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“Not forward at all. Thank you for the invite.” It was a little forward, but I won’t tell her that. She was just excited to see her stepson, and apparently with a woman.
“Of course. I don’t remember the last time Ledger came over for dinner. We’ve invited him several times, but he always said he was busy working in the garage,” Mona says.
“Is that so?” I spare a glance at Ledger and he shrugs his shoulders.
As we step through the stone arched doorway and into the kitchen, I first notice an older man standing on one side of the island. He’s in his early sixties and has a striking resemblance to Ledger. Strong jaw. Straight nose. He holds out his hand and introduces himself as Kenny. On the other side are two other people, both appear to be in their early twenties. With a quick wave, they introduce themselves as Ava and Liam. Then a familiar face, one I was crossing my fingers that I wouldn’t see, rounds the corner.
“Olivia? What are you doing here?” Trey takes a few steps until he’s standing in front of me. His arms wrap me up in a bear hug. I can’t move. One he’s gripping me so tight. And two, I’m frozen in shock. “If you wanted to see me, all you needed to do was call. You didn’t have to show up at my parents’ house. But also, how did you know where my parents live?”
“She’s with me.” Ledger’s voice is deep and gravelly. When I glance his way, his jaw clenches, like if Trey doesn’t release me, he might force him to…with his fist.
Trey’s grip around me loosens, but he doesn’t fully let me go. He glances down at me. I give him a tight smile and nod in confirmation. His arm drops to his side, and he takes a step back. Ledger locks eyes with Trey as he moves to stand next to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulder.
“So, this might be obvious now, but how do you two know each other?” Deep down, I hope they’re neighbors and Trey’s just stopping by, or maybe a distant cousin who comes over for dinner, anything but—
“He’s my brother,” Trey deadpans.
Shit. Not what I wanted to hear.
“Half-brother,” Ledger corrects. “Same dad. Different moms.”
That explains why Mona looked so familiar. She and Trey share the same facial features.
“So what’s going on here? Are you two…together?” Trey points between the two of us.
“Yes.” Ledger’s grip on me tightens.
“No,” I say at the same time as Ledger. We glance at each other. “We’re seeing where it goes.” I shrug.
“Huh?” Trey's eyebrows knit together. There’s a moment of silence. “Well, you always did like my sloppy seconds.”
“Trey!” Mona screeches.
Ledger drops his arm from around me and takes a step toward Trey. “What does that mean?”
“Excuse me?!” I slide past Ledger because there’s no shoving him, and stalk toward Trey.
Trey narrows his eyes at me. “You didn’t tell your boy toy we kissed.”
“Why would I have told him we kissed, when I didn’t even know you two knew each other? And he’s not my boy toy. Also, I am no one’s sloppy seconds!” My palms shove into Trey’s chest, but he barely moves a step. My entire body trembles with rage. This is supposed to be my best friend, and he’s treating me like one of his dirty one-night stands. The urge to punch him is strong, but since I’ve never punched anyone, I do the next best thing. I twist around and pluck a dinner roll out of a basket on the kitchen island and hurl it at his head. Trey ducks. The dinner roll grazes the hair on the top of his head. I take a second shot with another roll. This time, it hits him right in the forehead.
“What the hell? Why are you throwing food at me?” Trey yells.
I clench my fists. “Because you basically called me a whore!” I twist around to get another roll, but Ledger pushes the basket just out of reach.
“Because you’re with him!” He points a finger at Ledger.
This time Ledger shoulders past me and gets in Trey’s face. “Why the fuck do you care? You mad she chose me over you? Kinda like when Candy picked me over you. How does it feel being second best?”
“Fuck you! She only crawled to you because I was done with her.” Trey shoves Ledger, who only stumbles back a few inches. “Amanda, Sara…I can keep going. You took in all my discarded trash. Look at her. There’s no reasonable explanation for her to be with a guy like you.”
“Someone who’s not a prick? Someone who doesn’t look like he’s got a stick shoved so far up his ass he looks like a puppet in a suit? You’re just pissed I won. She chose the better man.” Ledger is inches from Trey’s face.
“Okay! That’s enough, you two,” Mona yells, but it goes unnoticed.
Trey lets out a menacing laugh. “You don’t think she has a taste for the expensive? I guarantee you she’d rather have Dom Perignon than Boone’s Farm.”
Ledger shakes his head. “Let me guess, I’m the Boons Farm?”
