“Not yet. Dude, it’s only seven in the morning. What the fuck are you doing adding rum to your Coke?”
He rolled his eyes. “Trust me, I need it.”
I quirked a brow up in question. “What’s going on?”
He shook his head. “Nothing. I made a mistake, and I’m not sure what to do about it.”
“What kind of mistake? Not the ‘oh God, I think I’m late’ type of mistake I hope.”
Trevor laughed. “Nothing to worry about. Listen, go get your head clear and figure this shit out. I see the way you look at her, Cord. You like this girl. A lot.”
My hand pushed through my hair. “Yeah, I do. Scares the shit out of me.”
Trevor looked like he knew exactly what I was talking about. I wanted to ask him more about Scarlett, but I knew he would shut me out. Like I’d done before when it came to Maebh.
“Have you seen her since the other night?”
I shook my head. “No. The last couple of days have been insane with me getting ready to leave town. Maebh’s been busy as well. We’ve talked on the phone, and I ran over there for lunch yesterday.”
Honestly, I was worried what might go through Maebh’s mind when I told her I was heading out of town. Would she think I was running? Or worse, going with another woman? Maybe I should invite her to go with me?
Fuck. I had no clue what in the hell I was doing. I felt like I was damned if I did and damned if I didn’t.
Trevor shot me a smirk. “You know when Steed, Mitchell, and Tripp find out, you’re going to catch hell.”
I rolled my eyes. “Believe me, I know.”
He laughed hard. “Prepare for another shirt.”
Groaning, I closed my eyes and tried not to think about it. I knew my brothers, and once they found out I’d been bitten by whatever the fuck this was, they would give me hell.
My phone buzzed in my pocket with a text message.
Maebh: Are you free for a quick breakfast?
The way my stomach dropped at the sight of her name shouldn’t have surprised me. But it did.
“Damn.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Maebh asked if I was free for breakfast. I guess it’s now or never that I tell her I’ve got plans this weekend.”
Trevor grabbed my arm. “Dude! Do you want her to think you’re spending it with another woman?”
“No.”
“Then don’t tell her you have plans. Shit, you’ll make her think you’re going with someone else.”
I frowned. “Then what in the hell do I tell her?”
“The truth. You’re going up to our folks’ place to take a much-needed weekend away.”
“Maybe I should ask her to go with me?”
Trevor gave me a horrified look. “What? Y’all are just getting started with the whole dating thing and you want to take her away over the weekend? What the hell is wrong with you?”
I shrugged. “What’s wrong with that? I want to be with her. Get to know her better.”
He shook his head. “Might as well put a ring on her finger.”
My heart dropped. Maybe he was right. We needed to date before I started talking about taking her away for long weekends. Drawing in a deep breath, I hit her number and called her.
“Hello?”
I smiled when I heard her voice. “Hey, it’s Cord.”
“A phone call, huh? This must mean bad news.”
I chuckled. “Not at all. Listen, I’d love to have breakfast with you, but I’m heading out of town for the weekend.”
“Oh?”
That was all she said.
Oh.
What did that mean? Was that an ‘Oh! I’m happy you’re getting away’ or was it an ‘Oh, who are you going out of town with’ comment?
“I’m sorry. I was about to call you and let you know I was heading out of town, but if you want me to stay, we can meet for breakfast.”
“That’s alright.” I could practically hear the smile in her voice. “I don’t want to interrupt your plans. I’m actually heading out of town meself and wasn’t sure how to tell you. With everything that happened the other night, I didn’t want you to think I was avoiding you if I didn’t answer a call or text, but I had the holiday planned before the other night.”
“Really? You’re going out of town, too? Alone?”
She laughed. “Yes! Are you going alone?”
“Just me and some fishing poles. I’ve needed the time away. Where are you going?”
“It’s funny you should ask because I’m heading to your…”
“Cord! Cord!”
Screaming came from the back supply closet.
“Is everything okay?” Maebh asked
“I’ve got to run, baby. I’ll text you when I’m leaving and call you when I get to the lake house.”
“Lake house?”
“Cord!” Tammy screamed again.
“I’ve got to go. Something just happened to Tammy. Please be careful and let me know when you get there.”
“Um, yes. Of course.”
“Talk soon, my beautiful Irish cailin.”
“Bye, Cord.”
Her voice was soft and sweet, and I hated hanging up. As I raced back to the storage room, on the heels of Trevor, I hit End and pushed my phone into my pocket.