“Crazy day at the hospital,” Blair sighed. “You’d think it was a full moon.”
“That’s when all the arsonists come out,” I said, as I skimmed over the menu. “It’s like they find it inspirational or some shit.” My nose wrinkled at the prices. I made enough to comfortably live on, but a firefighter’s salary wasn’t anywhere near what my sisters were bringing in.
“Criminals tend to operate year-round,” Serena said. “Full moon or no.”
“Mmk, Miss Fancy Prosecutor,” I said, landing on an overpriced burger. I much preferred the type I’d had at Red Square Diner not so long ago. With August. Ugh, I couldn’t stop thinking about him.
“Did you have fun at the show?” Serena asked, and I straightened in my seat.
“What do you mean?” The words came out a little sharper than intended.
“You know, the show I gave you a ticket for? You went, right?” she asked, her brows lifting.
Heat rushed to my cheeks. Right, the one where August had blown me by the pier. That one.
“Yeah, it was great. Solid openers, and the band is amazing,” I said, hoping my eagle-eyed sister couldn’t suss out my guilt. Even though that was what she did for a living.
“August has the same taste in music as you, so I figured you’d be better suited to go.” She gave me a careful scan over, like she was piecing together something I hid. Last thing I needed was an interrogation at the table.
“Mom, did you get the wart on your foot looked at?” I asked in a rush.
Mom passed me a sour look, her nose wrinkling. “I don’t think everyone in the restaurant wants to hear about that.”
Serena’s gaze burned into me from across the table, and sweat prickled on my forehead. How was I going to survive family events? My sister was one of the best people at extracting the truth, and she was a manipulative motherfucker. Either I had to stop sleeping with August, or I had to come out with the truth.
And right now, I didn’t want to do either.
The server swung over to my relief, and we placed our orders.
“What’s new at the firehouse?” Blair asked.
I squeezed my nape. Sure, I had the fundraiser I was attempting to put together, but without the band booked, I didn’t want to bring anything up. If my idea flopped, I didn’t want my family to witness it—they’d seen enough of my second-rate attempts over the years. “Uh, Hannigan got stabbed in the ass with his Halligan, which is something he’s never going to live down.”
Dad snorted. “Maybe not dinner conversation, but that’s hilarious.”
Right. I was so used to hanging around the firehouse where no one gave a shit about manners that this sort of thing was excruciating.I’d dated a few guys who worked corporate, and they’d had similar problems with me.
August, on the other hand, was easy as hell to be around. Maybe because we both worked unconventional jobs, but damn, I never felt judged by him. Never felt less than. Sure, having overachiever sisters meant I got in my head a lot, but he was a breath of fresh air I hadn’t realized I’d needed this badly.
“How are you feeling in your wizened age?” I teased Blair, who rolled her eyes.
“Far too single,” she muttered. “I thought Kyle would be the one, but he ended up being another jerk.” We’d all been relieved when that crashed and burned. Kyle had been around for two years. They’d met in med school, and he’d been insufferable. I’d never met anyone who complained so much in my life.
“Psh, not me,” Serena said. “I’m loving being single and free again.”
“Not missing your ex?” Hearing her words were reassuring, but I grasped for anything extra to assuage my guilt.
Serena blinked. “August? God, we were barely dating. He’s an adorable guy, but I was looking for a fling, not a relationship. And he’s got relationship written all over him.”
I swallowed hard, my throat tight. I was well aware of that. What was worse was the more time I spent around him, the more I craved having him in my life regularly. But this wasn’t the same as getting a hand-me-down toy from Serena when we were kids. Boyfriends weren’t in the acceptable hand-me-down category.
“Will any of you be giving me grandchildren?” Dad sighed, even though a twinkle was in his eyes. Out of our parents, Dad was the baby crazy one. Mom was more interested in the next article in Science Journal. As a microbiologist, she was constantly studying up on new things.
“Count me out,” I said. “I can’t even find a guy willing to weather my schedule enough to settle down.”
“I don’t know what’s wrong with the guys you’re dating,” Blair said. “My residency schedule is shit, but worthwhile people will stick around.”
“Oh, like Kyle?” Serena teased while Blair rolled her eyes.
