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“Well, hello to you, too.” He gives me a hug with lots of back slapping and then stows his bag in the corner.
“Sorry, but—” I rush to keep up with him as he’s walking fast across the tile. His gaze takes in the warm and sophisticated expanse of the lobby. He whistles. “This looks even better than the pictures.”
One of my favorite things is getting to see the looks on people’s faces when they walk in. It fills me with a level of healthy pride that few things can compete with.
“I finished my semester and didn’t want to go to Denver. No one’s home right now.”
“Where’s Gabriel?” I ask.
My dad doesn’t have a favorite son. This is something we can all agree on. Having a favorite would mean he’s taken the time to get to know us, and that certainly hasn’t happened. But if he were to have a favorite, it would be Gabriel—hands down. Where Sebastian is arguably the most successful, Gabriel’s the one son who didn’t leave home for good after high school. He helps Mom and Dad manage their charity work. He also sucks up to Dad. We all joke that he’s probably the one son who hasn’t had to deal with Dad blowing a gasket on the golf course mid-game.
“I think Gabriel’s in Boston,” Milo says. “Something about a children’s hospital thing? Anyway, I figured I’d hang out with you guys.”
We reach the loft sitting room, and Sebastian and Alec are just as surprised to see Milo as I am.
“What’s wrong?” Sebastian asks, a growl coming from his chest. Looks like he’s assuming the worst, like I was.
“Nothing’s wrong.” Milo grins. “I know it was forever ago that you all were in college, but don’t you remember finishing the semester and feeling carefree?” His arms go wide. “I decided to spend some time with you.”
I can’t help but smile.
“I’m starving. Is the kitchen stocked yet?” Milo steps in to give Sebastian and Alec a hug. With Alec, they add on some sort of bro handshake.
It’s nice to see that. Because he’s the youngest, we all worried about him when Alec left home, being alone with our dysfunctional parents.
And it’s clear Alec didn’t know Milo was coming either. “Have a seat. We’ll get you something to eat.” Alec slings an arm around Milo as they walk over to one of the sofas, shooting Sebastian a look. He grumbles, but picks his phone up from the coffee table.
After a minute, Sebastian stares at Milo. “I asked Drake to find you something.”
Milo grabs a throw pillow from the corner of the sofa he’s on, punches it a couple of times and then tries to shape it into a ball. He lies down on his back, resting his head on it. His kicks his flip flops off and extends his legs across me so that his feet are resting on the arm rest.
He looks…downright sloppy happy.
One look at Alec’s grin as he’s staring at Milo and I burst into laughter. Alec joins in, and even the corners of Sebastian’s mouth start to curve up.
“Where are Gabriel and Henry when you need ‘em?” Milo says. “I don’t want to play two-on-two. I wanna play three-on-three, like the old days.”
Even though Milo’s clearly in a good mood and the vibe in the room is a lot more upbeat since he arrived, his words send my heart plunging into my gut. I don’t remember the last time we were all together, at least for longer than half a day at Christmas time. I even miss my parents.
I hadn’t wanted to come to Longdale. I wouldn’t have if Sebastian hadn’t insisted. Something here was haunting me, something from my childhood. I don’t want it to have ahold of me anymore.
Can I get rid of it if I don’t know exactly what it was?
With a dash of grief, I realize that I probably can’t.
“I’ve missed you guys,” Milo says.
Sebastian nods his head. Alec and I say, “Me, too,” at the same time.
We’re quiet until Drake brings up a brown paper bag. We invite him to hang out with us, but he declines, straightening his man bun. “I’ve got a weight-lifting class at six tomorrow morning. I’m going to bed.” Drake was given a room here in the resort so he can be on call for Sebastian much of the time. It’s a pretty sweet gig, if you ask me. I wouldn’t mind having my only two jobs be to supply Sebastian with food and run his errands.
Except then I’d have to be around Sebastian most of the time.
Milo digs in with gusto, chewing on marinated chicken thighs. I start thinking about what he said about missing us and wishing we could play three-on-three basketball like the old days, and suddenly, my mind is turning. A burst of energy pulses through me. I mean, I usually have a lot of energy. But right now? I could fly.
And just like that, I know what I’m going to do.
I’m ready to put things into place. My head’s so dang clear, I feel like it’s been squeegeed. Frankly, I’m a little frustrated with myself. Why hadn’t I believed in this before? Why hadn’t I decided this before?
