Page 36 of One More Time

“I don’t need to know anything about any of my brothers making out in the office.” I cast a faux glare between Quinn and Fiona. With Quinn married to Kenan and Fiona married to Blake, I was grateful that I had sisters-in-law I loved, but I had to set some boundaries.

“You don’t have to worry about that with me,” Tessa offered, brushing her auburn curls off her shoulders.

I filled my glass with mead. “Tessa and I have solidarity.”

“Solidarity?” Fiona prompted. She was the newest friend in our circle, having moved to Fireweed Harbor only two years prior.

“I’ve already been married and divorced. I have a son and a custody battle for at least the next fifteen years,” Tessa said. “I will never be in another committed relationship.”

“Oh.” That was Fiona’s only response to the bitterness laced within Tessa’s words.

“Trust me, she has good reasons,” I offered with a nod toward Tessa. “At least you’re divorced now.”

“Exactly, but what about you?” Tessa prompted.

“What do you mean?” I countered. “I don’t want to get serious.” I had a pat answer whenever this came up. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with just wanting to enjoy life on my own. I have a big family. I’ll be everyone’s favorite aunt.”

Quinn cut in. “The only aunt. All of your siblings are brothers.”

Tessa snorted.

“Fine. Just, that’s it. I don’t want the pressure.”

“But what if you fall in love?” Fiona asked softly.

“I won’t.”

“I admire your confidence,” Quinn said. She paused, studying me. “I didn’t think I would ever fall for anyone.”

“That’s because you weren’t paying attention to Kenan. You two were best friends, and it took years for you to figure out you were perfect together,” I offered.

Quinn shrugged, unperturbed by my observation. “You really don’t know what’s going to happen. Life can surprise you.”

“I didn’t think I would ever be serious with anyone again,” Fiona chimed in. She tended to be somewhat solemn, and I liked that about her. She conveyed a sense of quiet strength.

I looked at Tessa. “You understand.”

She rolled her eyes. “Oh, I do, but I’m not sure why you feel this way.”

I didn’t care to explain. I didn’t even remember my own father. I’d been too young to remember when he died. I had to watch our grandfather terrorize all of us after our dad died and wonder why nobody protected us. I became my oldest brother’s target, while he was the primary target for our grandfather. Those lessons had been important. I knew things could look a certain way on the outside and be entirely different behind closed doors.

I did what I usually did and played this off with a shrug. “I don’t have to have a good reason. When it comes to being a woman in the world, the cards are not marked in our favor. No matter how far we’ve come, it’s a man’s world. Look at what’s happening now. They’re trying to take away the rights we’ve won.”

“That’s a depressing point,” Quinn said as the server arrived to check on us.

After he took our orders and left, I glanced at Fiona. “Poor guy is totally nervous having you here.”

“It’s not just me. You’re here,” she pointed out.

“We’ll leave a good tip for his stress.”

We were in the midst of our main course when I heard my brother Wyatt’s voice. I glanced over to see him leaning on the corner of the bar, not too far from our table. The bartender handed him a bottle before he headed our way.

Since my brief interaction with him the other night, I felt a deeper kinship with Wyatt. He knew about the unwanted baggage tangled around me.

“Are you joining us?” I asked when he stopped beside my shoulder.

“No, just saying hi. I’m meeting with Adam and Blake to discuss the details about taking over as the head brewer here.”

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