Zack (Blue-Collar Billionaires 4)

“Whisk?” she asks, her voice artificially cheerful.

I open the drawer next to me and then hand it to her. After I get out the bacon from the refrigerator, I pull out a skillet. Then I decide that this is too much. We’re not going to just stand in this kitchen and cook like we don’t hear the screaming above us.

“This is weird. And I feel like I should be apologizing to you. You’re engaged. This is supposed to be a happy time.” Not to mention the fact that Gabe’s reaction has to look way out of bounds to anyone not familiar with the dynamics of our weird friendship.

She waves that away. “It’s not your fault.”

“I know but still… I didn’t think he would be this mad. Zack has been worried about this for weeks and it’s been really stressing him out. I thought he was overreacting. I guess not.”

Sasha sighs. “Gabe thinks of you as the sister he never had, Josie. We’ve had some pre

tty in depth conversations about it because honestly, I wasn’t convinced you were just friends in the beginning. He really had to explain it to me. But family is important to him and he considers you family. They haven’t had many people they can count on so the ones they let in are sacred.”

That makes me feel warm inside even if it doesn’t make the current situation any easier to handle.

“So I’m guessing Zack is treating you right? You’re glowing,” she teases.

“I am?” My hands cover my cheeks. I feel giddy, like a teenage girl again. I want this to work out so badly.

Loud footsteps on the stairs prevent her from answering. Gabe appears in the doorway, his chest heaving. His cheeks are still flushed with anger. He glances at me quickly and then turns to Sasha.

“We have to go. Jo, I’ll see you later.”

Sasha gives me an apologetic look and then rushes after Gabe. I sigh and turn off the heat under the skillet. I climb the stairs and when I push open the door to my room, Zack looks up. He’s sitting on the bed with one hand in his hair. When he sees me, his expression closes up. I know him too well for that by now.

“Don’t even try to tell me it’s okay. It’s not okay. But we’ll get through it.”

He sighs and then opens his arms. I cuddle up on his lap and rest my head on his chest. The steady thump of his heart is reassuring. No matter how bad things ever get, this right here is what will get us through.

“He’s never looked at me like that before,” he whispers.

I pull back slightly to see his face. Hurt, confusion, anger and sadness are all in his face. It makes my heart break alongside his and it also makes me feel guilty. My love for Zack wasn’t supposed to ever cause him pain.

“I never wanted to come between you guys.”

“You aren’t between us. Gabe has always thought of you as being under his protection. Now you’re mine and that changes things a bit.”

I scoff. “So what, he thinks you stole me away from him? Do I suddenly not have a brain and the ability to think for myself?”

Zack shifts uncertainly. “I don’t think you’re going to like the answer to that question.”

I stand, unable to be still anymore. This makes me so agitated that I want to kick something. I adore Gabe but his tendency to treat me like I’m fragile or incapable of making my own decisions is infuriating.

“Just tell me what he said.”

Zack sighs. “Since you just broke up with Perry, he thinks I’m taking advantage of your sad, confused state to get in your pants.”

The truth is even worse than what I was imagining. Several things pop into my head but I’m too pissed to even get them out.

Zack seems to sense my rage because he grabs my flailing fists and squeezes until I let out a huff.

“He just needs to adjust to the way things are now.”

He sounds confident but I’m not so sure. What if this causes a rift between them that never mends? A break isn’t always caused by something huge. All it takes is one small crack in a pane of glass. One crack and the entire thing shatters.

And once broken there are some things you can never put back together again.

†