“Am I talking to you?” I ask him.
He nods. “I get it. But I love you, man, and I’ll explain everything. But tonight is for Alex.”
I don’t respond.
He eyes me. “You good?”
“No.”
“Well,” he says, “it’s whiskey and bad decisions time. Let’s go toast Al and his lady.”
“And you found yours?” I ask. “You and Emily?”
“We’re all good,” he says.
And I want to punch him again.
But I don’t.
Riv deserves happiness. He’s a good man. I believe that in my heart. He had a good reason for keeping Jake from me. From all of us.
And after the party tonight?
He’s going to spill every bit of it. He and Jake. I want the damned truth.
“Let’s go,” I say.
We step into the corridor.
“We’ve got a minute, Brett,” he says. “Talk to me. Yell at me. Fucking belt me again.”
I sigh. “What good would that do?”
“Then talk.”
“About what? The woman I love walking away from me? The ghost of my past kissing me on the beach? Or the fact that I might still love both of them, and I have no idea what the hell to do about it?”
“Damn,” is all he says.
“No shit.”
He stops walking and turns to face me. “You ever thought maybe you don’t have to choose?”
“Say what?”
“Look, I’m not saying it’s simple. But maybe it’s not about picking the right person. Maybe it’s about figuring out who you are now that everything’s out in the open.”
I let that sink in.
Who am I now?
Someone fractured. Someone cracked open. But maybe that’s not all bad.
We walk again, this time brushing past staffers until we reach the back deck. Laughter, glass clinking, the low beat of music that promises too much.
“Let’s get drunk,” I say.
River grins. “Now you’re talking.”
