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She lightly smacked my arm. “Elbows off my table.”
Charlie rolled his eyes and caught my gaze. “So, what was the deal for real? Someone mentioned Cyrus had his hands all over you.”
Dad perked up. “Cyrus? That’s a man who could keep you safe, sweetheart. Plus, I heard that he’s loaded.”
Under the eagle eyes of my brothers, I fought the blush threatening to take over my entire body. “Dad!”
“Well? Are you crossing those friendship lines with Cyrus finally?” Charlie grinned. “We all thought it would’ve happened years ago.”
I frowned. “What? What do you mean?”
“We’ve all been placing bets for years about whether or not you and your besties would ever finally give in and hook up. I always thought it would be Cyrus, since you two already fight like an old married couple.” Charlie motioned to Paulie. “You always thought it’d be Sam, right?”
Paulie nodded. “The man follows you around doing everything he can for you and has for years and years. Maybe he always has. He’d go for it in a second.”
Dad made a thoughtful sound. “I like Sam too. The man is brilliant and he reminds me of James Bond.”
I tilted my head at Dad. “What? James Bond?”
“He’s aloof.” Dad shrugged. “He could take care of you too. I also heard he’s loaded.”
I dropped my forehead to the table and thumped it there, next to Mom’s fancy china. “I think I’ve fallen down the rabbit hole.”
“Jude is richer than God, though, and humble too. He’s also very fit and would make beautiful grandchildren. They all would.” Dad looked up at me and grunted. “I guess you can’t go wrong picking one of them.”
Mom scoffed. “Well, if you want my opinion—”
“I don’t.”
“In my opinion, you should go for Sam. He’s got those curls.” Mom sighed dreamily. “What I wouldn’t give for a grandchild with those curls.”
I held up my hands and stood up. “I’m done here. You’ve all lost your minds.”
“I don’t hear you denying anything.” Charlie wagged his brows. “That’s very interesting.”
“I don’t have to deny anything. You’re all insane. It’s best to not respond to the delusions of crazy people.” I kissed Dad on the cheek and did the same with my brothers. Hugging Mom, I purposefully gave her a wet kiss on the cheek to mess with her. “Love you all, even if you are off your rockers.”
Mom groaned and wiped her face before swatting at me and smiling, despite her fussing. “Be careful getting home.”
I left before anyone could say anything else, their previous words enough to keep me up at night for weeks as it was. They’d placed bets on the guys and me crossing the lines we’d been crossing. I’d had no clue.
I drove home feeling strange and conflicted, and then felt even weirder when I got home and sat in my truck for a bit, waiting for Sam to come out to see me. Only, he didn’t. I hadn’t seen him since Monday afternoon and I hadn’t talked to him since I’d confirmed that Friday night would be a good night for our double date.
He was mad at me. I didn’t understand why, but I hated it. Our double date was the next night, but I didn’t want to wait until then to see him.
Bogie was already waiting for me outside when I stepped out of my truck, and he looked confused as I walked over to Sam’s instead of going to our own home. He trailed behind me and watched as I knocked on Sam’s door.
Sam opened the door after a few moments and looked down at me. His hair was messier than normal and his green eyes looked troubled. “Hey.”
I bit my lip and tried to think of what to say to make sense of why I was at his door. “Hi.”
His frown softened slightly as he leaned against the doorframe and watched me. “What’s up?”
“I just haven’t seen you. It’s weird to not see you when you live next door.” I shrugged. “Have you been busy with a client?”
He rubbed the light beard on his jaw and nodded. “Yeah. Just busy.”
Groaning, I grabbed his arm and held it. “Make it less awkward, Sammy. I can tell you’re upset with me and I don’t know what to do about it. I hate how awkward things feel, though. I miss you.”
