“Sorry, we’re late,” Whimsy says, smoothing the back of her icy blue dress before she sits. “We got distracted.”
My brother wears a shit-eating grin, and something tells me I know exactly what that distraction was. Ugh. Ew.
“Congrats on the win, man.” Elias claps his hand against Noah’s and bends down to give him a hug.
“Thanks.” Noah grins.
I might always root for my brother over Noah, but it is nice to see him win a Grand Slam. Mostly because it means Fisher wins in a way.
My knee brushes Fisher’s beneath the table and he looks my way with a raised brow.
“Accident,” I mouth, and he nods.
His glasses slide down as he looks over the menu, and he reaches up and adjusts them slightly. The gesture is practically second nature for him.
“I can feel you staring at me,” he says softly. “Like what you see?”
My cheeks warm at the teasing tone in his voice. “Maybe.”
“Hmm,” he hums, and turns to face me fully. He cocks his head to the side, assessing me. “You’ve got a thing for my glasses, don’t you?”
“I wouldn’t say that,” I defend.
He chuckles lightly. “It’s okay. It can be our little secret that my glasses get you hot and bothered.”
I want to sink beneath the table in embarrassment. He reads me all too easily.
“They’re just glasses,” I mutter.
He shrugs. “Doesn’t mean they’re not turning you on.”
A cleared throat has me turning with mortification to find our friends and my brother staring at us, along with the waitress. Forget beneath the table, I want the Earth to swallow me whole.
Noah’s lips curl with amusement. “Are you guys going to order or just talk about how apparently glasses are a turn on for Ebba?”
Elias shudders. “I wish I didn’t know that.”
I pick up my menu and scan it quickly, picking out a steak meal. Fisher orders the same thing.
When the waitress has left, my brother says, “I don’t understand you two.”
Fisher takes a sip of wine. “What is it you don’t get?”
Elias’s eyes zero in on me. “Why you keep denying it.” He holds my gaze, daring me to look away and refute his words. “I remember how happy you were when you were together before—” I open my mouth, but he shakes his head “—you might not have ever told me, but I’m not stupid. I figured out who you were sneaking around with pretty quick. I never called you on it, because I figured when you were ready, you’d tell me. But then…” He shrugs. “Anyway, all I’m saying is you have history and you still clearly have feelings for him, so why do you keep pretending you don’t?”
I hang my head in shame.
“It’s okay to give people another chance, Ebba. It doesn’t make you weak.”
I know my brother means well and he makes an excellent point, but it’s still hard to hear.
“Excuse me,” I say, and push away from the table. My head is already on a swivel in search of the restrooms.
“You idiot,” Whimsy hisses as I walk away.
“What did I do?” Elias asks innocently.
I slip into the restroom and lock myself in a stall.
