Page 28 of The Agreement

I could look back and see that it was for the best, that I was happy being the guy who didn’t tie himself down to any one person. Still, seeing Brooke with her twins always whisperedwhat if…in my ear.

“Come on, let’s eat.” Brooke tugged us into the kitchen.

The table and chairs were from my shop, and were one of the few sets that matched the house they sat in. We took our seats, and dug into the food.

“How were your days?” Brooke asked.

Both kids had generic answers along the lines offine.

How strangely normal was this?

“Oh, Mom.” Paige was suddenly excited. “Jamie and me—”

“Jamie and I,” Bryan cut her off.

Paige rolled her eyes, finishing with a glare at her brother. “We can tell your story in a minute.”

“That’s not what I—”

“That’s not whatmemeant.” She stuck her tongue out. “I know what you meant, grammar nerd.”

Bryan clenched his jaw. “You sound more intelligent when—”

“I’m intelligent regardless of my fucking language.”

There wasn’t enough malice in either twin’s voice for me to feel like this was a real argument, and instead, it was entertaining to watch.

“What did you and Jamie do, Paige?” Brooke brought the conversation back to its starting point, like a true master. That was kind of sexy.

Paige was all grins again. “We found the perfect dresses for the Sweetheart’s dance, and the perfect suit for Bryan, too. He’s going with us.”

“Aubrey has an honest-to-God zoot suit.” Bryan’s enthusiasm was back, too.

Paige’s eyes turned wide, in what I assumed was her go-tomom will cave for thislook. “Can we buy them, please? I’ll do whatever chores you want.”

“Must be an amazing dress.” I figured it had to be, given the immediate shift in her mood, after taking good-natured grief from her brother. Though to be fair, most things Aubrey sold were pretty cool.

“So. Amazing. She’s got these flapper dresses, and there are these boots—”

“Tell her boots don’t go with dresses.” Bryan interrupted again. “Don’t let her get the boots, Mom.”

Adam set his fork down. “Boots go with anything if you know how to rock the look. My brother’s girlfriend is living proof.”

Paige pointed emphatically at him. “See? If Reese Fucking Ellis does it, it’s cool.”

Brook winced, I suspected at the language, but she didn’t correct Paige. Though Brooke didn’t swear much herself, she’d reached a point where she tried to let her kids be adults and make their own decisions, and that included about their language.

“How much?” Brooke asked.

Paige’s wince looked a lot like Brooke’s. “Three hundred for all of it.” Her reply was meek.

“Both dresses, plus the boots and the suit?”

Paige nodded. “Plus jewelry. It’s not real, but it looks really good with the dresses. I’ll fix your car.”

“You’re fixing my car regardless.”

“Bryan and I will do spring prep for the entire property next month.”

---