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“What’s so funny?” I ask the two of them.
“Those boys devoured the entire bowl of blueberries and demanded more in the name of the king,” Tori says.
“They’re so cute together,” Maria adds.
I smirk and glance outside, my heart full. Blueberries. Their mothers may not think it’s so cute later.
“Oh, you’ll be happy to know, I’ve made other arrangements for Javier,” Maria says.
“Great, but how?”
Tori raises her hand. “I’m going to watch him.”
“Oh. Are you sure?”
“Positive. With Brady gone, it works out perfect. The two of them will keep me busy.”
“She’s pretty great, huh?” Maria says, smiling at Tori. The two of them connecting thrills me, although it will take some time to get used to.
“Yes, she is.”
“We moms have to stick together,” Tori says, putting her arm around Maria.
Maria nods. “Yep. Thank you.”
I leave the girls chatting and go outside, passing Brady on the way. He stops. “I’m proud of you, little brother,” he says quietly. I tip my chin, and he keeps moving into the house. Gabe is seated at the table on the back deck, alone, and I fill the seat next to him.
“What’s up?” I ask.
“Just keeping an eye on the boys.” I follow his pointer finger to Drew, Javier, Lance, and Davey’s son. I can’t remember his name. “Pretty cool — they’re all the same age. Lance has had a hard time making friends since his mom died.”
“What about you, man? How do you do it?”
He glances down and spins a ring on his finger. It’s a promise ring for a future Gabe and his girl were robbed of.
“I have Lance, so I don’t really have a choice.”
“It must be hard.”
“Some days.” He shrugs and I notice some new ink on his chest. Gabe is a softy, although you’d never know it by the gauges in his ears and the amount of ink covering his skin. Most people assume Second Chances guitar player is a bad-ass, but he’s a genuinely nice guy with a huge heart and incredible ability on the strings.
I eye the crowd, looking at a bunch of faces I don’t know. “Have you seen Liv?”
“Oh, yeah. She’s on the beach, tanning.” He points with a smile I’ve seen before when guys look at my sister. She makes men dumb. “Damn, dude. I know she’s your sister, and she’s taken, but DAY-UM!”
“Gross, man.”
“Sorry, but she’s hot.” I make a sour face. “And she’s sweet.”
“Are you sure we’re talking about the same girl?”
“Positive, dude. Lance adores her. She’s great with him.”
“She does love kids,” I say, unable to agree with him on any of her other qualities.
“She’s a doll.” He leans over the side of his chair close to me and whispers, “Don’t repeat this, but she can do better than Harrison. He’s a chump.”
I like Gabe more every day. He may be the one person I know that see’s through Harrison’s façade.
