He smirked. “Technically, jumping out of a burning airplane also comes with choices. You can either do it willingly or somebody will eventually push you. If you’re lucky, that is.”
Instantly, my mind threw me back to that day at the lake when Avery had said almost exactly the same thing. Pain radiated through me, so intense that it was almost debilitating. “What is it with big brothers being so eager to give their siblings a little push?”
“Who else has been pushing you? Is it Nate?”
“No,” I said quickly. “Just forget about it. It’s not important. Who is she? This girl you want me to meet.”
“Belle Thurston.” Alex’s infamous Westwood blue eyes locked firmly on me. “Her father has been sniffing around for a while. He’s a tech guy. Cyber security. Very aware of how careful he needs to be about who they get into bed with going forward.”
“Great,” I said, my stomach sinking to my shoes. “New money?”
He shook his head. “Old. They’ve been in the security game for a long time. Belle’s grandfather simply started their expansion into cyberspace once that became a thing and their family has been fortifying their position in the industry ever since.”
“Awesome.”
“I’ll set it up,” he said, either ignoring or not even hearing my sarcasm. “In other news, Charlotte and Trent are in town. We’re having dinner tonight at our place. They’d love to see you.”
“Of course,” I replied as I stood up. “Is that all?”
“Yep. We’ll see you tonight.” He was on the phone before I’d even left his office, already making headway on some deal as if our conversation hadn’t even happened.
I spent the rest of the day wondering if I could go through with the date he was setting me up on. By the time I got to Alex and Jane’s house later, I still wasn’t sure, but when my sister wrapped me up in a hug, I shoved the date, the girl, and our potential marriage out of my head.
Charlotte held me tight, stroking my back as she buried her head in my chest. “God, I’ve missed you. I’m offended you took that bike all around the country and you couldn’t make time to swing by our place in Texas.”
I chuckled. “Next time.”
Trent, her husband, grinned and shook my hand after Charlotte released me. “The way I hear it, you might need a side-car next time. Alex says you’re the next batter up.”
“Yeah.” I groaned. “Apparently.”
He laughed and slung an arm around my sister’s shoulders. “It’s not so bad. Trust me, it might even work out, being everything you never knew you wanted.”
Oh, I know I want it. I just don’t want it with whoever I’m going to end up marrying.I didn’t say that, though. I still hadn’t said a word to any of them about Raquel, so I sank into family time instead, watching my nieces and nephews run around the house.
For a little while, I managed to stop thinking about Raquel, Arizona, and the little town where I’d felt so much more like myself than I did here. I just enjoyed laughing about the same stories I’d heard a hundred times before, got caught up with my sister, and brainstormed baby names with Jesse and Jacque.
It was good. Normal, even, but after they nixed Maximus, Gorilla, and Bob, I finally groaned and gave up, turning with my drink in hand. Unfortunately, it struck me then just how much I’d become an outsider.
They all had families now, Alex running around with Cameron, who was pretending to be Superman, and Trent running after them with Tyler in his arms, like the baby had any kind of idea what was going on.
Nate aged another ten years when Emma slipped on a rug. Zach was arguing with Lu about why Jennifer had to do homework as soon as she got home while Adeline and Kate interjected every once in a while with their opinions.
All of these little moments were the norm for my siblings now, but I suddenly felt like I was on the outside looking in. They weren’t excluding me. It was more like I was just late to the party. Like everyone else had gotten the instructions to a happy life and I was still trying to find the manual.
Thankfully, I was snapped out of it when a chair scraped back beside me and Colin dropped into it. He grinned and passed over one of the two beers he’d been carrying. “Welcome home, man. I’m glad to see your roots didn’t dig in quite as deep as I thought.”
I shrugged and nodded my thanks for the beer as I uncapped it. “I told you there was nothing to worry about.”
He let out a bark of dry laughter, his gaze sweeping across my face before he finally leaned back in his chair. “I’m not so sure about that.”
“What are you talking about? I’m here, aren’t I?”
“Yeah, and I’m happy you’re back, but you’re not.”
I scoffed. “Says who?”
“Says me.”
