Page 77 of Fumbling for Perfection

Jackson narrows his eyes. “She’s been off lately, since our sham of an almost wedding, but I thought that was because she felt guilty about her lies and she was being shy about how to win you back. Why is she mad at you?”

I lean back in my chair and stare at my empty salad bowl. “I may have called her a lying slut.”

“Is this where I’m supposed to pretend not to be her best friend and know all her secrets?”

I give my brother an unamused roll of the eyes, and he lets out a dramatic gasp. Yeah, I know. I’m a fucking dick for calling her that.

“And I accused her of trapping me with a baby.”

“I told you—”

“With a baby I’d never want because I don’t want kids.”

“Fuck. Me. Nail. In. Coffin.”

Maybe he didn’t know about that part. “Exactly. I’ve been trying to undo this, but she won’t give me a chance. That night on the yacht, I asked her forgiveness. I told her I wanted to prove to her how much I still want to be with her.”

“And she’s turned down your advances?”

I lift a shoulder. “I haven’t exactly made any. The few times I’ve tried to talk to her, it’s awkward. She’ll say something that I’ll take the wrong way and I storm off. She’s even texted me these past few weeks asking me about training camp, but I’ve blown her off.”

“Why?”

“Good fucking question.” I rest my forehead against my palm. “One minute I think chasing after her is the way to go, and the next I think sitting back and taking it slow is best. What would you recommend?”

“Brother advice or best friend of the woman you want to bone advice?”

“I’d punch you in the mouth for talking about her that way if you were anyone else.”

The idle threat makes him grin like a little dipshit. If I weren’t so desperate for advice, I’d laugh at his boyish charm.

“Okay. In all seriousness, as your brother, I’d say chase her ass. Don’t take no for an answer. Show up on her doorstep. At her work. Spoil her with flowers and Almond Joys. They’re her vice. Maybe even show up with a date when you know she’ll be out with friends to make her jealous.”

“I’m not that guy. The fake date to make someone jealous. Spoiling her? Yeah, I can do that.”

“Well, I haven’t been a very good brother, so I’d steer clear of brother Jackson’s advice. I’m new to this kind of conversation unless it’s with the ladies. And I’d offer them similar advice about flaunting a date, or better yet, ghosting the guy. Nothing hurts our ego more than being easily forgotten and replaced.”

“Word.” I pick up the rest of my meatball sub and finish it in two bites.

That’s exactly the problem. I’ve been forgotten, if not replaced. Maybe not by another man, but by her work. Her friends. Her future plans that she doesn’t want me involved in.

“However,” Jackson says with an air of drama. “I have more experience as the object of your obsession’s best friend than I have as your brother. So if you want the inside scoop on how to win our little Riley’s heart...” He lifts a shoulder and pierces me with his blue eyes.

“We’ll keep working on the brother thing. I’ll take Riley’s best friend for four hundred, Alex.”

“RIP. Good man. Good man. Jeopardy hasn’t been the same since Trebek entered the pearly gates.”

“What do you suggest?”

“You’re not going to like it.”

“I’m not liking what I’m currently doing, so anything different is better.”

Jackson chuckles. “Well, my advice is to keep doing what you’re doing.”

“I’m not even doing anything.”

“Exactly.”

---