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“Yeah, but you’re stuck with me. We’re blood.”
“True.” I eat another bite.
“You should be glad there are people out there who don’t give up, or else you’d have lost Nate.”
My heart skips a beat at the mention of his name. I finish chewing before saying, “I did lose Nate.“
“Hardly.” My brother snorts. He pulls his cell phone out of his back pocket and shows me his text messages. Nate’s, in particular. They’re time-stamped. There’s one a day going back several days. They all say the same thing.
How’s Vivian?
“You replied fine.”
One fine. One okay, one good, and one not sure, to be precise.
“Yeah, but I said more when I spoke to him last night.”
My blood chills. “You talked to him?”
“He’s my boss.” Walt’s tone says duh. ”He’s in town.”
“He’s in town?”
“You a parrot now?” He watches me while he chews. “What do you care? You’re not in love with him anyway, right?”
It’s not that I’m not, it’s that I can’t be.
“Tomorrow night we’re meeting at O’Leary’s for dinner to celebrate completing the site. You have to celebrate your accomplishments.”
Lainey Owen said that the day I met her. I think of Will and Nate’s brothers. My chest is aching.
“You could come. I am allowed a plus-one.”
“I can’t…what would I say to him?”
“‘Sorry for what I said when I was in love with you’?” Walt suggests.
“I’m not—”
“Who do you think you’re talking to, here?” He dips into the box for a third slice. I’m still working on number one. Now that I know Nate is close by and has been asking about me, my appetite is gone. Do I have a second chance? Am I brave enough to take one?
“I thought about what you said about the money,” Walt says.
“You’ll take it?” I chirp.
“You can give me twenty-five percent of it, but it’s going to be invested, not spent. You have to keep the rest, though.” He holds out a hand. “Deal?”
“I’ll keep half,” I amend as I grip his hand.
“Seventy percent.” He tugs my arm.
“Sixty,” I argue. He watches me for a beat, my hand still in his.
“Sixty, and you come with me tomorrow night.”
We have a stare down that I know he’s going to win. “You’re an asshole.”
“Then we agree.” He grins and pumps my arm once.
