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Chapter Twelve:
Blink if You’re in Danger
I took the fact thatSterling came back with extra small condoms as a weird, passive-aggressive peace offering and went on about my day. Keeping Charlie away from the pie that evening was a task all in itself, but we were having dinner with Ollie the following day and I was hoping it would be our dessert. Next time, I’d just have to make an extra one so Charlie wouldn’t have to wait.
When I woke up on Sunday, I was nervous to meet Ollie. I’d seen him in photographs, seen him in person at the bar, and yet I still had no clue what to expect. It was weird to have never met the man even though I’d seen his face, spoken to him on the phone, and heard stories of his childhood. I even knew his favorite meal thanks to Charlie, and I got busy preparing the tacos as soon as Charlie woke from his afternoon nap. I had no clue where Sterling was, but I put on some Sam Cooke again and sang along with him, already loving our daily dinner routine. “You sure you’re not ready to dance, Charlie?”
“Oh, no. My luck, I'd break a hip.” He chuckled, watching me a little too closely. “You look nervous, dear. It’s just us. Talk to me.”
I set the lid back on the Spanish rice and walked to sit on a stool. “Dealing with one of your sons is hard. There will be two in here,” I whisper. “What if he hates my recipe?”
“Then tell him to make his own damned tacos,” he said teasingly. He took things a little more seriously then, reaching into his pocket to pull out a nickel. “Oliver and Sterling are two sides of a very stubborn coin. It can be hard if you’re dealing with both sides at once, but flip it just right—” he tossed it up, tongue tucked between his teeth as he watched it bounce on the table and start to spin vertically — “and you’ll find they balance each other out.”
My jaw dropped a little as that coin came to a stop, perfectly on its side. “Wow,” I watched him in awe as his gaze met mine again, but before I could say anything else, I heard the front door open and Carl running toward it. Time to flip that coin.
“Smells good in here.” Ollie’s voice traveled to the kitchen and I spun around just in time to see him enter.
“You’re early,” I said simply, then froze as the stranger pulled me into a hug like we’d been friends for years.
“Yeah, wanted to see you squirm.” He winked and moved over to hug Charlie as well. “Hey, Pop. You look good. Where’s my pain-in-the-ass big bro?”
“He’ll be along,” Charlie replied, squeezing Ollie’s hand. “Too busy for your old man these days?”
I could tell that simple sentence got to him. He rubbed the back of his neck and shook his head, that carefree smile slipping from his face. “Course not. I mean, I’ve been busy, yeah, but shit.” He laughed humorlessly and moved toward the fridge to grab a beer. “How have you been? She been good to you?”
He pointed the bottle at me and popped it open, eyeing me like I was the meal instead of the meat I was frying and I allowed myself to briefly check him out. He was in some dark-wash navy jeans and a gray Salvatore Ferragamo polo that I was sure he’d spent hundreds of dollars on, yet he wiped his wet hand on it like it was nothing more than rag. “Of course I have. Huh, Charlie?”
Ollie snorted. “She answers for you, too. Blink if you’re in danger, Pop.”
“I might be in danger if she makes me dance. These old bones won’t be able to take it.”
“You’re only seventy-six,” Sterling said as he walked in. “What did I miss?”
Oliver walked over and instantly tried to mess up his hair. “I was about to ask dad’s nanny to dance with me. Think she’ll say yeah?”
I chuckled as I started frying the tortillas. “She can hear you just fine, and no, she won’t. She’s very busy.”
“Not all there, either,” Sterling deadpanned. “Do you hear the way she talks about herself in the third person? Is that really what you want, Oliver?”
“I like my women a little crazy. Speaking of ... dodged another bullet.”
I had no clue what he was talking about, but that didn’t stop me from listening to every word over the crackling and popping of the oil.
“And yet you’re trying to load the damned gun all over again. Little soon, don’t you think?” This time, Sterling’s tone was colder, and Charlie intervened to keep them both busy until we were all sitting down to eat.
Once everyone was fed, the energy in the room was calmer, sated even, as all three men ate more than their fill of food. Once the stories started, I didn’t want them to end. I’d never seen Sterling smile so much, even if he sometimes sounded like a second father to Ollie. I could tell he needed this.
I watched Oliver closely as he laughed and told us about a time Sterling snuck out of the house after bedtime, and under it all, I could see how much he admired his older brother. Oliver seemed to always rope me into the conversations, not allowing me to shrink into the background like most would do during a family gathering, but all that did was make me feel right at home.
And maybe I finally was.
Sterling
WE MADE A MESS WITHthe tacos. An absolute, undignified mess, but I hadn’t laughed that much since before my mom died. I felt at ease, despite the way Ollie was looking at Zeppelin.
I had no right to be pissed about it. One good day between us wasn’t enough to justify the jealousy I was feeling, and he was always the charming one. It wasn’t a surprise to me that they took to each other like this, that they were looking at each other like that.
So why was I feeling like I wanted to go for a run and never stop?
