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Derek leaned toward him, prodded him in the shoulder. “If Sarah really wanted that she would have stayed with at least one of these guys, right?”
“They all dumped her.”
“Oh.” This was not easy. Derek frowned, struggling to organize his thoughts. “Okay, here is my advice. If I was you, I’d start by telling her straight-out how you feel.”
Joe’s head lifted, eyes dull. He looked like hell. No way would Sarah go for him that way. “What if she tells me to get lost?”
“Dude, you’re moving to Phoenix, how much more lost can you get?”
Joe nodded thoughtfully. “Good point.”
“Then...” Derek gestured with his glass, gaining hope as his proposal gained momentum. “Then, you ask her to move to Phoenix with you.”
Joe reacted as if he’d been stung by a bee. “Huh?”
“Well, isn’t that what you want?” Derek thumped his glass down on the table.
“Yeah, but...”
“It’s what you want. Do it. You don’t feel like you have the kind of confidence she wants? Fake it. Eventually it becomes real.”
He waited for Joe to process the concepts, enjoying his whiskey. For several seconds Joe appeared stunned, then his face seemed to thaw some. His eyes hardened in determination.
“I’ll do it.” He slammed his hand on the table. Even though his hair was still sticking up on one side, he seemed to grow from a lost kid into a man right before Derek’s eyes. If that didn’t impress Sarah, nothing would.
“Good. Good for you. I bet you won’t regret it.” God he hoped not.
“I’ll do it. I’ll do it right now.” He struggled to his feet and then had to sit heavily back down.
“Uh.” Derek held up his hand. “I’d wait until tomorrow. Maybe after the wedding, in case things get...emotional.”
“You’re right.” Joe grimaced. “Besides, I probably smell like a distillery.”
“Could be.” Derek pushed Joe’s water toward him. “I’d switch to the soft stuff now. Make your plan tonight. Tomorrow you’ll be in much better shape.”
“God, if this works, Derek...” Joe laughed nervously. “You’ll have made me the happiest guy on the planet.”
“Wait, you two are getting married?” Paul walked into the room and grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator. “That’ll make tomorrow a really big day.”
“No. No. Not him.” Joe put both hands up. “I want to marry your sister.”
“Yeah?” Paul grinned and took a sip of water, clearly not surprised by the news. “I was just in her room talking to her. She’s pretty bummed.”
“Because I’m leaving?” Joe asked hopefully.
“That would be a big fat yes.”
“See?” Derek gestured to Joe, then to Paul. “Hey, Paul, tell us how you feel getting married.”
“Oh, good, is this my groom interview?” Paul pulled out a chair and sank into it, pretended his water bottle was a microphone. “Well, I’ll tell you how I feel, Derek. Ellen is the best woman I’ve ever met and really right for me, so I guess that means I feel pretty freaking great. In spite of the fact that I can’t sleep.”
“Nervous about marrying her?” Joe asked.
“No, no, not nervous about the marriage.” Paul put the bottle on the table. “Maybe nervous about all the details. Mostly excited about how important the day is to both of us. And also because up in my room lies the mighty Kevin, who snores like an angry yak.”
Joe burst out laughing. Derek drained his whiskey glass, thinking of how the story of Paul and Ellen’s rocky start might help Joe.
“So you met Ellen and that was that?” Derek knew the answer of course, but when Paul looked at him incredulously, he tipped his head imperceptibly toward Joe.
Paul’s face cleared. “Oh, no. I nearly let her get away from me. I didn’t, but I still panic sometimes thinking how close I came to messing up my whole life. Just because I was afraid.”
“Hear that?” Derek pinned Joe with a meaningful stare. “You know what you want, you gotta stop hanging around feeling defeated and go after it. You want Sarah to go with you next year to Phoenix? Ask her. You have strong feelings for her? You need to...tell...her.”
