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“What time did you get in?” Ethan asks, helping himself to a slice of sashimi.
“Just in time to avoid the storm of the century.” I glance out the window at the quickly falling snow. “Will Brynn get home okay?”
“She’ll be fine. We’re used to this kind of weather.”
As he dips his salmon in soy sauce, my mind reels with a million questions. Does he still live in New York, or is he only visiting? I don’t see a ring, so he’s not married, but is he seeing anyone? And what is he doing in Brynn’s apartment? He clearly has a key, so…
Before I can ask, he says, “I think it’s really cool you’re staying with us for a few months. Brynn hasn’t stopped talking about it since you called. Although, she wasn’t sure you’d actually show up.”
That stings a bit, but I deserve it. The truth is, I almost didn’t. Last night I couldn’t sleep. My thoughts were filled with every possible way I could fail, and all the reasons I should just give up now. Then Brynn texted telling me how excited she was, and I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t let her down again, so I—
Hang on a second!Whatdid he say? “Us?” I repeat when his words finally click.
“Yeah, me and Brynn.” He shoots me a funny look.
“You and Brynn? You mean, you live here?”
“I moved in with Brynn a few months ago when my old roommate got married, and I couldn’t find a new place.” He peers at me with concern, like I’d suddenly lost my mind. “Didn’t Brynn tell you?”
“Nope.”
“That’s weird.”
We stare at each other in silence, and I’m not sure why the news is such a big deal. It’s just Ethan. For most of my life, he was like a big brother to me. Okay, that’s not true. More accurately, I was like a little sister tohim. But still, this won’t be awkward at all. I’m sure I’ll barely even notice he’s around.
Wilson shifts his weight, shoving me halfway onto Ethan’s lap.
His arm slips around me, keeping me from completely toppling over and face-planting into his wasabi. Even beneath my thick flannel sleeve, the warm pressure of his hand on my upper arm is at once reassuring and dangerously disconcerting. And there’s something in his eyes—a glint I’ve never seen before—that catches me off guard.
I part my lips to say something, anything, but no words come out.
“Q—” he starts, then bites down, flexing his jaw in the same nervous twitch from when we were kids and he had something important to say.
But regrettably, I’m not destined to know what comes next.
In arguably the worst timing in history, the front door flies open.
CHAPTERFOUR
Brynn bursts into the apartment harboring half the snowstorm in her dark, shoulder-length hair. Ethan and I break apart like two teenagers caught making out when they’re supposed to be studying.
“I’m so sorry I’m late!” Brynn gushes, unraveling her scarf. “We have a new client who’s being audited, and their finances are a mess. Total DEFCON 5 situation.”
“You mean DEFCON 1,” Ethan corrects, and I can’t help noticing he’s sitting two feet farther away than before.
“Huh?” Brynn shrugs out of her coat and hangs it on a hook in the foyer.
“DEFCON 5 actually refers to peacetime, whereas DEFCON 1 means nuclear war,” he explains. “It’s a common misconception perpetuated by film and TV.”
“Whatever.” Brynn rolls her eyes at him and rushes over to the couch. Pulling me up from the cushion like a rag doll, she envelops me in a hug so tight, I almost revisit the sushi from five minutes earlier. “I can’t believe you’re here!”
For a moment, her embrace transports me back in time twenty years, when we were carefree kids playing dress-up with our mothers’ high heels and pearls, and all of a sudden, tears sting my eyes. I’d forgotten how much I’d missed her.
“I only wish it hadn’t taken me so long,” I murmur, realizing I mean every word.
“Me, too,” she says, pulling back. Her own eyes are glassy. “But you’re here now, and we’re going to have the best time. I have the whole weekend planned. And speaking of plans…” She turns to Ethan with an accusatory glare. “Aren’t you supposed to be in Atlantic City with your computer nerd friends?”
“If you mean my highly educated and successful college friends from Cornell Tech, then yes.”
