Page 94 of Break My Heart
‘We better get to the table before she yells at both of us.’
‘They’re here,’ Brody says as Jason and I walk into the dining room. ‘Can we eat now? I’m starving.’
‘Let them at least sit down,’ Mom says with a sigh.
Jason and I take the two open seats next to Dad. Mom had to add all the leaves to the table to make it big enough to fit everyone. With my brothers, Lyndsay, my four cousins, three of their girlfriends, my uncle, and parents, there’s 15 people for breakfast.
‘Is this everyone?’ Mom asks, looking around the table.
‘Yeah, Mom, everyone’s here,’ Brody says. ‘Can we eat?’
‘Yes, dear, go ahead.’ She sits down and we start passing the food around. As I’m helping myself to the scrambled eggs, I notice a chair pulled off to the corner. It was meant for Gina. I texted my mom this morning and told her Gina wouldn’t be here, not knowing then that her reason for missing breakfast was because of some other guy.
‘I like your sweater,’ my cousin, Jake, says to me. He and I are similar. We both like nice clothes and expensive things.
‘Thanks,’ I tell him. ‘I got it last summer. This is the first time I’ve worn it.’
‘He won’t tell me how much it cost,’ Jason says. ‘Which means it’s more than he can afford.’
‘I can afford it,’ I insist.
‘Jake just spent $300 on a pair sunglasses,’ Nash says, shaking his head. ‘Waste of money if you ask me.’
‘Ididn’task you,’ Jake says, taking a muffin from the basket before passing it to Ivy, his girlfriend. ‘Just becauseyoudon’t care how you look doesn’t mean other people can’t.’
‘Boys,’ Mitch says, giving them a look to stop arguing.
‘He has to look good for the ladies,’ Austin says, chuckling. Austin’s my youngest cousin. When he’s here in town, he spends all his time with Brody. The two of them are the youngest so they grew up hanging out with each other when the families got together.
‘He shouldn’t be trying to look good for any girl but me,’ Ivy says, smiling at Jake. ‘His fiancé.’
‘Fiancé?’ I look at Jake. ‘When did that happen?’
‘Last week,’ Jake says, like I should know this.
‘He told us when he got here,’ Nick says.
‘I guess I didn’t hear you,’ I say.
‘We’ve got a lot of weddings coming up,’ Dad says. ‘Nash and Callie, Jake and Ivy. Ni—’
‘Nikki and Dave,’ Mom rushes to say. My dad almost said Nick and Lyndsay, but Nick hasn’t proposed to her yet. He’s doing it tonight, which everyone knows except Lyndsay. My dad almost gave away the secret.
I make a note to myself to not tell my parents if I ever decide to propose to a girl, not that it’ll happen again. Kendall might’ve been my only shot at marriage. I thought Gina might be the girl I’d finally settle down with, but that’s not going to happen now. Maybe I’m just meant to be single.
Chapter 21
Sawyer
‘Who’s Nikki and Dave?’ Lyndsay asks my mom. ‘Are they getting married at the orchard?’
‘They haven’t decided,’ Mom says, with the half-smile she uses when she’s uncomfortable. She hates lying, but she had to in order to keep Nick’s secret. ‘I don’t believe you know them.’ She picks up the tray of bacon. ‘Would anyone like some more?’
‘I’ll have some,’ Nick says, taking the tray even though he already has bacon on his plate. He’s trying to distract Lyndsay so she doesn’t keep asking questions. He really wants her to be surprised tonight.
My big brother is getting engaged. Jake’s already engaged and Nash is getting married in a few weeks. I hate to admit this, but I’m a little jealous. A few months ago I wouldn’t have cared, but Gina changed all that. She made me start imagining a life that was more than just myself and my business. I started thinking about marriage and kids, something I haven’t thought about since I was with Kendall. I was in my early twenties then, and although I was engaged, I don’t think I was ready for marriage and kids.Now I am, but the girl I was hoping would be part of that dream is gone.
‘Sawyer will be next,’ Brody says, shoveling food in his mouth.
