Olivia’s eyes go wide when she sees Levi, and I wonder if it’s because she finds him attractive. In my experience, she only has eyes for Austin, so I’m kind of surprised to see her gawking.
“Well, hello again.” Levi bends down to hug Olivia, kissing her cheek. Austin scratches the back of his neck, looking to Alfie for support. It’s kind of cute when he does that.
“Hi, Levi, right?”
My brother nods.
“You’re Mia’s brother? Gosh, what a small world. Austin, this is the err…the cowboy that asked me out, you know, when I first moved here.”
She looks at him smiling, and it takes a second, but Austin launches himself at my brother. At first I panic, thinking these two six-foot-something muscle mad men were going to start wrestling right on the sidewalk but no. Austin pulls Levi into a bear hug, slapping his back the way that men do.
“Thank you, man, thank you. I was being such an ass, and when you asked her out, it sent a rocket up me. I got my shit together, excuse me—" He looks down at Annie, his face wincing.
“My dad says fuck all the time,” she announces, and I watch as Austin goes from wide eyed with guilt to biting his lip, holding in a chuckle.
“Annabelle Sinclair. You don’t use that word,” my brother chastises her as Alfie and I swiftly spin around to hide our laughter.
“Err…that’s okay, I have been known to say that one as well,” Austin adds.
“Well, you shouldn’t. My daddy says it’s a bad word.”
“Your dad is right. Very bad.” He nods seriously. “Anyway, I came out here to Texas for my girl. We’re engaged now.” He holds Olivia’s ring, which is humongous, in front of my brother's face. He smiles down at her like she was the reason flowers grew and birds sang in the morning. It was sickeningly cute. I couldn’t help but peer up at Alfie, who seems to be enjoying this interaction as much as me.
“Congratulations, both of you. I’m happy you made it back to each other and Texas got to keep both of you. I can’t believe you know my sister. It’s a small world. Oh, and this is my daughter, Annie. The potty-mouth.”
Annie walks right up and hugs Olivia’s legs before doing the same to Austin. He looks a little perplexed, but then he pats her head awkwardly, making Olivia chuckle.
Annie doesn’t seem to mind though, and she skips into the restaurant ready to take on some tacos.
Alfie
In the backyard at Austin and Olivia’s house, the four of us sip on some homemade sangria, courtesy of Olivia. The halogen string lights Austin hooked up around the yard and the fire pit, which is burning hot, create a perfect environment for some relaxed quality time.
“Alf, I need to ask you something.” He looks at Olivia, who gives him an encouraging nod.
“Sure, what do you need?” I ask.
“The wedding is coming up; we want it to happen sooner rather than later. I want to be tied to this one forever, and I would do it right now, if I could.”
“Except we’re going to have a planned wedding that we can savor,” Olivia reminds him gently.
“Right…we want to plan the best day for everyone and, obviously, whatever Olivia wants, she gets.”
Olivia rolls her eyes and Mia snickers. Austin truly is completely devoted to his fiancée. She could ask him to dress up as a clown for the wedding and he’d do it. In fact, he did actually dress up as a villain on the self defense series for her fitness channel. It was humbling himself to her that made her realize what a great guy he was, that he was someone who wasn’t afraid to look silly.
“Of course.” I nod.
“So—" he huffs out a big puff of air, “—would you be my best man?”
I pause for a moment. It’s not often I’m shocked or left without a planned response. Patients often say things that are shocking to most, but I’ve heard it all. Except this. It’s completely inappropriate, of course. Austin is technically still an active patient of mine. We have regular catch-ups where we discuss his life and how best to proceed in situations that are unfamiliar to him. I should say it's unethical.
But then, I’m sitting in his backyard drinking sangria after discussing a business venture this afternoon. I’m sitting with my office manager, who, for all intents and purposes, is currently my fake girlfriend. I’ve followed patients without their knowledge or permission and intervened when I thought they were in danger. All whilst involving Mia. Would I say no to Mia if she asked something so monumental of me? Absolutely not. I’d dive straight in before she even gave me the details.
I feel my lips slant upward. Despite my logical brain running through the potential ethics of his request, I feel happy about it. I feel honored.
“Absolutely, I’d love to be your best man.”
I stand to shake his hand, but he puffs out another breath, deflating his chest like a balloon, and pulls me in for a bro hug. This was monumental for him, a significant step in his journey. Given that his oldest friend Luca betrayed him eighteen months ago, which ultimately led to Luca’s death—not by any fault of Austin’s—to allow himself to be close to someone again is an honor.
