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“You’ll have to take it in the living room. The cordless is charging,” she tells me, hurrying toward the fridge to retrieve the sandwiches we made for lunch.
“Right.” I toss my cards face down onto the table. “I forfeit,” I announce as I stand.
“You were going to lose anyway,” Josh tells me.
“Seriously. I can’t believe I’m related to you,” Seth pitches in, joking.
“Yeah. Yeah.” I laugh. “Keep it up and I won’t ever play cards with you again.”
“At this point I think you’d be doing us a favor,” Seth adds, smiling widely when I flip him off in a way that my mother can’t see.
Turning, I ignore Thad’s eyes on me as I quickly exit the kitchen. Flopping down in my father’s recliner, I grab the corded phone off the end table, for a brief moment wondering if my family will ever catch up to modern technology. I don’t even know if they make corded phones anymore. I’m pretty sure they’ve had this one since I was a baby.
“Hello.” I press the receiver to my ear, pulling my legs up in the recliner with me.
“Laken, hey, it’s Brylan.”
“What’s up?” I ask, honestly a little surprised that he’s calling me.
“Not much. Just out running some errands. Hey listen, I wanted to see if you were interested in catching dinner with me on Friday night.”
“This Friday?” I ask, my gaze shooting upward to find Thad leaning against the wide arched doorway that separates the living room from the foyer.
My stomach twists at the sight of him and it takes everything in me to hold my thoughts together.
“Yeah, I thought it might be fun. My way of apologizing for the other night.”
“You have nothing to apologize for,” I say into the phone, Thad’s eyes not leaving mine as I speak.
“I kind of do. I had too much to drink and I feel really bad about that guy having to take you home. Let me make it up to you. Dinner at Perry’s Diner tomorrow night? Just you and me.”
“I don’t know, Brylan,” I say, hesitant to give him the wrong impression.
“No expectations. I promise. I just want a chance to catch up a little more. I feel like I kind of blew that opportunity last weekend.”
“It was a party for you. I didn’t expect your undivided attention.” My face flushes under Thad’s heated gaze.
“I know, but I’d still like a do over. What do you say?”
“Dinner sounds great,” I finally concede, not sure how I can decline without seeming like an ass.
I don’t miss the way Thad’s expression shifts or the knot that presses into my stomach when it does.
“Perfect. I’ll pick you up at seven?” Brylan continues even though my full focus is on the man in front of me.
“Okay,” I agree. “I gotta go. See you tomorrow.” I quickly hang up without waiting for a response.
“Hot date tomorrow?” Thad pushes away from the door frame but doesn’t step any further into the room.
“More like dinner with a friend,” I counter, standing.
“That guy has no interest in just being your friend,” he tells me.
“If I didn’t know any better I’d say you’re jealous,” I tease, taking two calculated steps forward.
He opens his mouth to respond but snaps it closed when Seth comes strolling into the room. He slides right past Thad and drops onto the couch, completely oblivious to what he walked in on.
“What are you doing?” I turn my attention to my younger brother.
