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Austin looked from one brother to the next.
“Never,” Land finally answered.
“Exactly. And how long has my friendship with Sofi lasted?” Austin asked.
“Forever,” Phoenix said easily.
“Right. So why would I give up forever for a few months? I’m not a math whiz, but that makes no sense.” It would be like exchanging the Olympic torch for a match.
Austin rested his case. He wished he had a judge to pound a gavel, emphasizing his point and forcing all his brothers to drop the subject once and for all.
“But what if you can have a relationship longer than a few months, and you just haven’t yet?” Memphis asked.
Austin had considered that a heck of a lot of times. “So I’d experiment with Sofi? Can’t do that to her.” He shook his head emphatically as he revealed the conclusion he always came to.
“But it’s not exactly an experiment. You and Sofi have always been forever in whatever capacity she’s in in your life,” Land said after some thought.
“Do you know that?” Austin sat up to ask Land.
Land met Austin’s eyes and then finally shook his head. “I mean, it’s what makes sense.”
“I’m not willing to risk everything with Sofi on what makes sense. Something I can be sure of: we’ll be friends forever. The rest? I can’t know,” Austin said as he cracked his neck. He didn’t like it any more than his brothers, but it was just the way it was. If Austin could change it, he would. He didn’t love that he was doomed to be alone, but at least he’d have his brothers and their families, and he’d also be the world’s greatest uncle to Sofi’s kids. Although the thought of Sofi having children, someone else’s children, made him want to vomit. Not the idea of Sofi as a mom—she’d be the best mom ever—but all because he would be jealous of whatever bastard got to be her husband and share all of those parts of life with her. Austin was cognizant enough to admit that.
“But what if you aren’t friends forever? I wouldn’t want my wife to have a male best friend who finds her attractive and has possible chemistry with her,” Phoenix said.
Notpossiblechemistry. Austin knew his blood ran hot for Sofi and he had a feeling she felt the same way. If they ever combined, he knew they’d be explosive, but he didn’t correct his brother.
“Then you wouldn’t be the right guy for Sofi. The right guy for her would trust her and me. I would never, ever get in the way of Sofi’s marriage. I love her too much.”
“And that’s supposed to put her husband’s mind at ease?” Memphis asked, raising a fry in the air.
“For the right guy, it will be.” Austin was confident. Because if that guy wasn’t out there, Sofi wouldn’t choose him. He and Sofi were a package deal, and if a guy didn’t like that, he could walk. Austin was sure Sofi would feel the same way. Their friendship was everything to her as well.
“I still think you’re making a mistake. Better to have loved and lost,” Memphis began.
Austin shook his head so hard his curls flew. “Not with Sofi. I can’t lose her.”
Land and Phoenix shared a look that Austin could easily read. They thought Austin would give in. That he would act on his feelings for Sofi. That he would let his selfishness win in the end. And in any other situation, they would probably be right. But here, they were wrong. Austin could never give in. Sofi meant too much to him.
He’d endure today’s pain for tomorrow’s happiness. Yes, Austin would be jealous of whatever guy got Sofi’s whole heart, but he’d learn to live with that. He’d live with seeing her start a family, and he’d live with her putting them above him. Because as long as he was still on her list of most important people, he could live with any of that.
The alternative . . . that, he couldn’t live with.
Eight
“Order up!”Sofi called to her mom, who was working the counter at the mercado that evening. Sofi had just dished up some of her absolutely incredible pozole, if she did say so herself, and felt excited on behalf of whoever had ordered the meal. They had no idea what they were in for. Unless they were a repeat customer, in which case they knew exactly what they were going to get and probably felt even more anticipation than Sofi. Yes, this was presumptuous of her. But when it came to her food, Sofi had absolutely no insecurities. Every other part of her life? Tons of them. But she knew she could rock a tamale, taco, and everything in between.
“We’ve only got one serving of pozole left,” Sofi said when her mom came to the window that exposed part of the kitchen to the rest of the store.
“Got it,” Darla replied before putting on a wide smile and handing the bag with a takeout serving of the soup to the waiting customer.
“Is Sof back there?” Sofi heard her brother Mario ask as he joined their mother behind the counter.
“Depends,” Sofi called out guardedly. “What are you here for?”
Sofi loved her brothers with all of her heart, but didn’t trust them a lick. They only ever texted or came to see her when they needed something or felt the urge to really annoy someone. Her mom had been saying for years now that her relationship with her brothers would one day mature, but Sofi was still waiting for that day.
“Just wanted to check in on you, Sis. Is that so strange?” Mario said, leaning through the window so that his head was in the kitchen.
