Page 23 of Kiss and Tell

Joey prayed the couple on the dance floor didn’t look his direction because they would think he was drunk as a skunk if they saw him sitting there, watching them with a big goofy grin on his face.

Something Joey never imagined had just presented itself, and rather than shove that thought into a dark corner, he waved it in.

Because the future was right there, spinning around on that floor.

Joey was the last single Moretti standing. Unbeknownst to some, he wasn’t holding on to his bachelorhood because he enjoyed it.

He was holding out for something special.

It was true love he was seeking, and he was determined he wouldn’t settle down with just anyone simply to be married. He wanted a love like his parents had, one so enduring, his dad hadn’t even considered dating another woman after his mother’s untimely passing nearly twenty years earlier. How many times had Dad said he couldn’t give his heart to another woman when it still belonged to Mom?

Joey wantedthat. Wanted to meet the person who completed him. He felt like Lucy could be that person. All he needed in order to be sure was the very thing he’d asked her for.

Time. Time and a chance to see if this instant connection he felt was genuine.

So yeah.

True love. That’s what Joey had been telling himself he was holding out for. And while that desire was genuine…he could see now that perhaps that wasn’tallhe wanted.

He wanted more.

It was his sister Layla’s fault. And his brother Tony’s. And Gio’s and Luca’s.

His siblings hadn’t found justonetrue love. They’d found two. All of them living in committed threesomes.

Each of his brothers’ throuple relationships varied, but they were all making it work, each of them living with their best friends, as well as the women who’d stolen their hearts.

Joey hadn’t considered that was what he wanted as well until this very instant.

Watching Lucy and Miles together, seeing the way they were looking at each other…

He drew in a deep breath because…

God, they were beautiful together. Joey and Miles had been friends for years, but he’d never seen his friend look quite as…

Joey struggled for the word. He’d met Miles post-Rhiannon, so he’d only ever known the Miles who lived with a broken heart. The guy currently swaying on that dance floor with Lucy, looking down at her like she hung the moon, was one he’d never seen before. There was a sudden peace in Miles’s expression, as if every sadness, every hurt, every drop of anger had evaporated inside him, leaving this new man behind instead.

Joey had never realized how unhappy his best friend was until right now when he saw him truly happy.

As he considered that, Joey saw two paths open before him.

One where he stepped aside to let his best friend pursue Lucy.

Or one where they pursued her together.

The second was definitely the more difficult to tread, but Joey’s Moretti blood flashed hot, that passionate, never-say-die adventurer inside telling him the sweeter reward—a life with MilesandLucy—would be worth the fight.

After all, hadn’t that been proven to him time and time again by Layla, Tony, Gio, and Luca. None of them had found their happy ending easily. It had taken a lot of work and courage and commitment. In the end, they’d found not only what their hearts desired but so much more.

When the song ended, everyone made their way back to the table. Abbey, the bartender, shouted last call, and they decided to close their tab and head home. Glancing around, Joey realized Scottie must have cut out right after the last missed dance.

The ride home was quieter, everyone either tired or lost in their own thoughts. Joey was in the passenger seat again, but this time Lucy was behind the wheel. She’d offered to DD because, as she’d said, “I get to sample the goods all the time.”

Not that those free samples had held Theo back as he’d consumed the lion’s share of their pitchers.

Once they arrived at the farm, they stopped at the girls’ house. Remi climbed out of the car. “See you in the morning, Joey? Bright and early?”

Remi had talked him into taking a trail ride with her. Part of her chores on the farm included leading tourists around the mountain trails on horseback. Joey thought it sounded cool and was looking forward to it.

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