I'm in It (The Reed Brothers 10)

We walk quietly back to the car, and she gets in first. I left my car at her building, so we go there. The driver drops us at her door.

She freezes when we step out onto the sidewalk.

“What’s wrong?” I ask.

But I may as well have stayed in the car. She stares intently at the man leaning against the building.

“Wren,” the guy says.

“Shane,” she replies. “What are you doing here?”

“We need to talk.”

“Okay.” Her voice quivers a little and I reach for her elbow, but she pulls away from me. Then she realizes what she did, and she turns to face me. “I had a really good time at the game. Thank you.”

I want to reach for her. I want to tell her that no matter what’s happening right now, I’ll help her. I’ll do anything she needs.

“I need to talk to him,” she whispers.

“Can I do anything to help?” I ask quietly.

She tilts her head toward the street. “You can go.”

“Okay.” I bend down to kiss her forehead, but she steps back.

Her eyes skitter between me and him.

“Good night,” she says to me.

Then he follows her into the elevator and the door closes behind them.

“I hate that fucker,” Henry says.

“Who is he?”

“He’s her ex, the father of the baby she lost. Lying, cheating, piece of shit asshole that he is. I was wondering when he’d show back up.” He shakes his head and goes to stand behind his desk again.

“So…what are my chances, Henry?” I ask.

Henry’s brow furrows. “Chances for what?” Henry sorts mail as I stand and wait.

“Chances with her.”

Henry’s gaze finally jerks up. “I thought you were just friends. When we had lunch today,

she specifically said you two are BFFs, whatever that means.” His eyes narrow. “You like her,” he says. It’s not a question.

I nod, rolling my keys around my finger. They make a tinny clanking sound as they spin. “I like her.”

He heaves a sigh. “You might like her, but she’s in love with him. No matter what he does, she always goes back.” He finally looks at me. “You might want to save yourself some torment and move on.”

“I don’t think so.” I spin my keys some more and take a seat in Henry’s lobby. “I think I’ll wait it out.” I pull out my phone so I can kill time on it while I wait. I won’t sit here long, I tell myself. Just long enough to find out what’s going on.

Barely twenty minutes have passed when Shane comes storming out of the elevator. He flips Henry the middle finger and stomps out the door.

“Well, he’s a shining example of adulthood,” Henry remarks. He shakes his head and blows out a breath. “I’ll go check on her.”

“Henry,” I call out. He turns to face me. “Would it be all right if I do it?”