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It took him a minute to get the words out. “Yeah. Guess I do.”
“Oh man, you’re going to make me cry again.” She sniffled. “For the record, the main reason I was such an A-1 bitch about the whole thing was maybe because I was a little jealous that my two favorite people might love each other more than me.”
Damn, now she was really turning the screws. “You’ve been my favorite girl ever since I pulled the heads off your Barbies and flushed them down the toilet. Not gonna change,” he said gruffly.
“Such a softie.” She let out a watery laugh. “I swear to you, Bry, I don’t think you’re like Mom and Dad. I think you’re like you, and you’re awesome.”
He cleared his throat and stepped out of the cool darkened building that housed Hank’s agency into the sunshine. “So how long can I milk this hurt feelings thing?”
Her giggle soothed him immeasurably. “At least a few months. Why?”
“Help me get my girl back.”
“You mean, like concoct a plan?”
“That’s exactly what I mean. Any ideas?”
“Yeah. Don’t ever send her red roses again, you dolt.”
He grimaced. “Not one of my finest moments.”
“Not one of mine either since I told her what it meant. Sorry.”
“Jesus, Vic. Do you hate me?”
“Of course not. It just slipped out.” She huffed out a breath. “Fine, you get a big bonus for putting up with a double dose of your pain-in-the-ass sister. Six months. Six months of milking the hurt feelings and you don’t have to solo babysit the kid for a year. Though you and Jill are totally being the godparents, so don’t even try to wiggle out of that one. Final offer.”
“I’ll take it.” He grinned and shielded his eyes from the sun as he started walking up the street to his truck. He had a lot to do and not much time to do it in. “Now help me with Jill.”
“Okay. So if I were a guy who wanted to prove I loved her, I’d show her in front of a lot of people.”
“Dude, I already know about you and Cory’s thing for outdoor sex. Not happening. I still have a rep in the public eye.”
Vic snort-laughed. “I don’t mean that. Pervert. I mean she needs a
declaration. Something sweet and heartfelt and public so she knows you’re saying in front of the world that she comes first in your eyes.”
“Huh. Okay. I’ll think on that. In the meantime, don’t let her leave the wedding until I arrive.” Now that he was clueing Vic into his surprise for Jill, it might get messy when he clued Jill into his surprise for Vic. The other surprise, assuming no one knew yet that their dad would be in attendance. “I might be late, but I’ll get there. Just don’t let her know I’m on my way.”
“You’re coming? Really?”
“Do you honestly think I’d miss my baby sister’s wedding?” Bad enough that he almost had. Thank God he’d come to his senses.
“No. I didn’t think you’d miss it for anything, which is how I knew I’d really hurt you.” She sighed. “I’m just really glad you’re coming home, Bry.”
He jogged down the ramp to the parking garage, sore knee be damned. If the stars aligned, he might get his personal nurse back soon. “Thanks. Me, too. See you soon, Vickster.”
…
What kind of woman kept the flowers their lover had used to dump them with? A not-too-bright one, maybe. Or one who was desperate to maintain even that small link with him.
Bringing her full circle to not-too-bright.
The morning of Vic’s wedding, Jill stared at the wilted roses on her kitchen table and debated putting them out of their misery. She’d sort of forgotten to give them their plant food and water them properly, and they were showing their wear. Eh, who was she kidding? The other eleven were now dead like the first one. At least she hadn’t shoved them in the garbage as she’d been tempted to do after Vic’s explanation.
Even days later, she couldn’t quite believe such an incredible night had led to their breaking up. She still hadn’t finished scraping her heart off the floor.
That didn’t mean she was taking his behavior lying down. She understood he had a career that took a lot of his time and involved miles of physical distance. She had no desire to try to hold him back. His commitment to excellence at football was only one more thing she loved about him. She intended to tell him that when she drove down to meet him after the wedding.
