“So? How did meetin’ the family go? You met everyone at once. That had to be pretty intense,” Carter says, but he keeps looking at me.
No, I didn’t tell her I love her. In fact, I’m a goddamn moron.
Brynlee looks at the menu, which is odd for her and screams that things aren’t right with us. “I was showered with flour.”
“They showered you with flowers?” Darla asks and looks at me as though she heard that wrong.
Shaking my head, I can’t help but chuckle at the memory. “No, Brynlee was talkin’ with Mom in the kitchen, and the kids were runnin’ around. Somehow, one of them tripped, grabbed the flour bowl, and it went flyin’. Right on Brynlee. Covered her head to toe.”
“No!” she gasps. “Like, all over you?”
“I had to pull dough from my hair last night when I showered. Before we could eat, I had to go shake off outside like a dog. Good thing I’m basically a trained poodle. It wasn’t all that difficult,” she says.
Carter’s eyes widen. “Wait, this isn’t a joke?”
“It was like being in my very own animated movie,” she says, and the smile on her face is the first genuine one I’ve seen in days. “It was the funniest thing that’s ever happened to me.”
“Maybe you ingested raw flour, and that’s why you don’t feel well,” Darla says. “I can’t imagine it’s great for you.”
Shrugging, her eyes look at the menu again. “Maybe.”
Everett and Honor walk past us holding hands until he locks eyes with me. For some reason, he drops her hand immediately, and Honor glares at us. I haven’t cared about the two of them together since meeting Brynlee, and I’ve seen them together more times than I can count over the past two years.
Rather than leave us alone, Honor leads him to our table, and I want to groan. I didn’t think this night could get much worse, and as great of a show as Brynlee puts on, I can tell Darla and Carter know something’s wrong.
“Hey, guys,” Everett says when it becomes awkward.
“Hey,” I say back, willing them to move to a table across the room.
Honor mumbles something, and I hear my name. Brynlee’s head snaps up, and she glares at her. “What was that?’
“I was sayin’ that it looks like you two may not be an item after all,” Honor says.
“They are,” Darla says. “You got a problem with that?”
Laughing, she shakes her head. “With the way they’re lookin’, I’ll give it a month, tops.”
“Why would you say that?” Brynlee asks, leaning into my space and resting her chin on her hand with her elbow on the table. From the outside looking in, it would appear she’s incredibly interested in whatever Honor has to say, but I can feel a different vibe. An unfamiliar one.
“You’re obviously out of his league.”
“Is that why you and Rhett didn’t last? He was out of your league, and you had to move onto someone else before he caught onto it?”
My jaw drops, and both Carter and Darla snort with laughter. Honor doesn’t appreciate the remark, and her eyes shoot towards me when Brynlee doesn’t even flinch.
“He’snotout of my league,” she sputters.
“Well, I know firsthand how you like to make assumptions about others, and in my experience, those who do that are actually projecting how they truly feel about themselves onto others. Which is entertaining because you put a lot of effort into coming across as though you’re above everyone when no one has forgotten that you wormed your way between friends as well as twin brothers. Let’s just drop the fake pretenses that you’re anywhere near the same league as Rhett, okay?”
She gasps and looks at Everett, who just shrugs at her. “What do you want me to do? You started this.”
“Defend me!”
“I love you, but you’re kind of a… bitch.” He walks away and takes a seat at the bar.
Brynlee just shrugs and gives a smile to Honor when she glares and storms out. “I seem to have that effect on her often.”
“That. Was. Amazin’,” Darla says and claps. Others around us join her, and she bows at Brynlee. “I’ve never seen anyone do that before.”
