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“We’re splitting hairs. I don’t have feelings for him.”
“Not even after seeing him?” she asked.
I shook my head. “Nope.”
Brandi’s lips curled in a half-smile. “Prove it.”
“You want me to swear on a bible or something?”
“Go on that date with Liam.”
I groaned. “He’s not my type.”
“You’re making excuses. When we had lunch yesterday, you told me he was cute. You were shocked I didn’t remember him from junior year because of how cute he was.”
“Because of his accent. Not just because he’s cute.” I chewed on a chip, then spoke with my mouth full. “Florida isn’t my home anymore, Brandi. I live in New York. I’m here to help you settle all of our mother’s affairs, not find love.”
“Who said anything about love? In the immortal words of Tina Turner…” Brandi jumped up and grabbed a bottle of wine, pretending it was a microphone as she began to sing. “Oh-oh-oh, what’s love got to do, got to do with it?”
“If I agree to go on a date with him, will you stop singing?”
“What’s love, but a second-hand emotion?”
“Brandi…”
“What’s love got to do, got to do with it? Who needs a heart when a heart can be broken?”
I was laughing by the time she dropped back down onto the couch. “Does Kyle put up with your horrible impromptu karaoke the way I used to?”
“He suffers in silence.” She pointed the bottle of wine at me. “Seriously, though. You’re overthinking this. We’re talking about a single date. Maybe getting your freak on. You’re clearly in need of getting laid. And who knows? Maybe this will make Jack jealous. Which will serve him right, even if you don’t have feelings for him.”
I pulled out my phone and texted Liam back, agreeing to the date tomorrow night. And it has nothing to do with Jack, I told myself. I don’t care if he’s jealous. I don’t care about him at all.
7
Liam
“Say the word, bud,” I said, “and I’ll back out.”
We were sitting at an outdoor table at Zeke’s, our favorite sandwich joint. Jack was my best pal, so I was giving him an out. But I was also pushing him a little bit, because as his best pal, I knew he needed a little pushing.
“You don’t have to back out,” Jack replied while picking at a few remaining fries. “Go out with her.”
“Are you sure?”
“For the tenth time, yes. I’m sure. If I’d known you were going to only talk about this, I wouldn’t have agreed to lunch.”
I took a pull from my seltzer. It was crisp and refreshing in the Florida heat.
“I do not understand,” Mateo said next to us. “You have asked this girl out. Jack has said he is fine. Why do you still discuss it?”
In truth, I had only asked Alyssa out to goad Jack into doing something about it. Because ever since we realized who that girl in the burning building was, Jack had been in a weird mood. He moped around the station on our last shift. He was slow to answer his text messages. I found out from a friend of a friend of a friend that he’d visited Alyssa in the hospital without telling anyone.
Asking Alyssa out was supposed to be the kick to the buttocks that set Jack’s mind straight. But instead, he was digging in, stubborn bastard that he was.
“Mateo brings up a good point,” Jack said. “Why are we still discussing this?”
“The answer, Mateo, is simple,” I said slowly. “Because I think our good friend Jack is lying.”
