Chapter Fifteen

Leo

I made it just in time for the meeting at Brooks Racing, hurrying into the building and hoping that no one noticed. What I didn't expect was to find Noel sitting at the conference room table. He raised his brows, pointed to the chair to his right, and pulled it out. Guess I was sitting next to my brother today. Carson was talking adamantly with Jones Matthews, while Charlie Matthews, Jones's husband, was listening to Watts Brooks, a smile spread across his face.

I reluctantly dropped into the seat. "You're back. I thought you had a couple more days off with your guys."

"And you slept at the Frost house last night," Noel hissed. Everyone stopped to stare at us. "Mind your own business and gossip about something else right now," he snapped.

"Not here." I didn't want to talk about Andy with everyone listening. Although I was sure Carson already knew. Ezra kept nothing from him. But this was different. Not gossiping for fun. Maybe for once Ezra had kept quiet.

Noel's multicolored eyes narrowed into angry slits. "Fine."

I could still feel everyone watching me just as Killian Hampton waltzed into the room carrying three boxes of donuts, a shit-eating grin on his face. "Everyone looks so serious. Wait, what did I miss?" He wiggled his brows as he sat down next to me. "Have a donut, little M."

I really hated it when he called me that. I wasn't that little. Well, maybe compared to him I was, but I was big enough. "No thanks."

"Aw, come on. I got frosted ones with sprinkles because they're the best." Killian popped open a box, grabbed a donut, and shoved it in his mouth. "So good," he mumbled around his food.

I wrinkled my nose. "You're disgusting." And sexy, but I didn't say that aloud.

His husband Matthias was one of the WAGs, and I didn't want it to get back to him. Plus, everyone saw the way Killian looked at Matthias. The sparkle in his eyes, the love that flowed through them. He was absolutely crazy about him.

"Heard a rumor." Killian nudged my arm. "You two back together?"

I could practically feel Noel's eyes as they dug into the back of my head. "What? No."

"I believe you might mean not yet ." Killian winked. "Don't be like me, Leo. Don't let any more time come between the two of you. He's your ride or die."

My heart thumped in my chest. I heard the stories from Maverick and Dean. How horribly Killian had treated Matthias when they were younger. Hid him away like a dirty secret. "Yeah, but you loved him."

"More than life." He leaned closer. "So, if you feel that way about Andy, don't let your pride get in the way. Talk to one another. Forgive him and help him if he needs it. No matter what anyone tells you."

My eyes burned with tears. "Okay."

"And if you need me to talk to him, I can do that too. Maybe put the fear of God in him. Maverick is a good guy, but he's a real softie when it comes to his kids." Killian pushed the box of donuts toward me.

I huffed but reached for a strawberry frosted one. "Thanks, and I, uh, might take you up on the talking to Andy thing." I didn't want to give anything else away, but someone like Killian, who had his own struggles, would absolutely understand.

"Any time, Leo." He grinned as Holt Brooks sat down at the table next to his husband.

A hand on my shoulder had me turning to look at my brother, who gave me a reassuring smile. I gave him a nod before Watts started the meeting, and I hoped that I could let my mind focus on something besides Andy for the next hour.

***

I stopped at home to grab a change of clothes and a few other things that I would need for the night. When I stepped into the living room, I found Seth hunched over his laptop, paint stuck in his blond curls and splattered across his shirt. He looked up at me with a smile, his blue eyes shining with happiness. Seth climbed to his feet and strode across the room to pull me into a hug, his familiar scent of Chanel N?5 filling my senses.

"You two have a good mini vacation with Wyatt?" I teased as he pulled away.

Seth giggled. "Very." He brushed the curls back from his eyes, then stared at his paint-stained fingers for a moment like he was trying to figure out how it got there. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"We're not back together," I assured him, and when Seth didn't say anything else, I hugged him again.

He had helped me in so many different ways when it came to the actual art of sex. Sitting me down, explaining everything, and offering to help me get comfortable with toys and bottoming. Noel was the best big brother, but sex had never been something he was comfortable talking to me about. He did the best he could, as did Ezra and Maverick, but Seth was younger. Closer to my age than they were, and I trusted him. Even though Andy and I never actually went all the way, Seth had helped ease a lot of my anxiety about what it would be like.

