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“Leave me alone,” I growled.
“Remember when you harassed me about a plan for Claudia?” Frank asked, and Nick nodded, egging him on. “Well, now it’s my turn. Payback’s a bitch. So, what’s your plan?”
I had an inkling of a plan, but not much else. It was more of an idea, really.
“You’ll laugh,” I said, not wanting to talk about it anymore.
It was all fine and dandy when I was making fun of Frank or harassing Nick for his stupid decisions, but being on this side of it wasn’t anywhere nearly as entertaining. At least, it wasn’t for me. They, on the other hand, were enjoying the hell out of it.
Nick rolled his hand in an encouraging motion. “Just tell us. You know I’m going to bug you until you spit it out anyway. Might as well just tell us now.”
A groan escaped me. I’d never hear the end of this, no matter how hard I tried to avoid it, so I might as well spill it.
“I’m going to woo her.”
“Woo her?” They both mocked me, imitating my voice before breaking out into hysterical laughter. Again.
The two of them might have been laughing at me, but the truth was that they didn’t know shit about women. Both of them were idiots and made huge mistakes before they finally got the girl.
Me, I didn’t intend to make mistakes when it came to Sofia. I planned on being the exception to the Fisher brother playbook they both seemed to follow. One that was apparently handed down from our father.
“Yeah, I’m going to woo her. Something you two clearly know nothing about.”
“Excuse me.” Frank’s laughter died and his jaw clenched. “I get that you’re trying to bash us here, but you’re inadvertently bashing our women in the process. Choose your next words carefully.”
“What he said.” Nick pointed his thumb toward Frank, but he was nowhere near as threatening as Frank could be.
There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that my brothers loved their girlfriends. And the personal hell that each of them had gone through in order to get their girl and stay together was nothing short of crazy. But I didn’t want to do things the way either of them did. If there was going to be some big dramatic implosion before my happily-ever-after happened, it sure as hell wasn’t going to be my doing.
I waved my hand in surrender, not wanting to genuinely piss my brothers off any further. I loved their girlfriends and knew that both Claudia and Jess would be my sisters-in-law one day. “I only meant to offend you two. Not the girls.”
“Hard to separate,” Frank bit out.
“Can we move on? Or back, actually?” Nick asked, leaning forward on the bar. “I want to hear all about this wooing you’re planning to do.”
“I just meant that I was going to romance her, okay? I want to be a gentleman when she comes in. Drive her home if she’ll let me, ask her on a proper date, bring her flowers. You know, all the things guys do when they actually like a girl.” I knew I sounded like a Hallmark Channel movie, but I couldn’t have cared less. They already knew I was an over-the-top romantic, so this was simply confirming it.
Nick caught my eye. “Can I say something?”
I glanced at Frank, who was already staring at Nick as I braced myself for whatever was about to spill from his lips. “Go ahead.”
“Can I just point out that you don’t even really know her? You can’t possibly like her like her already.” Nick looked to Frank for backup. “Am I right or wrong here?”
Frank offered a slight shrug but not much else as I allowed Nick’s words to sink in. He wasn’t wrong.
“You’re right,” I admitted. “I don’t know her, so I can’t really like her already. I guess liking her is the wrong word choice. Let’s just say I’m interested. I’m interested in getting to know her better so that I can like her. Better?”
I wasn’t sure why I was explaining myself, but I felt the need to. As much as I wanted to run away and hide in a corner where they’d leave me alone, I couldn’t avoid my brothers forever. And in their own way, they were only trying to help.
“What do you think you like about her? Why is she so different? Is it because she’s avoiding you?” Frank’s words were thoughtful, carefully chosen, it was obvious he’d been thinking on this longer than a second or two.
“That’s a good point,” Nick said. “Is it just the chase?”
Frank and Nick turned to each other and got lost in conversation about the thrill of the chase. They talked about not really liking a girl, but being intrigued for all the wrong reasons. I wasn’t included in the conversation, and neither of them looked at me until I cleared my throat loudly, reminding them that I was still here and this conversation was supposed to be about me.
The chase part had been something I’d considered already. Hell, maybe part of my pull toward her had initially been based on the fact that she kept pushing me away. We always want what we can’t have, right? But I wasn’t that kind of guy, never had been. And they both knew it.
“It’s not the chase. It’s not some game,” I said, then looked at Frank. “Was it the chase for you with Claudia?” I asked, knowing the question would strike a nerve.
