Savior Complex: A Small Town Love Triangle Romance

“Then you better hurry.”

She turns to leave, but I can’t help myself. I grab her hand, and she turns quickly.

“Thank you,” I say.

Her face twists with confusion. “For what?”

“For trusting me. You went through something so hard, and the people who cared about you most weren’t there for you in the way you needed them to be. But you need to know that your mom is so wrong about you. I wish I could…” I pause, biting back my words because, no matter how fucked up her mom is, it’s still her mom, and it’s not my place to say anything against her. “I think you’re strong as fuck,” I tell her. “You’re smart and so fucking incredible. You’re devastatingly beautiful, and you’ve accomplished so much and are capable of so much more than your mom gives you credit for.”

She lowers her eyes, but her hand remains in mine. “You shouldn’t say things like that to me,” she says softly. “I might believe you.”

“I wish you believed it without me having to tell you,” I say. “Because there are many other reasons why I shouldn’t tell you.”

And then I let her go.

Chapter Sixteen

Nina

Sunday night comes, and I am ready to call it a week. And it’s been a great week. From serving up breakfasts to marshmallows in the moonlight, I have spent the better portion of each day at the ranch—and I love it! Brayden had told me I didn’t have to stay for dinner activities and beyond, but he never argued when I did. Besides, what would I do at home? Sit in my room and hide from Jordy?

Because that’s what I’m doing tonight.

I still haven’t seen much of Jordy since she moved in. It’s like we’re moving around each other’s schedules on purpose. Maybe we are. I haven’t made an effort to check in on her, but she hasn’t said two words to me. Once she got a copy of the house key, the pleasantries stopped, and I was met every day by her closed bedroom door.

But it’s more than that. I have spent the whole week with Brayden, crushing on him, enjoying the way his eyes linger on me, fantasizing about how his hands would feel under my shirt, sliding up my legs, nestling between my thighs… I am so attracted to this man, I can’t tell if he’s attracted too, or if I just need him to be.

Then there’s still the fact that he’s engaged to my cousin. I might feel overwhelmed by the idea of him, but at the end of the day, he’s telling Jordy he loves her and making her promises about their future.

Thank fuck he hasn’t slept over here yet. In fact, I have no idea if they’ve spent any time together at all. What I do know is that he hasn’t set foot in this house since he helped move Jordy in. I also know that the day he does, I will literally die.

Why didn’t I think this through before I let her move in, and before I took the job at the Winters ranch? I am setting myself up for a fabulous fall, and it’s not going to be pretty when it happens.

I’m full after tonight’s barbecue, but I still snack mindlessly on a bag of cheese-dusted chips while scrolling Netflix on my computer, searching for something to watch. I’m interrupted by a knock at the door.

“Nina?”

Her voice is a question I’m not sure I want to answer. But still, I mute my computer, slide off my bed, and drag myself to the door. When I open it, she looks as reluctant as me.

“So, um, how did your first week go?”

“Fine.” I start to close the door, but she blocks it with her foot. I open it, looking down at her slipper. Hell, she even wears designer slippers with a label.

“Sorry,” she says, pulling her foot back. “I was just thinking we could, I don’t know…”

She’s stalling, and I’m getting impatient, and all of this is so weird.

“I have a show on,” I say, trying to keep the edge out of my voice, but hinting for her to hurry up.

“I was looking through some old photos,” she blurts out. “Ones of us when we used to stay at Nanna Dot’s, back when we were just kids. It got me thinking about how close we once were, and how much things have changed since then. I don’t know you anymore, and you don’t know me, and there are so many things I think both of us could do to…” She pauses, then rolls her eyes. “Look, I know things are weird between us still. I feel it, and I know you do too. I’ve been avoiding you because I don’t even know what to say. But we live together now. We used to have some of the best times together. I guess I thought we could try to rekindle some of that.”

I sigh. She’s trying, I know she is. But I still have so much resentment. I can’t stop thinking about how she believed so many of our mothers’ lies without talking with me.

Maybe it’s because I’ve spent a week with her fiancé, and it’s completely fucking with my head.

Maybe it’s because I still love her, and the lingering dregs of our feud is tiresome and old.

“Fine. Whatever.” I open the door a little wider. She grins, then gestures toward downstairs.