Owen grins. “Good to meet you.”
“Yeah, same. Thanks for inviting me.”
“No worries.” Owen pulls off his glasses and wipes them on the apron. “As long as you’re okay with fifty shades of chaos,mi casa es tu casa.”
“Chaos is my middle name.” Wes laughs as he nods at Owen’s apron. “Love the apron.”
“Yeah? I got it at this culinary event last year in Portland. I’m a meat guy, so…”
“Me, too. The more the better, right, Jett?” Wes bumps my shoulder, and I’ve got nothing. Luckily, we’re distracted by Rufus, my sister’s one-year-old Great Dane, who comes barging in from the backyard. As soon as he notices Wes, he beelines toward him and throws himself at him. Wes laughs, then squats and starts petting Rufus, who happily licks Wes wherever he can reach.
“Just push that overgrown puppy away,” Janelle groans, then reaches for the dog’s collar and attempts to drag him off Wes.
Wes laughs. “It’s okay. I love dogs. My best friend has a dog named Willow.”
“Yeah, well, this one is a horse who thinks he’s a lap dog.” My sister glares at Owen, who just shrugs. The pup showed up behind their restaurant one night, all skinny and wet, going through the trash. Owen has a huge heart, so he brought the pup home ‘just for the weekend.’ “And is that cocoa on the floor?” She bends and inspects the puddle. “Jesus Christ, Owen. Will you please get that? I donotwant to spend Halloween at the vet’s because Rufus overdosed on it.”
Owen sighs. “Yes, my queen.”
Wes leans in against me. “I fucking love your family.”
Warmth floods my chest. “Yeah, they’re good people. Crazy, but good.”
The next hour goes by in a blur of afternoon coffee, muffins, and helping Mia dress Rufus up as a unicorn. Wes chatters away with my sister and Owen like he’s known them forever. I catch myself staring at him constantly. He’s relaxed, and his laughter fills the room. When Mia and Mason bring out the face paint and ask if they can paint him, he says yes without hesitation. My sister sends me another one of her knowing looks from across the table.
“Who do you wanna be?” Mia asks Wes, placing a fluffy pink headband on his head to keep his hair out of his eyes. “Tigger or Pooh?”
“Tigger for sure. Then your uncle can be Pooh.” He winks at me, looking ten kinds of cute with that ridiculous headband on.
“Oh, I don’t think—” I mumble.
“Uncle Jared is gonna look amazing as Pooh!” Janelle cuts me off. “You’re gonna be so cute together.” My sister’s onto me, Iknow she is. Somehow, I don’t mind if she knows, because I like Wes. I don’t want to hide that from one of the most important people in my life. It’s exhausting trying to compartmentalize everything. Wes has become a part of my life. He’s snuck his way in with his easy smiles and generous personality.
I grin as Wes helps Mia with the right Tigger colors, mixing the yellow and red to make orange. When she starts painting his face with a small sponge, Mason climbs up on a stool next to her. “Wes?”
“Uh-huh?”
“You wanna see my room later? I have tons of LEGOs.”
“Sure, I love LEGOs.”
“I have a new truck. It’s really neat.”
“Can’t wait to see it, buddy.” Wes reaches out and ruffles Mason’s hair, and my nephew beams at him.
My eyes sting. I don’t know if I deserve someone like Wes, but I think I want him. Not just in a physical way, but like someone I could actually build something with. I don’t know if I’d be any good at it, but I want to try with him.
Janelle comes up to where I’m leaning against the kitchen counter and bumps my shoulder. “I like him. He seems like a really nice guy.”
“He is.”
“I’m happy for you, little brother.”
“It’s not… We’re not…”
“Oh, don’t give me that, Jared. I see how he looks at you.” She brushes some invisible lint off my T-shirt. “But more importantly, I see how you look at him.”
“I… I don’t.” I swallow, my mouth impossibly dry.
