Page 42 of Friend Me

“Though if you’d gone out for sports like the rest of us, maybe you could’ve held onto her.”

I clamped my mouth shut and breathed in through my nose.

“This guy”—Raleigh wagged his fork at Tyler—“could’ve played for UT.”

Tyler rolled his eyes.

“But he preferred sitting in the library in front of a computer to going to practice. Or mixing it up with the rest of us.”

Tyler leaned back in his chair. “I was always your goalie, catcher, center. You never let me play forward or shortstop or quarterback.”

Raleigh shrugged. “We never knew you wanted to. You could’ve said something.”

Tyler set down his water glass with a thunk. “I did.”

“Pssh. You should’ve said something louder.”

Maybe I’d been wrong all those years when I’d wanted a sibling. I checked my phone. Nothing from Alma. And I still had plenty of time before the last train. I glanced at Raleigh.Unfortunately.

He chewed, his gaze unfocused, and set down his fork. “Though maybe if I’d spent more time in the library, I’d have a cushy desk job like you.”

“You have a great job,” Tyler said. “You make plenty of money, and you’ve traveled everywhere. New York, San Francisco, Singapore…”

“Yeah,” Raleigh said. “But Bella hates it. She wishes I was home more. She wants babies.” He grimaced.

“And you don’t?” I asked him.

“I don’t know. Maybe. Not yet. With three younger siblings, I kinda had my fill of kids. You know?”

I didn’t want to feel sorry for the asshole, but maybe he had a point. He’d probably changed his share of diapers, at least for the two youngest.

Raleigh crossed his fork and knife on his empty plate, and a busboy whisked it away. A gleam came into his brown eyes. “So. How long have you two been together?”

“We’re not,” Tyler growled.

“Nope, just friends.” My voice was too high.

Raleigh reached across the table and cuffed Tyler’s shoulder. “Dumbass.” They exchanged some sort of unspoken brother-language with their eyes.

Finally, Tyler looked down at his half-eaten dinner. “I think I’ll take this home.”

“That’s my brother Tyler. Always watching his girlish figure.” Raleigh patted his flat stomach.

“You should watch yours,” Tyler said. “You’ve put on a few pounds, old man.”

Tyler could dish it out, too. I smiled and pulled out my wallet. “I need to make a call. Can I give you some cash to settle up?”

Raleigh looked at me like I had two heads. “I don’t know what this numbnuts does out here on the Left Coast, but I wasn’t raised to let a lady pay for dinner.”

Tyler rolled his eyes. “I’ve got it, bonehead.”

“I’ll expense it.”

Leaving them arguing over the check, I slipped on my coat and went outside, where I stood under the dripping marquee and called Dad.

“Hey, are you doing okay?”

“Of course, Sunshine. I had dinner with Alma, and now Tigger and I are watching baseball. He likes baseball, don’t you, big guy?”

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