Page 33 of My Favorite Mistake

“Oh.” Brennan paused. There was something mischievous about thatoh. “So,y’allare busy today?Together?”

After getting a taste of Liza for the first time in ten years, knowing it would be the last time it ever happenedagain, the last thing Connor needed was to catch a bunch of shit from his best friend. Brennan was clearly delusional about Connor’s prospects for fixing everything that was broken.

“We just left his house, and now we’re going to Scott and Ophelia’s to see about him doing a write-up on the contract offer,” Connor clarified.

“Oh, well then that’s perfect! I’ll meet y’all over there, and then weallcan go watch the game.”

“Riley, we’re kind of—”

“Hey, put me on speaker so I can say hi to her.”

Connor resisted the urge to groan but complied. “Riley wants to say hi,” he mumbled after tapping the speaker button.

“Hee-eey, L.,” Brennan singsonged.

Liza smiled while watching the road and mimicked his inflection. “Hii-ii,B.”

“You two kiddos having fun today?” The smile in Brennan’s voice was audible. He was obviously loving this. In his mind, he probably believed it was proof that he was right about Connor and Liza surmounting the insurmountable odds of rekindling their old relationship. Brennan may have been present for most of what happened years ago and everything that was happening now, but he was one-hundred-percentclueless.

“Ohyeah,” Liza said, the sarcasm evident in her voice. “We’re totally having a blasty-blast, B.”

“Ell-lll,” Brennan singsonged again, drawing out her first initial, and Connor looked at Liza in reflex. He’d noticed they’d been doing this nerdy first initial thing ever since she showed up, and it made him once again wonder if Brennan was secretlyfeeling thingsfor her. “I’m picking up a touch of irony from you, darlin’. Is everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine,” she said simply.

“I don’t believe you. And that’s why I’m going to meet y’all at the McCarthy-Latimer house so we can all hit up the Old Point. It’s a beautiful day for basketball and day-drinking.”

Liza scrunched up her nose and snickered. “Okay, B.”

“No, Riley,” Connor retorted. “Notokay. We’re working. I’ll hit you up later—”

“See y’all in a few,” Brennan cut him off, and then the line disconnected.

Conner exhaled loudly. “Friggin’ Riley.”

“I like him,” Liza declared.

Connor turned to her, cocking an eyebrow. “Oh yeah? Like himhow?”

She briefly turned her head to glower at him and then looked back at the road. “Oh, well, obviously we’re dating.”

What the fuck?

Connor scoffed. “No, you’renot. Brennan doesn’t evendate. He just sleeps around.”

She shrugged. “I mean, I guess that’s another way to put it.”

Connor’s heart rate skyrocketed as jealousy roiled in his veins. “Are you fucking with me?”

Liza looked at him again with eyebrows raised and a sarcastic smile. “Yeah.” She turned her face toward the front. “I wouldn’t get involved with him like that.”

Connor’s relief was palpable. “Really?”

“Yeah, Brennan’s one of the nicest people I’ve ever met, and there’s no way I’d ruinthatby getting involved with him.” Her throat pulsed with a swallow. “Someof the men I’ve gotten involved with had a bad tendency to turn intoassholes. I’d hate for that to happen with him.”

Despite his relief, Connor didn’t really like that explanation, but decided it was best to just stop talking. They drove in silence for a minute or two before Liza spoke up again.

“It sounds like this is becoming afriendgathering, so I can just drop you off.”

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