Page 99 of The Problem with Falling
Everyone looked up to see me standing in the entryway.
I paused, feeling very underdressed, seeing how I was the only one still wearing pajamas. How long had I slept?
I combed my hand through my messy hair and cringed as I held my hand up. “Hey, all.”
Michael and the guy with him narrowed their eyes toward me. The guy walked over, looking grumpier than ever, and he crossed his arms over his chest. He nodded once. “You must be Bradley. I’m Alex, Yara’s husband.”
“Uh, my name’s actually Theo,” I said, feeling some kind of way that I’d been called the wrong name twice by two people in Willow’s family within twelve hours. I glanced over at the girls, and they were giggling a little as if they were in on some kind of joke.
I then looked at Michael, who had a smirk on his face, too.
Alex still had his grumpy frown on as he said, “So wait. You’re not Bradley Cooper?”
My eyes darted straight toward Willow and Yara. I pointed a stern finger. “Jerks!”
Everyone burst out laughing. Michael walked toward me and patted me on the back. “Don’t worry, Theo, we knew your name. Willow just thought it would be fun to tease you a bit.”
Freaking Willow.
Freaking beautiful, funny, silly, annoyingly perfect Willow.
“As long as you’re not a vegan, you’ll fit in perfectly,” Alex mentioned.
“He’s definitely not a vegan. He has a forty-incher,” Willow said with a beaming smile.
“And that’s why I put them in separate bedrooms,” Michael chimed in.
Yara giggled, and it sounded exactly like Willow’s laughter. “Ignore my family. It’s nice to meet you, Theo. I’m Yara, and this is my daughter, Teresa. Say hi, Teresa.”
“Hi, Teresa,” Teresa echoed her mom before darting out of the room giggling.
I grinned. She was a cute kid. “Nice to meet you all.”
Willow hopped off the countertop and poured me a cup of coffee. “Alex made us some breakfast sandwiches, and we just spoke with Nathan, Avery’s husband. She’s doing okay, and they are planning a C-section in a few hours. If you’re up for it, we can head to the hospital after you shower and are ready.”
“Sounds like a plan.” I took the mug of coffee from her and thanked her.
“All the Pierces are already at the hospital, too. Evan messaged me earlier to bring them some breakfast sandwiches. So Yara and I might head over now to drop some off for them,” Alex mentioned as he picked up a sandwich and tossed me one.
“The Pierces?”
“Nathan’s family. That’s their last name,” Willow said. “They own the farm here in Honey Creek. And the butcher shop.”
“Ah, I see. That’s funny. There was actually a baseball player named Nathan Pierce. One of my favorite players a while back. He had an accident a few years ago, though, and couldn’t keep playing.”
Willow took my mug out of my hand and sipped it. “Yeah, that’s Nathan.”
I narrowed my eyes. “What?”
“That’s Nathan. My brother-in-law.”
“I’m sorry, hold on. Your brother-in-law is Nathan Pierce? LiketheNathan Pierce?!” I exclaimed, stunned by how Willow never dropped that piece of knowledge before when she’d talkedmy ears off for the past few months. That woman talked about everything. Just the other day, she told me all about how octopuses have three hearts, but two of them stop beating when they swim, and then she proceeded to tell me how wombats produced cube-shaped poop, which they used to protect their territories.
Yet somehow, she’d managed to forget to tell me that her brother-in-law was Nathan fucking Pierce?! How the hell did that slip her mind?
“I thought I mentioned it,” she said.
“You most definitely didn’t mention it,” I said, my jaw on the floor. I set a hand on top of my head in disbelief. “Holy shit.”
