“Yeah.”
Garrett yanked at the tie at his throat. “Um...”
Watching his smooth as silk brother struggle to come up with an excuse filled Davis with more pleasure than it had a right to. He couldn’t help but grin and lean back, crossing his arms to catch the show.
Now this was his idea of entertainment.
“I just figured—” Sandy went on, shuffling her feet back and forth—“since I don’t know anyone else in town, and it’s a couples thing, maybe we could go together.”
Davis should be insulted, Sandy knew him, too, but this show was just too entertaining to care.
“Together?” Garrett’s voice cracked.
Davis snickered.
“Yeah, I thought it could be fun to go as Jim and Pam fromThe Office?”
“Oh, uh…you see, the thing is…Sandy…Davis and I are going together. We have our costumes picked out already.”
Davis straightened, uncrossing his arms and his hair flopped in his face. “We what now?”
“Oh.” Sandy glanced back and forth between them, a bit of hurt shimmering in her eyes but still a hint of endearment as well. “That’s cute.”
“Yeah. We thought so.”
“Totally,” Sandy gushed.
Davis glared at his brother. Just what in the hell was Garrett trying to pull here? He hadn’t agreed to attend the party, never mind dressing in a couple’s costume with him. But he stood there silent because he’d been Garrett’s wingman plenty times over the years. Usually, it was to help him get a date, not get out of one. That’s how they’d winded up engaged to twin sisters. Suddenly that felt like so long ago.
“But I’ll see you there, yeah?” Garrett touched Sandy’s shoulder, sliding his hand down her back and her cheeks blushed so hard they nearly matched the shade of her red hair.
“Yeah, okay,” she said, smiling.
Of course Garrett would give her that hope. The prospect of a one-night stand with a woman who was only in Pineridge temporarily meant Garrett wouldn’t have to commit. And ever since his fiancée, Emma, died, Garrett couldn’t commit.
As soon as Sandy sauntered off, Davis slugged Garrett in the arm.
Garrett grunted and rubbed at his bicep.
“Couples costumes? I’m not going as your wingman to this thing, and I’m sure as hell not going as your date.” Davis ambled away.
Garrett chased after him. “It could be super cool. We could go as Batman and Robin.”
“No,” Davis grumbled over his shoulder as he went out the door and back into the garage.
“Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker?”
“No.”
“Fred and Barney?”
Davis’s jaw ticked. “I thought you said cool?”
“Right. What about Thor and Captain America?”
While that suggestion was moderately appealing, the whole idea was not. Dressing up in a costume, hanging out with people he didn’t particularly like, and crowding into a noisy bar sounded like the worst way to spend his Halloween. He would much prefer to stay home with Cooper, watch a movie, and hand out candy to the trick-or-treaters in his neighborhood.
Picking up a 2x4, Davis spun around to look at Garrett. “You know parties aren’t really my thing.”
