Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 107453 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 537(@200wpm)___ 430(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107453 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 537(@200wpm)___ 430(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
53
FAIRY GODBROTHER
Aubrey
The second Garrett arrives at the table, he sweeps his shrewd gaze to the left, then to the right, then to his watch. “Is there a warp in the time-space continuum?”
“Oh, shut up. I’m not normally late,” I say, patting the chair so he can sit down.
“But I’m always early,” he says. “Never have I ever arrived after you.”
This won’t be the only surprise he gets from me tonight. “Well, I plan to keep you on your toes,” I say.
He motions for me to stand, then wraps his arms around me. It’s nice, his brotherly hug. I’ve come to rely on it my whole entire life.
Garrett’s dependable, trustworthy, and good.
And as he hugs me, I know—I just know—that he won’t be the wrench in my love story.
But I still need to give him the news.
When he sits, he’s first to speak, older brother style and all. “Listen, I’ve got to head to New York tomorrow to work on some sponsorship deals. And I’ve got some VIP tickets to the Renegades game this weekend that I can’t use.”
“Say less,” I say, since I love football.
He’s laughing already. “I didn’t even offer them to you yet.”
I rub my fingers together. “But you were going to.”
Grinning, he drags a hand through his hair. “Fine, fine. Maybe I was.”
“You love me best,” I say with a sweet little sister smile.
He gives me a stern glare. “Don’t tell Claire.”
“I don’t have to. It’s obvious,” I say, but what’s obvious, too, is that if life is all about moments, I need to take this one, and I need to do it now before we become too comfortable with the teasing and the talking.
I asked my brother to dinner for a reason. Yes, I made a pact with the guys on our honeymoon. That pact was to keep our honeymoon times private, and I plan to stick to that.
Still, here goes. “I want to date your friends,” I say.
There. It’s that simple.
Garrett blinks. Several times. A line digs into his brow. He tilts his head. “I’m sorry. What?”
“Ledger and Dev,” I add, keeping my shoulders straight, my gaze locked on his.
He’s quiet, his lips parting like he’s trying to speak, but he’s a fish and no words come.
Which means it’s still my turn. Briefly, I flash back to some of the novels we’ve read in book club—romances where the heroines have to say the hard thing. That’s my life lesson I have to keep learning.
“I kind of fell for both of them,” I continue, and it’s not truly hard to say this. It is necessary. “And I want to see what’s there.”
“With both?” he repeats.
This isn’t a new concept to him. He lives in a city that’s home to a hell of a lot of sports throuples. But sometimes people need to adjust in their own time.
“Both of them? Together?” Garrett doesn’t sound shocked though. He sounds like his lawyerly self, clarifying the points.
“Yes.” That’s all I say.
He leans back, scratches his jaw, then shrugs. “Well, since you aren’t even asking my permission, I guess all I can say is…enjoy the suite Sunday night.”
I crack up. “Wait. For real?”
He rolls his eyes. “Dude. I pretty much walked right into that one.”
I laugh. “So you’re a matchmaker now? A wing brother? A dating coach? A set-up man? A fairy godbrother?”
He holds up a hand, as if he’s fighting off the laughter. “Stop. Just stop.”
But really, I can’t.
54
FAST FORWARD
Dev
I’m almost home from the rink after a shutout, thank you very much to me. I bound up the steps to my home in Pacific Heights, still high on the game, when my phone pings with a group text.
I stop in my tracks.
Hell, my heart stops beating.
It’s her. Yes, we’ve been talking. Yes, we’ve been texting. But the preview pane has me all kinds of hopeful. I click it open faster than I stopped that shot flying toward my face tonight.
Aubrey: You know those scenes in the movies when there’s a montage to show the passage of time?
Yes. Fucking yes.
I reply, though, in the way she’d want me to.
Dev: Yes, like in a Christmas movie when they show a Christmas party, a tree farm visit, and a stop at the Christmas fair. Go on.
Ledger: Are you saying it’s Christmas, Aubrey?
Aubrey: It seems my calendar just went into fast-forward mode.
Best. Gift. Ever. But just to be sure, I write back.
Dev: So it’s ten months from now…now?
Aubrey: If you guys want to see a football game with me Sunday night it is.
Our answers land simultaneously. Yes.
I punch the sky, then once I’m inside, I call Garrett and I waste zero time. “I’m wild about your sister.”
He sighs heavily, but it’s not an annoyed sigh. It’s more like a tell me something I don’t know sigh. “I figured as much.”
Some things in life are just simple.