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Dee nervously shifted her fork and knife around on the tablecloth. Then, she took a long gulp of water. Her cheeks grew red, as did her bottom lip, which she continued to chew on.
“Just spit it out. It can’t be that bad. Did you lose your entire trust fund in some crypto-currency scam? Or are there nude pictures of you on the internet? What?”
“I’m dating a guy,” she blurted out.
I blinked and nodded. “Cool. Is something wrong with him?”
Dee sighed and waved her hand. A tall, handsome man with dark hair and a chiseled, familiar chin walked over to our booth. Dee scooted over and the man slid in.
I leaned back against the booth’s padded leather, in a slight state of shock. “Henry Thaxton.”
Henry, my old boyfriend from college. We’d never been “get married” serious back then. He’d been fine to keep around when I’d needed a date or a night out. I’d actually liked the guy, but I’d always felt like he was as interested in my money as in me.
Since I knew neither of us had been hearing wedding bells, I’d been fine maintaining the status quo since I’d been out of Texas after our senior year for law school and he would not be coming with me.
However, he’d broken up with me during our senior year right before my birthday. That had been his pattern since we’d met as Freshmen. When a birthday, Christmas, Valentine’s Day or any time he might’ve been required to drop some serious money on his “girlfriend,” he’d done the disappearing act. I hadn’t really cared much. Plus, it had only been after he’d broken up with me that I met Zack. Maybe, I should be thankful for his unintended assistance in my love life.
Still, I didn’t harbor any ill will or romantic feelings toward him. Mostly, I felt neutral about him. However, seeing him again, and with my sister, gave me a little shock. I confess, it did cross my mind if he was replacing me with my sister. I’d reserve my opinion until I knew more.
But if he was serious about Dee, and treated her like she deserved to be treated, and he made her happy, I sure wasn’t going to stand in their way.
“I go by Hank now,” Henry, aka Hank, said as he draped his arm over the back of the booth and, by proxy, around my sister.
I nodded. “Okay, Hank.” I waved my hand toward them. “Someone want to tell me what’s going on?”
“Hank’s selling real estate,” Dee began.
“Uh-huh. And?”
“I saw how much you loved having your own house, so I decided I wanted to look around. Hank had the listing for a house I was interested in seeing. I had no idea that Hank Thaxton was Henry from college.”
“Okay,” I drawled out.
“He ended up showing me at least twenty different houses, and, um, one thing led to another, and he asked me to dinner. I didn’t say anything to you because, well, frankly, it wasn’t your business and…” She glanced over at him and back to me. “I didn’t know if dinner was just a one-time meal or if there’d be others.” She gave a self-conscious shrug. “There were more.”
“You do realize she’s my sister, Hank, and we look alike?” I said to Hank.
“First, of course, I know she’s your sister. Well, I knew the minute she showed up for the house viewing appointment and walked in the door. And second, you are not identical. Oh, you look enough alike that some people might not see the differences, but I do. Her eyes are a different color. Her hairline is lower. Her ears are?—”
“Yeah, okay,” I said. “I get the picture. You’ve studied her. So, why are we having this meet and greet today?”
Dee took his hand. “It’s more than dating, Andi.” She glanced toward Hank, who met her gaze with such a loving expression, I felt like I was intruding on a private moment meant just for them. Dee turned her gaze back to me. “I love him.”
“And I love her,” Hank said.
“I didn’t want you to think we snuck around behind your back or anything. It just happened.”
I smiled and I hoped my expression looked more confident than I felt. “I’m happy for you…for both of you. You know I only want the best for you, Dee.”
“So, you’re not upset?” Dee asked, her top teeth gnawing on her bottom lip.
“Upset? Gosh, no. Not at all. I don’t know what Hank told you about us, but we were never in love or talking long-term or anything.” I leaned closer and lowered my voice. “We never slept together, Dee. I think we were more comfortable as friends than lovers.”
“See?” Hank said. “Isn’t that what I said?”
“I know, honey, but guys are, well, clueless sometimes when it comes to women’s feelings.”
“I have no feelings for him, Dee…well, except friend feelings. So, as far as I’m concerned, go forth and be together,” I said.
