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“Great,” he said with another dazzling smile. “Do you mind just waiting for me while I change?”
“No, I’ll be right outside.”
I stood outside of the beautiful old church and asked God again to help me. Am I doing the wrong thing as long as we really are just friends? I cannot control my feelings or my thoughts and I’m sure God will forgive me for those. I can, however, control my actions, and that will have to be the key here.
When Jace came out, he was wearing jeans, a blue t-shirt, and tennis shoes. He looked like that hot guy I met in the bar that night; my heart swelled and pressed up against my ribcage as it pounded. Damn it! Friends, Daphne: that’s it.
We took his car, and on the way, he seemed to be trying to warn me about his brothers. “They’re a lot different from me,” he tried to explain. “Max is the oldest and the more serious one, and Ryan is a 14-year-old in a 25-year-old man’s body. Don’t take anything he says seriously, okay?”
I was a little nervous, but I agreed. We went to a sandwich shop called Pot-Belly in Boston. His brothers were already there, and I knew them as soon as I saw them because the three of them looked so much alike. I also didn’t miss the looks on their faces when they saw me or the glance they gave each other.
“There he is,” the dark-haired one said. “And, he brought a friend.”
“Did you bring me one?” the light-haired one with the tattoos asked with a lewd chuckle. My guess was that he was Ryan. I was right.
“Daphne, this is Max,” Jace said of the older one. Then with a hard look at the younger one, he said, “The mouthy one is Ryan. Remember what I told you.”
Max shook my hand. Ryan looked offended and said, “What did he tell you?” I didn’t know what to say and I could feel myself blushing. He looked at Jace then and said, “What on earth could you possibly have to judge me for…Father.”
“Ryan, cool it.” That was Max. He had a deep, controlled voice and as soon as he spoke, Ryan shut up and took his seat. He looked up at me and said, “I’m pleased to meet you, Daphne and whatever he told you is probably true.”
I smiled at him and he winked at me. Jace rolled his eyes. Jace and I sat down and the brothers started talking about people they knew. There was something about their grandmother’s house selling and having a meeting with the attorney.
We ordered our meals before Max looked at me and said, “So, what do you do, Daphne?”
“I’m a waitress,” I told him. He was very well-dressed and just the way he held himself I could tell that he was the successful one. I was a little ashamed to tell him I was just a waitress.
“How do you know Jace?” Ryan asked. He had a mischievous glint in his eye.
“We met at…”
“Church,” Jace said, taking it out of my hands. Ryan smiled again and looked like he knew it was bullshit somehow.
“I ran into Lily the other day,” Max said. My thigh was barely touching Jace’s under the table, but I felt him tense at the mention of her name. I wondered why. Is it because of me?
“Oh, where did you see her?” The waitress brought our sandwiches and the conversation was put on hold while Ryan flirted with her and everyone got settled with their food.
Once she was gone, Max said, “She was at McDougal’s Friday night. I was surprised to see her since I’d heard she moved out of town. She told me she went on a church trip with you last weekend.”
“Yeah, we had a kayaking trip. Lily is part of my congregation.” Jace took a bite of his sandwich. He looked uncomfortable, like he was trying to think of a way to change the subject.
“Yeah, that’s what she said. She also told me something else really interesting.”
Jace now looked like he was about to take off running from the restaurant. I could actually watch him visibly relax from head to toe as Max said, “She said that the house she lived in with her husband sold for 50,000 more than Grandma’s did.”
Ryan looked amused, Jace looked relieved, and Max looked completely in control. These three were something.
“Oh…I wonder why? I never saw her house. Was it bigger or in a better neighborhood?”
“No, it was on the South End, too, and if I’m not mistaken, it was smaller than Grandma’s. I’m going to find out when I speak with the attorney.”
“God! You guys are so boring,” Ryan whined. Jace was right; he was definitely like a 14-year old.
Jace rolled his eyes again and said, “What would you like to talk about, Ryan?” The
n he looked at me and back at his brother and said, “Keep it clean.”
“You’re such an old fuddy-dud lately,” Ryan told him with his lip curled. “Being a priest is making you old before your time.”
