the airport in Aspen. I was on my last goddamn nerve when the bunch of kits started to sing some kind of stupid song in the backseat. When the one, a little tiny girl who looks as cute as a doll, followed me around, I finally relaxed a little.

I did my best, but every bone in my body that was reserved for kindness went to the kids.

The adults got the most of my ire.

And Briony got all of it when she sassed me.

I need to get my shit together. I can't want her this badly. She stomped on my best friend's heart, and more than that, she absolutely hates me. I have no doubt about that either.

So, when she gets into the van, I offer her something that I have never offered a woman, ever.

I hand her a coffee cup.

Briony takes it, but stares at it. "What?"

"It's coffee," I say by way of explanation.

"Why are you handing me your coffee?"

I sigh and blink. "It's not mine."

"So, why did you hand it to me?"

"It's yours. Coffee. For you. From Mocha Moose," I say, sounding stupider than I have ever in my life.

"You got me coffee?"

I start the van. "Yes."

"Is it poisoned?"

I shoot her a glance. "Briony, do you think I would have poisoned your coffee?"

"Honestly, I don't know. It's either that or some kind of dumb Frat Pack prank."

"Frat Pack?"

Briony looks away. "That's what I call all of you."

"All of who?"

"You and Will's other friends."

"The Frat Pack," I say flatly.

"Well, you have to admit, you do kind of act like total frat bros."

"We don't…"

My cell phone rings at that time. It's Zander.

Whose name is saved as… Bro.

Briony pointedly looks down at it. "I'm just gonna let that one speak for itself."

"Okay. Fine. You have a point. But why would it be a prank?"

"Because you all were always doing that stuff. You were so mean to me. Always making fun of me. Always making snide comments about what I was wearing or what I wanted to do. Will would say it all the time, that his ‘friends'—" she has air quotes thrown around the word, telling me she doesn't consider us to be a positive thing— "would say how lame I was. And that you encouraged him to pull pranks on me to make me liven up a little."

"Um. I don't know about the other guys, but I never told Will to prank his girlfriend," I say slowly.

"Oh? So changing all my underwear to thongs wasn't your idea?"

I almost drive off the road. The vision of Briony and thongs is just… yeah. I shift in my seat and do my best not to look at her. "No. That was not my idea."

"Hmm. Well. Whatever," she flaps a hand at me. "That's what happened. So yes. The coffee seems suspicious to me."

"It's just coffee," I say slowly.

"Maybe. Maybe not," she says. She puts it in the cup holder.

And she never picks it up again.

As the morning goes on,I watch Briony closely. I'm half stunned by her story. I definitely never told Will to pull any kind of pranks on her, nor did we ever really talk about her. I'm pretty sure Zander and the other guys haven't done that either, so Will's story feels… odd. I'm sure Briony isn't lying, because her reaction was so genuine.

Watching her with the foxes, though, it's clear that she's in her element.

She's so… good.

Patient.

Kind.

Thoughtful.

The thing I notice the most, though, is that she really gives people her full attention. Like, when Briony talks to each member of the new pack, she's really listening to them. Her face reflects all of their emotions, but she also manages to calm them. Somehow.

It's like they're filled with lightning. And she's a lightning rod, pulling all of it in, letting the storm just roll on over until there are clear skies ahead.

We get the foxes checked up. Briony makes dental appointments for some of the kids, and she shows the adults how to register them for school. Mia is watching over them.

I feel for the fox. It's a lot of responsibility that's been thrust on her, and she's doing well. Briony spends the most time with Mia, until finally, she comes back to me.

I've been spending the last hour adjusting leaky sinks, so I crawl out from one of them and nod. "What's up?"

"I think we're just about done here," she says. "Let's give them a little time to settle in."

I nod.

And then, I ask the stupidest thing ever.

"Can I buy you lunch?"

The question looms in the air. It's literally hanging over my head, gleaming there like some kind of neon light.

Or shimmering like a guillotine.

Briony narrows her eyes. "Why?"

"Because we're both hungry, and I owe you."

"Why do you owe me?"

I sigh. "Never mind. I'm just sorry for being a dick, and I thought I would feed you to make up for it."

Her green eyes are in little slits, and she's glaring at me. I'm sure that she's going to reject me when, to my surprise, she turns.

"Fine. Sandwiches. Maybe a soup. At the Oakwood Café."

She heads into the van, and I allow myself five heartbeats to be shocked.

Five to settle down.

And five to be excited before I grab my tools and hop into the driver's seat.

She orders French onion soup.

I'm not sure why it sticks with me, but it does. It seems like the perfect thing for her to order. It could be boring or plain, but at the same time, it's classic. It smells amazing, and I can tell that when Briony sips appreciatively, she likes it.

After I devour my club sandwich, I look up at the server and say, "I'll have some of that too."

Briony arches an eyebrow. "You like French onion soup?"

"No, but I think you just talked me into it."

She laughs. "How?"

"When you sip it, your face does this little… it's like you really like it," I say lamely.

Honestly, it looks like she's kind of swallowing a moan, but I can't say that.

"Yeah. I do. It's something that people say is really simple, but it's actually pretty hard to do well."

"It's just onions, right?"

She nods. "Onions that you cook down and caramelize. It takes forever. Like forty-five minutes."

The server sets the soup in front of me, and I tentatively sniff. "Shit, it smells great."

"Try it," Briony urges.

I gently lift the spoon to my mouth. When the liquid hits my tongue, my eyes widen in surprise. "Fuck me. That's good. What did you say happened to these onions?"

Briony laughs. "Caramelized. It's when…"

She stops.

Her eyes lock on something behind me, and I turn.

It's Will... and Kelly. I turn back to Briony, whose face is deadly pale.

"Briony? Are you…"

"What's up, Ev?" Will says.

I cringe as my friend comes up and smacks me on the shoulder. "Hey, man."

"Hey there. Oh, and who is this? Briony? What the hell are you doing here?"

"Having lunch," she practically whispers.

Whispers.

This girl who yelled at me not twenty-four hours ago looks like she's been kicked by steel-toed boots.

And she's looking at Will like he had the feet that did it.

Anger ripples through me. "Briony and I helped some new pack members move in."

Will curls his lip in a sneer. "Should have known it was work-related. Briony is literally all work and no play. Hasn't had fun once in her life, right, Briony?"

"How about you shut the fuck up, man?"

Will looks at me.

Kelly looks at me.

But Briony is the only person who I care about.

I turn to Will. "You guys are broken up. Why do you have to say mean shit like that?"

"I…" he stutters. "You know what she did to me."

"Do I?"

The question lingers between us. Will's face does something strange. It turns a color of purple that I associate with bruised peaches. He looks at me with narrowed, cruel eyes.

"You calling me a liar?"

"I'm just saying. No need to kick her when she's down."

"Oh, because you want to do it?"

Briony looks like she'd rather crawl into a hole than continue this conversation. Abruptly, I stand. "Briony, I think we need to get back to the foxes. Let's go."

She follows.

When we get to the van, Briony shuts the door. She looks at me, then back out the window. "Take me home," she whispers.

I do.

She doesn't say anything. But, when she opens the door to go to her house, she pauses.

So softly that I almost don't hear it, she whispers two words.

"Thank you."