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“Obviously, anything. What’s going on? Are you okay?”
“Something just between us?”
“Broderick, are you in some kind of trouble? You know James and Rhyett would flip their lid if you needed help and?—”
“No, nothing like that.” I said, chuckling at the panic creeping into her tone. Slowly, I eased my pacing in favor of leaning against the wall beside the front window, staring down at the chaos of the strip. “I promise I’ll talk to them at some point, if it proves prudent. But for now, can this conversation stay between us?”
“I have a nine-month-old.”
Blinking, an ache planted in my brow as it furrowed in confusion. “Yes, I’m aware. But I don’t see how Quinn?—”
“I am covered in a combination of homemade baby bottle food, spit up, a fluid I can’t confidently identify, and can count the cumulative hours I’ve slept this week on my fingers. I’ll be lucky to remember this conversation in twenty-four hours, let alone have the energy to relay it to someone else.”
My laugh slowly dissipated into something more in the ballpark of a sigh. “Alright. Point taken. This is like, skull and dagger, sworn to secrecy level of?—”
“Christ, Broderick—spit it out.”
Chuckling nervously, I pushed off the wall and collapsed into the armchair, leaning forward to brace myself on my elbows. “Look,” I admitted on a loaded exhale. “The guys would kill me for even saying this, but I kinda have always had a thing for El.”
“Yeah.”
There wasn’t a hint of surprise. Not a trace of it in her tone or blunt delivery. Confused, I clarified, “Elora. Elora Rhodes.”
“Yeah.”
“Their younger sister.”
“Oooooooh,” she said dramatically, tone dripping in sarcasm that made my mouth pop open. “That Elora! I was confusing her with another Elora Rhodes. Continue, but please get to the point before Quinn sprouts another tooth.”
Stunned, I managed to stammer, “You knew I was into El?”
“Honey, anybody with eyes knows you’re into El.”
“The guys?—”
“Oh, well no, not the guys. As much as I love them both, they’re not the most perceptive when it comes to emotional intelligence. Sometimes I think that Rhy suspects, but he hasn’t said anything.”
“Jesus,” I mumbled, mouth hanging open as my mind whirred through the implications of that assumption.
“You didn’t honestly think we were all oblivious, did you?”
“Kinda,” I admitted gruffly, frowning at the tacky hotel carpet as I palmed my jaw. Her laugh was light, like this was the best entertainment she’d had in a decent stretch of time.
“Honestly, Sarah felt like a self-destructive bandage of procrastination.”
“Your writer brain is showing,” I muttered, squeezing my temples between my fingers, but breathing a little deeper when she giggled.
“Okay, so you’ve come to terms with the fact that you’re into their sister. Why are you calling me?”
“I don’t really…have anybody else I can talk to about this shit.”
“What shit?”
“So, El and I are both at a conference, competing for a…life-changing amount of money via a leadership grant.”
“No way,” she cut in enthusiastically. “Rhy told me you were going to that, but I didn’t realize she was too!”
“Well. We’re here. And she couldn’t get a room—they double booked, it’s a long story. So, she’s crashing in my?—”
