His tipsy crosshairs had settled on me, but I wasn’t going to play into it. “It’s a little early to think about that,” I said matter-of-factly in hopes I’d shut down the line of questioning. Unfortunately, my companions were happy to keep me in the hot seat.
“Well, Kai is obviously head over heels for you,” Faith grinned. “I’m just saying…” Heat rose up my throat; the kitchen suddenly felt smaller. I didn’t want to talk about our relationship, but I loved hearing people who knew him well say that they could see his love.
“Oh God yes,” Ted agreed, waving his hand like it was a foregone conclusion. “He seems positively smitten.” He emptied the bottle into a glass and handed it to Ava. “Your brothers were single for so long I was beginning to wonder-slash-hope that they were all on my team,” he snickered. “But it seems like there’s something in the water lately. They’re getting snatchedup like bait fish these days,” Ted laughed, his slightly glazed eyes squinting. “You better keep him, Jasmine. If you don’t, some other desperate Keys girl will get her hooks in him.”
“Well, we’ve only been dating for a few weeks…” I paused for a nervous sip. “But I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Jesus, Ted. What’s wrong with you?” Ava elbowed him in the ribs. “Ignore him,” she told me while shooting him a glare. “He’s just mad that he doesn’t have a chance with my brothers.” Raising her finger, she wagged it at him. “And by the way, I’m still single, too. Does that mean I’m in the closet?” She pointed to the left as she asked. Slowly and deliberately her hand swung across to point to the right. “Or am I a desperate Keys girl?”
“Neither,” Ted answered, deadpan. “You’re too busy flying billionaires to their adventures to have your own. Plus, you’re picky.” He finished with a smirk before sipping his wine.
“Picky is good,” Faith said in Ava’s defense. “When you know your worth, you don’t have to settle.”
“Listen, I think you’re too good for most men,” Ted clarified, “which makes it even less likely you’ll ever meet one who’s worthy, when you spend most of your time in private jets.”
“It’d be nice if you found one who’s worthy and owns a private jet,” Corinne joked.
“Oh no, I’d never get involved with the owners,” Ava said, shaking her head. “I like my job too much.”
Ted chimed in excitedly. “There are lots of planes, and lots of owners. It doesn’t have to be one of your bosses.” He gave an urging nod.
“So I should go hunting for a date around the airfield? Is that what you’re suggesting?” Ava challenged him, half-playful in her delivery.
“One of the few places you go where there are people,” Ted shot back.
“I’m happy being single, thank you very much.”
Ted seemed unable to resist offering more unsolicited advice. “Maybe you should get a cat.”
I snickered at their banter as Ava replied.
“Maybe you should mind your own business. I’m not going to prod into your personal life to try to embarrass you. That would be childish. Plus, your shenanigans might scare Jasmine.”
My eyes widened. Why was she bringing me into this?
Ted charged ahead, slurring slightly. “You know I don’t get embarrassed talking about my escapades,” he told Ava. Then, from the corner of his mouth, he said to me, “But they do get kind of wild.”
Part of me wanted to request his wildest story, both out of curiosity and out of determination to prove that I could handle it. But in the company of Kai’s family, I decided to keep it clean with a neutral, “I bet.”
“Yeah, we’ll spare Jasmine that right now,” Ava gave Ted a look—just a subtle nod—but he got the hint and clammed up, imaginarily zipping his lips shut for effect.
Ava giggled. “He’s right about one thing, though,” she beamed at me. “Kai really is smitten.”
“Thanks for saying that,” I said, meeting her gaze. “It means a lot. I really like him too.”
“You’re so friggin’ cute together I can’t stand it,” Corinne said, licking her wine-soaked lips. “It’s fun to watch.”
Faith nodded in agreement. “His transformation from man-child to gentleman is the best part.” Her cop’s gaze softened; even Faith liked us together.
Ted seemed bored by the sappy talk and sort of wobbled on his stool as he muttered, “What I want to know is what it’s like to date a twin? I’ve always wondered.”
My heart raced at being thrust back into the spotlight. “Not much different than dating someone with a brother close in age,” I said with a shrug, hoping not to encourage Ted. But he was already three steps ahead and on a completely different thread.
“I had this twin fantasy I used to ponder often,” he chuckled. Faith and Corinne exchanged a glance, while Ava’s eyes narrowed at Ted. He continued, uncensored. “But I kept thinking, like, if you got all tangled up, would you lose track of who’s who?”
My face had to be fire-engine red by now, eyes widened, but I tried to keep it relaxed. Ted didn’t know that I’d been tangled up with each of the Rodman twins, separately, and could therefore quite easily imagine that scenario. And thanks to him, no matter how many times I blinked, I couldn’t get the picture out of my mind. Heat pulsed low in my belly—unhelpful, given the current audience.
Ava came to my rescue. “Alright, Ted, that’s it. You’re cut off.” She snatched the wine glass from in front of him.
