Page 51 of Every Beat of My Heart

“What do you think we are—stupid kids?” Wes asked.

“Yes. Yes. I do.”

Teddy smacked me with the edge of a towel, and I couldn’t back away fast enough. “Fuck. That hurt. Knock that right off.”

“Boys. Behave,” Dad said.

“You know you love having us around,” Teddy said with a smile that was uncharacteristic for him.

“I could do without the fighting,” Dad grumbled.

“You see Claire off without a problem?” Wes asked at the same time Teddy asked, “You give her a good night kiss?”

“You were the one who told me to make a move on her,” I said with more force than was necessary.

Silence fell over the kitchen.

“I didn’t know for sure you were interested in her. I just said you should make a move if you wanted to. A woman like that doesn’t stay single for long. Her ex was obviously an idiot.”

I took a step toward Teddy. “Are you saying you’re interested in her?”

He chuckled and held up his palms. “Clearly, you’ve already staked your claim.”

Wes handed me a beer. “Settle down. No one’s moving in on Claire.”

“I haven’t staked anything. I’m still in the friend zone.”

Teddy laughed harder. “That’s rich. The charmer can’t get the woman?”

“I think she sees right through it anyway,” I mumbled.

“That’s even better. A woman that isn’t entranced by you. You actually have to work to get her to notice you. I’m glad we’re getting a front row seat to this.” Teddy clinked bottles with Wes.

“Claire’s different. She was married. She’s got a kid.”

“You can’t make a move unless you’re sure,” Wes said.

“I’ve been sure about her. I just didn’t think she was into me. I still don’t know what she’s thinking.” I tended to go for girls who were flighty, didn’t know what they wanted out of life. Maybe because that’s the shirt I’d worn. But what if I wasn’t that guy? What if I was someone Claire could be interested in? What if she saw me as respectable and responsible? And better yet, attractive. Someone she could see herself with?

“We talked to her on the porch earlier when you were playing with Owen,” Teddy admitted.

“You didn’t tell her embarrassing stories, did you?” I wouldn’t put it past them.

Wes groaned. “Why didn’t we think of that?”

Teddy grinned. “Next time we’ll get out the naked baby pictures.”

“Remember that time when you and Daphne took a bath together. You looked so cute with those rolls of fat on your arms,” Wes said.

“He looked like a sumo wrestler,” Teddy was quick to add.

“You two are assholes. I don’t know why I hang around you.”

Teddy leaned on the counter. “She insisted you were friends—”

Wes grabbed another beer out of the fridge, twisting off the top. “But she repeated herself a lot. Almost like the woman doth protest too much, if you know what I mean.”

“Are you sure you read her right? I don’t want to make a move, and she really thinks of me as a friend.”

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