Page 92 of Third Time Lucky

There’s a moment of silence before Aaron lets out a heavy sigh.

‘Shit. Does this mean I have to find a new wingman?’

‘I’ll always be your wingman. But what about Madi? You didn’t seriously pull the plug, did you?’

‘Not yet, Madi’s cool and all, and the sex is amazing – but I’m not looking for anything serious, and suddenly I suspect she is. We spend every weekend together. She took me to the farmer’s market. We bought apples. Married couples do that shit!’

‘Are you saying you hated every second of it?’

‘No. I liked it. I ate those apples and made the woman a pie! That’s the thing. I’m feeling shit in my chest. I’m practicing baking for her. That’s the tell.’

‘What’s it telling you?’

‘That it’s time to move on because if something fucks it up, it’s gonna hurt.’

‘It’s unbelievable that you can be this much of a moron. Those are theactualfeelings of falling for a woman. Not a red flag telling you to flee.’

Aaron sighs, his exasperation evident even through the phone line.

‘Yeah, Mr Romance, whatever. I’m not the one over here contemplating my feelings like a teenage girl.’

I chuckle, knowing he’s just putting on a tough act to cover up any vulnerability.

‘No, you’re the one who won’t admit you’re doing exactly that.’

‘Shut up,’ he moans. ‘If you fall in love you’ll ruin my life.’

‘Well, don’t worry. Like you said, we share blood so I can’t shake ya that easily. I won’t let Lucy steal me away completely. You’ll always have a special place in my heart – right next to grandma’s lasagna.’

He groans dramatically. ‘Fantastic. I’m on par with lasagna now.’

After exchanging goodbyes, I reach into the fridge and grab a cold beer. My eyes are drawn to one of the items stuck amongst the magnetic clutter on the front – reminders, recipes, coupons, and a collection of magnets from my sister’s travels. It’s a photo of Kris and me on the day we graduated high school. We’re wearing black caps and gowns, our arms wrapped around each other as we proudly display the diplomas we secretly wondered if we’d actually earn with as much school as we skipped.

‘It’s possible that I might actually love her,’ I say out loud, but his expression remains unchanged. It’s hard for me to picture him as an adult, because, in my mind, he will always be eighteen years old. ‘Teenage love rarely lasts,’ I try to explain. ‘I doubt you two would even still be together all these years later and she agrees. Not to gang up on you or anything. You’d want her to be happy, right? ’Cause I really want to do that for her.’

No answer – but I really like to think he would. And I believe he’d want that for me, too.

28

LUCY

The backyard of Mitzi’s place is vast and well-manicured, with a sprawling green lawn surrounded by colorful flower beds and perfectly trimmed hedges. Tall mature trees dot the property, and in the distance, a sparkling pool glows under the starry sky.

In the back corner, away from everything, stands a middle-aged man named Jayson with a hose lying at his feet as he watches a fire he built in a gravel pit he usually uses for burning yard debris.

‘I can’t believe we got this all in one trip,’ Madi says, pulling the suitcase behind her – the box of Brandon mementos gripped in one arm.

‘Just tell me if I’m going to faceplant,’ I say, unable to see over the wedding dress wadding in my arms.

We’re doing this. And I brought marshmallows because when Ash heard what we were planning – after he laughed and wished me luck – he gave me some, knowing how much I adored the cake he made.

‘A wedding dress?’ Jayson asks, his face contorted in a way that says – you girls are nuts. ‘Please tell me you ladies aren’t summoning demons tonight?’

‘We’re incinerating them. The dress is cursed,’ Madi tells him matter-of-factly. ‘We’ve got to break the spell so she can move on. Be glad it’s not a body.’

Jayson takes a few steps back, shaking his head in disbelief. He picks up the hose and squeezes the handle, spraying water away from the fire as if testing the thing works just in case.

‘Maybe toss things in one at a time so you don’t burn down the neighborhood or get the fire department out here,’ he suggests.

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