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“What’s up?” Dean asked.
“The hot chick is here,” Jared informed his brother. “The one I danced with at the engagement party.”
Dean snorted. “I danced with her, too.”
Patton flipped a burger and took a long swig of his beer.
“Is she dating anyone?” Dean asked him.
“Why would I know?” he asked.
“You’ve spent a hell of a lot of time with them the last couple of weeks. If she was seeing someone, that would have come up by now,” Jared jumped in.
He’d seen a lot of her—he’d seen all of her. “Not that I know of,” Patton muttered, lifting some burgers from the grill and putting them on a platter. “Why don’t you make yourself useful?” He offered the tray to Jared.
Jared took it, eyebrows high. “Sure, no problem.”
He heard Dean’s whispered “What’s eating him?” but ignored it. He didn’t like being moody any more than his cousins did. When the garden gate squeaked, he tried not to look up. Maybe it was only Zach and Bianca. Cady could have turned down Spence. He really hoped she had. Hopefully, she was just dropping Bianca off and was heading to her apartment.
He glanced up to find Cady shaking hands with his cousin Jared. Jared, who was making a fool of himself over Cady.
Seeing her shouldn’t make him feel this way. Happy, relieved and excited. He slapped the spatula against a burger. He had no right to feel any of those things. He’d seen the panic on her face when they crossed the line from playful to...intimate. Not intimate as in sex, but intimate as in baring their scars and thoughts to each other. She didn’t want to go there with him. Her confession, words that had shaken him to the core, had her practically running into her bathroom. He’d sat there, happier than he’d been in years, waiting for her to come out. But her shower had lasted forever, and he knew what she was doing. She wanted him to go. He’d tugged on his clothes and left, hoping he’d get used to the hole in his chest and the pain twisting his stomach. Whatever feelings he was having, they’d go away in time. For now he should be happy she wasn’t out and about, being available.
Then again, his mom was assessing Cady, clearly sizing her up for one of the Ryan men. And Spence... Well he couldn’t exactly blame his little brother for appreciating just how appealing Cady was. She was all woman, her navy sundress with big white polka dots showing off just how feminine and pretty she was. He admired her ankles, her bright red shoes and the creamy skin of her calves.
He blew out a long, slow breath and turned his attention back to the grill. He had to keep it together. His family would bombard him with questions if he let on that he was...interested in Cady. He slapped Lucy’s burgers on the gri
ll and patted the nonmeat into place with vigor.
“Patton, you okay?” his mother asked.
“Great. Jared took the burgers to the table,” he spoke without looking up. “Hot dogs are ready.” He handed her the pan with hot dogs.
His mother took the pan but stared at him. “What’s eating you?”
He shook his head. “Nothing.”
“Patton Joshua Ryan, I know when something’s weighing on you—”
“I’m fine, Mom,” he said, holding up both hands—and his spatula. “No need to use the middle name.”
But his mother stood her ground, her brow furrowed and her mouth in a small, tight frown.
“You’re in trouble,” Zach said as he, Bianca, Spence and Cady approached. “Middle names are like curse words—you hear them, you better start running.”
“And whose middle name did we hear most often?” Patton asked, glancing at his brother.
“Yeah, Zachary David?” Spence asked.
“Oh, really, we’re going to go there, Spencer Lee?” Zach bit back.
Their mother was laughing now. “All right, all right.” She shook her head. “You’re too young to act so serious, Patton.” She stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. “Don’t be such a bear all the time.”
He knew she meant well, but he also knew that if he wasn’t serious—if he wasn’t the head of the family—things would fall apart. It had nothing to do with ego and everything to do with responsibility. His father had relied on him as a man, not a boy. And his brothers had always looked up to him as a role model, not a friend.
“How are you, Patton?” Bianca hugged him.
“Good. Probably smell like barbecue,” he said as he hugged her awkwardly with one arm. He shot a questioning glance at Zach. He wasn’t exactly a hugger by nature—something his brother knew well. Zach just smiled.
