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Matthew and I were targets, point-blank. I half expected to look down and see a red dot aimed directly at my chest.
“I’m not staying in town long either. I’m driving back home after this.” Harry took a long sip of his lemonade. Good. That meant he’d be out of Blue Creek and away from the Pegasus before nightfall.
“So what’s up?” I asked. We gathered here because Harry had news to tell us, except he didn’t know we also had news to share, and I really wasn’t sure how he’d take it. The sooner we could get through it all, the faster my stomach would stop flipping around.
“Well…” Harry bit his nails and looked everywhere but our eyes. He was getting nervous, but what about? Should we tell him about us first?
“Harry, you’re freaking me out,” I said. The waitress came and dropped off the nachos we’d ordered. Harry used the opportunity to shovel a couple of cheese-and-guac-filled bites into his mouth, further prolonging whatever he had to say.
“Okay, now you’re freaking me out,” Matt added, brows scrunching together.
“It’s nothing to be freaked about, I promise. I’m just… it’s a lot, and I’m not sure how you two are going to react. You’re both family to me, and I don’t want to ruin anything or get anyone upset. That’s the complete last thing I ever want to do.”
I cocked my head, completely ignoring the stacked plate of nachos. “You’d never ruin our family, Harry. You know that.”
“I know, I know, I just…” He took a deep breath. I could see the wave cresting on the horizon. Like a Band-Aid being ripped off, the words flew suddenly out of his mouth. “I’m married. I found someone, and we got engaged and married in about a month’s time. It all happened so fast, and I was going to tell you both when I was here last, but it just felt like such a sour moment to share the news in. I’m sorry I kept it a secret from you both. It’s just been a fairy-tale time and I, I, I’m sorry.”
“Whoa, whoa, Harry.” I reached across the table and grabbed my brother’s hand. “Stop apologizing and start spilling details. I’m so happy for you, are kidding me? This is all I’ve ever wanted, for you to be happy. Do we know him?”
“You do actually. Both of you do… it’s Mateo, from my book club. We’ve all hung out a couple times before.”
“I do remember him,” Matt said, grinning wide. “He was a really good guy. Firefighter, right?”
“He is.”
I arched a brow. “A firefighter you met at your book club and got secretly engaged to? Harry, how in the world would I ever be mad at that?”
Harry laughed, and I could tell a weight had been lifted off his shoulders, ejected right through the roof. “I’ll bring him down to Blue Creek the next time I visit. Thank you guys for not hating me. I really didn’t want to make anyone mad.”
I lifted my glass of water. “Cheers to firemen and secret weddings.”
All three of us laughed as the glasses clinked. I set mine down and looked across at my brother. “I love you, Harry. And I’m happy you’re happy, really.”
“I am, too,” Matt said. “It’s about time someone locked it down with a ring.”
Harry blushed and pulled out the ring he’d been hiding in his pant pocket. It was an all-black matte band with a shining silver edge running around it. He slipped it on, his smile growing even bigger, crinkling his eyes and dimpling his cheeks.
This was it, then, the time I’d rip off my own bandage.
“Well, we’ve also got some news to share with you, Harry.” I swallowed, suddenly feeling fluttery butterflies lift off in my chest. Thankfully, I wasn’t scared of hurting Harry with this news anymore, so saying it would be much, much easier than I had expected. “You’re not the only one who’s been in a secret relationship at this table.”
He looked at me, confused, and then his eyes darted to Matt, slightly more confused. Then he looked back to me, a little less confused.
I lifted my hand from under the table, bringing Matt’s up with it, our fingers interlocked.
Harry wasn’t confused at all anymore.
“I knew it!” he said, slapping the table. He was laughing, clearly not upset in the slightest. “Damn, I should have put down a bet. It was so obvious with how you two looked at each other.”
“Really?” I asked, feeling the same weightlessness my brother must be feeling. I couldn’t believe that all those years of self-inflicted torment appeared to be for nothing.
“Yes, it was so obvious. Even when you two were younger, I remember thinking there was something there. Then you both stopped talking to each other. I always wondered what went on there but figured it must have been big if it came in between you two.” He threw his hands up in the air. “Not that I’m asking for tea, at all. I’m just so happy for us, for this moment.”
