Tucker waved his spatula in the air while my father chuckled. “Not in this family.”
“Let him be,” Dad called out.
“Thank you!” I huffed. “Let me be. You heard him.”
Brody cracked open a beer. “Forget that. We want details. For bonding purposes.”
Deacon held up his own beer like he was about to propose a toast. “Should we start designing wedding invitations? Because I have a font picked out.”
“Stop it,” I said, slamming my eyes shut in frustration. “There’s no wedding. There’s no relationship. It wasjust coffee.Birthday coffee, like every other year. Jesus Christ.”
“And muffins,” Charlotte added helpfully. “This time, there weremuffins.Andshe’s divorced,andyou are between women.Muffins, Hunter. Cinnamon crumble. Your favorite.”
I turned toward Larry, desperate for a distraction. He made eye contact, then farted loudly and trotted away with the kids, as if his work here was done.
“Great,” I muttered. “Even the llama’s judging me.”
Charlotte handed me a cupcake from the picnic table—vanilla with too many sprinkles, just the way I liked it. “Eat this. Try not to overthink your entire life while you chew. Just go with the flow.”
I took the cupcake and escaped to a lawn chair beneath the sycamore tree like a man retreating from war. I unwrapped the paper slowly, trying not to look like someone scanning the driveway for signs of the woman he may or may not have feelings for.
She wasn’t coming. I already knew it. Didn’t stop me from wishing she would.
Charlotte flopped into the chair beside me, dragging a cooler over with her foot.
“So, Paige. You. You and Paige. Both single for the first time in, well, ever. Right?”
“Yeah.” I closed my eyes. “Can I just enjoy my cupcake and slowly die of emotional repression?”
“Nope. Not when you’ve got that look on your face.”
“What look?”
“The ‘I want to kiss her but also, I might pass out’ look.”
I sighed. “When she brought me coffee this morning. It was weird,” I confessed. “Don’t say anything to them.” I swung my hand toward the yard.
“Weird bad or weirdhot?” she whispered, before twisting her fingers over her lips like she was locking them.
“Yes.”
Charlotte leaned back. “You’ve waited like over two decades. What’s your next move? Sending her a strongly worded greeting card? Or owning your feelings and using your words like a brave little toaster?”
“I haven’t exactly been waiting. It’s not like I was celibate or something.” I licked frosting off my thumb. “I don’t want to push her. But mostly I don’t know how I feel. This could all be a result of a midlife crisis, you know,” I added under my breath.
“Hunter.” She turned to me, serious now. “You are the least pushy man on the planet. You once apologized to a raccoon for walking too close to its trash can.”
My lips tipped up at the corner. “In my defense, it had a knife,” I joked.
“You deserve something that’s yours,” she said. “And I think we both know she’s been yours since you were kids. You belong together. I want this to happen for you.”
In the distance, Larry honked like an angry goose, and the kids shrieked with laughter.
It was chaos. Beautiful, full-hearted chaos.
And the only thing missing was Paige and her kids. They should be here, too.
I looked down at the crumpled cupcake wrapper in my hand and sighed. “I don’t want to mess it up. She’s the best friend I’ve ever had. Plus, what if I don’t have romantic feelings for her? What if she doesn’t for me either? What if this is all just because we’re both single at the same time? Like you just said, that’s never happened before.” I decided not to tell her about the pact. I’d never hear the end of it.