He smiled at me, his blue eyes searching my face for answers I couldn't give him. "Why not?" Seth asked, then untangled himself from my grip. "I won't tell Noel or Ezra whatever you tell me. Promise." He made a cross over his heart. When he sat down on the couch, I joined him.

"You know that Andy never told me the truth. About why he broke up with me. I know there's a reason behind it." I closed my eyes as Seth combed his fingers through my hair.

He hummed softly. "And then? Will you take him back or work things out with him?"

"Maybe. I don't know." I slumped against the back of the sofa. "There's something different about him."

Seth raised a brow. "Different, how?"

"He's depressed. Clingy. The night he showed up at the race, Andy was drunk."

"Does Maverick know this?"

I shook my head. "No, I couldn't... Seth." I reached for his hands. "His mother showed up."

"Bitch," Seth hissed and then he hugged me again, his arms strong as they wrapped around my body. "God, why do parents just... Fuck, the poor guy. Let me guess, she wanted money?"

Just like me, Seth's parents abandoned him. But least they didn't try to sell him for drugs. Use him as a decoy, or all the other horrible things Andy's mother had done. He was an innocent child. No one should have to go through that.

I nodded. "And he gave it to her. Because he felt guilty, and because, deep down, he still loves her and wants her approval. I know that feeling. I waited for years, hoping that my parents would come back. If they had, I would have done the exact same thing."

"Honey, I'm home!" The sound of my brother calling out to his fiancé caused Seth to jump to his feet and rush into Noel's open arms. I stood up, adjusted the front of my shirt, and waited for my brother's wrath. Noel walked into the room with Seth in his arms, his legs wrapped around Noel's waist as he peppered kisses against his face.

I plastered a fake smile across my face. "I was just picking up some clothes."

"Spending the night with Andy again?" Noel helped Seth onto his feet but kept their fingers intertwined. "I don't want you to end up hurt again."

I glanced between the two of them. "I won't."

"I'm not going to tell you who you can or can't date, Leo, but be careful. He was your first boyfriend, and yeah, okay, you loved him, but that doesn't mean he's the one. Maybe Mister Right is waiting for you somewhere else. What if—"

Seth slapped a hand over Noel's mouth. "Baby, no." He shook his head. "Don't say anything else until you listen to Leo. I fully believe that they are soulmates. Just like you, Wyatt, and me."

"Did someone say my name?" Wyatt beamed as he walked into the room. He dropped a kiss to Noel's head and against Seth's mouth. "Oh, shit, you all look so serious. Everything good?"

I grunted and pushed past my brother. "I was just leaving."

"Leo, wait," Noel called, and when I turned around, he took a step toward me. "I love you. I just don't want you to get hurt again, you know that. Those mornings when you couldn't get out of bed or those nights I had to listen as you cried yourself to sleep. It broke my heart to see you like that. Just be careful."

When Noel opened his arms, I rushed to him and let him hold me.

"I promise I'll be careful," I assured him. My eyes burned with tears. "It doesn't matter what I went through, I still love Andy. I've loved him since the first day I saw him, and I'm willing to give him another chance if he shows me that he won't hurt me again."

"Maybe I should talk to him," Noel growled, and I couldn't help but laugh.

"Killian already offered." I patted my brother's chest lightly. "Can I talk to you about it without you judging anything? Because I want your approval more than anyone else's."

Noel nodded. "Yes."

I looked over at Wyatt. "And you?"

"Me? I'm not judging anyone." Wyatt gasped. "Okay, maybe a little bit, but that's because I like the gossip. Blame Ezra for making me like this."

Seth giggled. "Babycakes, beautiful, let's all just give Leo a chance to talk, and maybe we can all learn a little something." He hooked his arms through both of theirs and winked at me.

Then I took a shaky breath and began to tell Noel about what Andy had gone through that caused him to show up at the race.