Page 109 of Someone You Deserve

Everything is falling into place. I’m happier than I ever thought I could be.

I should have known that something was bound to fuck it all up.

***

“Oh, look. It’s Mr. Well-Rested,” Parker greets me as I walk into Catch & Release on Thursday for lunch. He and Grady look over their shoulders as I find my stool and Dallas slides me my burger.

“Yeah, those bags under your eyes are a lot smaller. It must have been your mini-vacation.” Grady grins as he pops a fry in his mouth.

I cup my hand around my ear. “Do I detect a hint of jealousy from both of you?” I nod my head. “Yup, I think I do.”

Dallas scoffs behind the bar as he crosses his arms and his legs, leaning against the counter behind him. “I think I hear it too.”

Parker rolls his eyes and Grady goes back to eating. “So, you had a good trip then?” Grady asks. Parker already knows my trip was worthwhile because he was at my mom’s house Sunday night. But he’s playing it off in front of Grady, which I appreciate. Astrid insisted that we would tell him together after the benefit. I figured he’d be there too, but he has other plans, I guess.

“I did. The mountains are gorgeous in the winter, but fucking cold.”

“I can imagine. I’m just ready for the warmer weather,” Grady adds. “I got a rather interesting phone call yesterday, by the way.”

“From whom?” I ask before taking a bite of my burger.

“The new baseball coach at Carrington Cove High School.” Grady wipes his mouth with a napkin. “Coach Larson retired and this new guy thought that by reaching out to me directly, he’d get a different answer than the one I gave Larson.”

Parker shakes his head. “I don’t get it. Why don’t you want to help coach the team? You could help shape the next prodigy.”

Grady grumbles, “I’m busy. I don’t have time for that.”

“Yes, you fucking do,” Dallas counters. “I mean, hello? You’re sitting in my restaurant on a Thursday taking an hour-long lunch. You’ll go back to your garage, finish out a few jobs, and then what?”

“Running a business takes a ton of time,” he fires back. “You of all people should know that, Dallas.”

“I do, but I also know that we make time for things that are important to us, like having a life outside of work. You already have a guy that can run the place for you for a couple of hours, so why not take advantageof it?”

“Because I don’t want to fucking coach, all right?” he snaps, his voice booming through the empty restaurant.

Parker and I share a look, but Dallas continues to push. “Because it reminds you of what you lost?”

Grady stands from his stool and tosses his napkin on his plate, his meal only half-eaten. “I gotta go. I forgot I told Astrid I’d stop by to see her today since she was gone this weekend.” He turns to walk away, but only moves three steps before he freezes. Slowly, he turns back around and his eyes drill into mine.

Oh, fuck. Here we go.

“Uh, Dallas? Didn’t you want to show me that thing about the stuff?” Parker asks as Grady and I remain in a standoff.

“Sure. Yeah, we can do that.” Dallas heads to the back of the restaurant, Parker scurrying after him. And then it’s just me and Grady, the brother of the woman I’m in love with.

“Is there something you need to tell me?” he asks, walking back over to the bar where I’m still seated.

“Is there something you want to ask?”

He rubs his jaw, dragging his nails through the thick scruff he’s been growing lately. “Why were you and my sister away on the exact same weekend?”

“Because we were together, Grady,” I say, not shying away from the truth. Grady doesn’t deserve that and neither does Astrid. I’m not going to act like us being together is wrong. I’ve done that enough in my head, but that’s the last fucking thing that’s going to come out of my mouth.

He glares at me harder. “Together?”

I stand now so we can see eye to eye, even though I have a few inches on him. I have a few inches on everybody. “Yes. Together. I’m in love with her and I took her away to tell her that.”

Grady’s face softens almost instantly. “Holy shit.”

---