Savior Complex: A Small Town Love Triangle Romance

“Ugh, ain’t that the truth. Well, except now, that is.” Jordy grins at Brayden at the same time I look away. When I look back, I catch Brayden’s eyes on me. He shifts them so quickly, I’m unsure if I saw it at all.

“What was on your list?” I ask Jordy, only because I can’t help myself.

She thinks for a moment, then laughs. “I think I said the guy had to love the Twilight movies, know how to do a flip kick, and be super into Fallout Boy. Very aughts.”

Brayden gives her a weird look. “Well, that sounds nothing like me. I’ve never watched Twilight or owned a skateboard, and…Fallout Boy?”

“It’s a band,” Jordy says. “Not country music.” She’s laughing, but I can’t help that this makes me happy. Even though it’s just a stupid list that means nothing.

Right?

Our food arrives, and I’m so glad I changed my order in time. Jordy’s salad is small and disappointing, but she eats it as if food were no big deal and she isn’t worried about dying of hunger. But me, I’m famished. I’d had a protein shake for breakfast, and it seems like that was so long ago with the way my stomach is jumping at the first scent of burger. I take the biggest bite, fully lost as the burger hits my tongue and absorbs all my senses. I wash it down with a sip of diet soda and feel somewhat human again. I realize I’m probably behaving like an animal around food, but neither of them seems to be paying attention to me. In fact, Jordy is stealing fries off Brayden’s plate until he finally flags down the waitress and asks for another plate of fries.

“I can’t eat that much,” she complains, taking another one of his fries. He answers by taking the rest of his fries and piling them next to Jordy’s salad on her plate.

“You won’t have to,” he says, then winks at me. Fuck if it doesn’t go through me like a jolt of electricity. “They’re for me since you’ve taken all my fries.” His phone buzzes, and he looks at it before picking it up. “Hey, Ma.”

“His mom is conducting interviews today on her own since Brayden was helping me,” Jordy whispers as Brayden continues talking. “He didn’t want her to, but she insisted because they need help like yesterday.”

The plate of fries arrives about the same time Brayden hangs up the phone, and he swears under his breath.

“No good?” she asks.

“Nah. I mean, I guess I’m glad. I don’t want my mom to hire anyone without me there to vet them, so this saves me the trouble. But mom is on her own until we get someone in there.”

Jordy looks at me, then tilts her head. “Where do you work? That coffee shop? Is it serious?”

“Not really,” I say. “I was fired two weeks ago. That day we met at Torches? I came from getting canned.”

“Holy shit, Nina! Why didn’t you say anything?”

I look at her, then roll my eyes. “You mean, when you still thought I stole Nanna’s money? Or when I thought you were poisoning me?”

“Fair,” she laughs. “But still, I wish I’d known. I’m so sorry.”

I shrug. “It’s not like I needed the job. I just…” I sigh. “I liked it, I mean, not the work. But it got me out of the house, gave me a purpose, put me around people. I know it doesn’t seem like it, but I actually like being around people. So the past two weeks have felt kind of like hell.”

Jordy studies me for a moment, then she nods slowly. “Bray, I think I know the perfect person for you,” she says, and I feel my stomach plummet. “This person has hospitality experience, and I happen to know she’s super experienced around horses.”

Oh no. Please don’t.

“Who?” Brayden snatches his plate of fries out of Jordy’s reach as she seeks to replenish her empty plate.

“Nina,” she grins, turning to me.

“Jordy is messing around,” I say. I push my fries toward her, and she happily grabs a handful.

“I am not,” she says. “You’re highly qualified for what they’re looking for. Tell her, Brayden.”

“Well, I don’t know what Nina is capable of,” he says, but his expression makes it seem like he’s open to the idea. “But I can tell you about the job.”

Then he describes the position. Basically, it’s a house manager position, though his mom would be the direct supervisor. The position includes prepping and making meals, kitchen cleanup, and cabin housekeeping, plus filling in on the outdoor ranch jobs like mucking barns and brushing horses. Basically, it sounds completely perfect. I might not be much of a housecleaner in my own home, but the thought of doing it in someone else’s home sounds appealing. Plus I’d get to meet different people from all over the world, as Brayden explains.

But most of all, I’d get to be around Brayden every day.

This should be the downfall. This should be why I say I can’t do it. Instead, I find myself sharing every reason why I’m qualified for the job, from my experience with horses way back when to the work I did at the coffee shop.

“But you don’t need to hire me,” I force myself to say. “I’m not desperate for a job, and I know how important it is for you to find the right person.”