Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 88317 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88317 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
“Neil seems to think I have a thing for Brad’s fiancée.”
“Oh.” He tilted his head. “Is there any truth to that?”
“Not in a serious sense.”
Dad squinted. “What the hell does that mean?”
“I find her attractive—as any warm-blooded man would. And I think she’s a great person. But actually going there is another thing entirely.”
Neil interrupted, “See? That’s more honesty than you gave me. The truth is starting to come out.” He turned to my father. “I went on a date with her last night, Dad.”
Dad blinked in confusion. “Say what?”
“Yeah, she let me down easy. But you should’ve seen the way her face lit up when she was talking about how good Josh is with Scottie. It’s no wonder she had no interest in me.”
The waitress came back by and placed a mug in front of my dad.
“Coffee?” she asked.
He nodded. “What else is there to live for? Thank you.” Then he turned to Neil. “I’m confused. How did you end up on a date with her?”
“I met her the week before at The Bar and didn’t know who she was. She also had no clue I was Josh’s brother.” He pointed to me. “After I figured it all out, this one still encouraged me to go out with her. So I did and immediately felt like a third wheel.”
“He’s blowing it out of proportion,” I insisted.
“Is he?” Dad chuckled. “Or are you just in denial because you’re afraid of what it would mean if you had feelings for her?”
He’d touched a nerve there.
“Okay…” I looked between the two of them. “The obvious dilemma aside, Brad was a great, stand-up guy. Just like Neil—and you, Dad. Me, on the other hand? Carly deserves better, someone who doesn’t have a shitty track record with women. All that and yes, Brad would be rolling in his grave if I ever made a move on her.”
“How can you know that?” my father asked.
“That’s understood. There are millions of women in the world, and I have to go for his?” I exhaled. “Come on.”
Neil poked my dad with his elbow and announced, “They slept in the same bed last night...”
I gritted my teeth. “You had to add that?”
“Sorry,” he mumbled.
“No, you’re not,” I seethed.
“What the hell?” Dad blurted. “I thought you said there was nothing going on.”
“I wish I was recording this.” Neil laughed. “Dad’s reactions are too much fun.”
“My air mattress broke, and I had nowhere else to sleep,” I explained. “It was innocent.”
“What was innocent?” a voice asked.
I turned to find my brother Michael, who’d shown up fashionably late. Evidently Neil had invited him to join us, too.
“I just told Dad that Josh slept in the same bed as Brad’s fiancée last night.”
Michael gaped as he sat down next to me. “I knew it. I told you something was gonna happen. That whole thing is a ticking time bomb.”
Neil turned to him. “You knew about this?”
“Okay, seriously.” I threw my napkin on the table. “You’re all whacked. Nothing happened! My damn air mattress had a hole in it, so she offered to let me sleep in the bed with her. It’s a very big bed with plenty of room for both of us.”
“Maybe nothing happened from your perspective,” my dad said. “But you should think about whether she has feelings for you. And if you think she does, you might reconsider the idea of sleeping in her bed again. If you’re serious about not wanting to make a move on Brad’s girl, you shouldn’t lead her on.”
“I wasn’t leading her on…” I defended. “I was trying to get some damn sleep on a bed that didn’t feel like a rock. Period.”
I didn’t know shit about Carly’s true feelings for me, aside from the fact that she found me attractive and no longer hated my guts. Then again, she had been staring at me this morning when I woke up. Bottom line, what Dad said resonated with me. There was no good reason to be sleeping next to Carly, no matter how damn nice it might’ve felt—because of the mattress.
“You know what?” I blew out an exasperated breath. “You’re exactly right. I’ll go get another air bed as soon as I leave here. That’ll solve the issue.” I sipped my coffee. “Now, maybe you goons will get off my back.”
“Exactly how long are you gonna be living with her?” Dad asked.
“Neither of us knows. It could be days, weeks, or years. That’s the nature of the waiting-list scenario. But we’re getting him on the waiting list for both group homes in town. We just have to visit the second one to make sure it’s okay. The house manager there’s been out sick, so we haven’t been able to get in to see it yet.”
“Did you know I went on a date with Carly last night, Michael?” Neil smirked.