Page 30 of Not Quite Perfect

“Yeah,” I admitted.

And then I decided to admit the role I’d played in this whole drama. “I think maybe David did try to tell me … but I didn’t want to hear it.”

I might not know all the skeletons in his closet, but I had the measure of him as a man, and I honestly believed he would have come clean with me. Eventually.

The question that gnawed at my gut as I stood talking with my brother was how longeventuallywould have taken. Would it have taken David days to bring up his ex-wife? Weeks? The problem was, I couldn’t say.

And that was the source of my unease.

How long would he have let me think that I wasitfor him … the woman he’d been waiting for?

“What do you mean?” Alex asked.

“The first night we met he specifically said that he hadn’t let himself get close to someone in years. He told me he’d had bad luck with relationships.” I chewed my lip, recalling the look on David’s face when he’d confessed that he’d never been the one to end a relationship. It was one of the things we’d bonded over.

My brother stared at me for a beat and then his gaze softened. “Fuck. You’ve got it bad.”

“I really do.”

“What are you going to do?”

I honestly didn’t know. Which meant it was time for David and me to have a talk. A long one.

“Come on,” I said, grabbing my brother by the hand. “It’s time to face the music.”

* * *

“What did we miss?”Alex asked the moment we stepped through the door. He dropped down into his seat and immediately dove into his food.

Meanwhile, I took up residence in Drew’s old seat since he was now sitting in mine … right next to David, whose concerned expression I refused to meet. Instead, I turned and watched my brother shovel turkey tetrazzini down his gullet like he was trying to win a food eating competition.

I held in my laugh while I waited for him to realize the error of his ways.In three, two, one …

All at once Alex’s mouth stopped moving and he reached for his glass of water, chugging down what was left in three quick gulps, trying to choke down his least favorite meal on the planet. Then, as if nothing untoward had happened, he sat back and waited for someone to answer his question.

Drew leaned forward. “Well, for starters, I just came out.”

Alex’s brow furrowed, and for a minute I was worried he was going to say something insensitive. Not that I was worried my brother was a homophobe. He absolutely wasn’t. But for as great as he’d just been with me, he could also be obtuse about people’s feelings. The problem was, you never knew which Alex you were going to get. “You did?”

The light in Drew’s eyes faded as he swallowed and nodded. “Yes.”

Alex scratched his beard, his confusion evident from the look on his face. “But I caught you making out with Mindy Hammersmith in the barn. You looked like you were enjoying yourself.”

“Making out” was the polite way of putting it. Mindy had actually been down on her knees giving Drew a blow job to end all blow jobs. To hear Alex tell it, neither our brother nor Mindy had noticed him. It had taken him purposefully knocking over a can of nails for them to realize they had an audience.

Drew’s cheeks turned pink and his eyes flicked to mine for support. I gave him a quick nod. I had his back, and I was sure as soon as Alex understood the situation, he would too. “I like menandwomen,” he explained. “I’m bisexual.”

Alex’s eyes lit with understanding. “Oh! Right. Well, good for you, I guess.”

“You’re not mad?”

Alex laughed and shook his head. “Hell no. I was just confused since … well, um. You know.” He tilted his head and bugged out his eyes. When Drew went from pink to scarlet, Alex continued, “I don’t care who you fuck, so long as you enjoy doing it.”

Drew laughed and said, “Thanks, I guess,” at the same time our mom yelled “Language!” her face contorting into a grimace. “Really, Alex. We’re at the dinner table.”

“Sorry, Ma.” Alex shrugged.

We all knew he wasn’t sorry at all.

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