Page 99 of Crossing the Brooklyn Briggs
“I know you and Houston’s sister aren’t just friends.”
I fold my arms, as if that might protect the truth from her. “Why do you think that?”
“I said I know. Not that I think.” She tilts her head side to side with a little shrug. “And you called herdeliciouslast night.”
Ah, right. I did that. I was joking around and called her hot to gauge Houston’s reaction, and he wasn’t a fan. So I found some other words to describe Brooklyn, anddeliciouswas in the mix along withbodaciousandenchanting. There aren’t enough words in the English language to properly describe Brooklyn.
Sighing, I shift my hands to my pockets. “It’s a new thing,” I tell Darcy, though why I trust a stranger with this secret, I couldn’t tell you. “And we don’t know how Houston is going to take it.”
She gives me a warm, sympathetic smile. “And you’re never going to know if you don’t tell him. He can’t react to what he doesn’t know.”
I raise my eyebrows. “Are you a therapist or something?”
“Psych major during my undergrad. But I also have eyes, and you clearly feel more for Brook than you’re letting yourself admit. Your relationship might be new, but it isn’t fragile. Not on your side, anyway, though I doubt Brook is any less involved with the way Houston seemed to do everything he could not to think about the two of you together.”
I’m back to folding my arms. It’s like I’m afraid she’ll see too much if I don’t protect myself, though I feel ridiculous being intimidated by a woman nearly a foot shorter than me. Maybe that’s why Houston is scared of her? She sees a lot, and Houston has plenty to hide.
“I hope you’re right about how Brooklyn feels,” I tell her. “And I hope Houston can get over the idea of the two of us dating.”
“That’s not really up to him.”
“No, but he’s my best friend. I don’t want to ruin that if things go south with Brooklyn.”
“Do you think they’ll go south?”
“I hope not.” In fact, I’m hoping this thing I have with Brooklyn turns into a forever kind of thing. I’ve always enjoyed being around her, and she knows all my deepest darkest secrets now.
Okay, that’s not true. There are a lot of things I did in high school and college that she doesn’t know about, but I want to tell her all of them. That has to count for something.
Darcy grins at me, a knowing look in her eyes. “Hopefully Houston doesn’t put up a fight when he learns you are in love with Brooklyn. I literally just met him, so I can’t say if he’s a rational adult, but I like to see the good in people.”
“That’s a great way to live.”
“I think so too. Thanks for the light bulbs, Jordan.”
It’s a clear dismissal, which is fine by me. I can tell Houston that I did what he asked, and I can tell him that Darcy is way cooler than any of the supermodels he’s dated in the past.
“By the way,” Darcy says as she follows me to the door, “word on the street is you’re the only person who can make those famous waffles of yours.”
“Why is that the word on the street?”
“Houston and I had a bit of a breakfast kerfuffle this morning. He mentioned something about almost burning his house down when he tried to make your waffles.”
Ah, so that’s why he texted me for the recipe this morning. Unfortunately for him, I had to guestimate some of the ingredients because I always go by texture, and Houston has never been much of a cook. He failed enough times in college that he decided to leave the cooking to me, and he’s been able to afford to order in ever since.
“What, exactly, is a breakfast kerfuffle?” I ask as I step onto the porch and turn around to face her.
She grins. “Eh, it’s nothing important. It was good to see you again, Jordan.”
“You too. Don’t let Houston intimidate you if he’s being cocky. He likes to think he’s a bigger deal than he is.”
Something sparks to life in her eyes, like a bit of mischief that tells me Darcy can hold her own against my famous friend. She may be small, but she seems fierce. “Don’t worry. I’ve seen his old man slippers. And I don’t put a lot of stock into fame. He’s just as human as the rest of us.”
I can’t help but laugh as I cross the shared porch to Houston’s side of the duplex and let myself in.
“What?” Houston says immediately. Just as I suspected, he’s standing in the middle of his living room, which means he’s been pacing. His eyes dart to the wall he shares with Darcy. “What did she say?”
I shake my head. “You are in way over your head, Houston Briggs.”
