Page 46 of The Problem with Perfect

And it becomes my new goal to bring it down again.

* * *

“I’m so excited you’re here!” Abby’s enthusiastic voice envelops me in excitement, and I beam at her.

“Thanks! I’m excited, too.” I kick my shoes off next to the pile near the front door and drop my purse on a little table.

After giving us both big hugs, Abby leads me and Rusty into the small living room where there’s an L-shaped couch and a coffee table covered with several plates of snacks.

“Feel free to grab something to nibble on if you’re hungry now. We’re doing a taco bar, but I’m waiting on some last ingredients, so we won’t be eating for another 30 minutes or so.”

I glance around, looking for my sister. I’ve been here a few times to hang out with Briar since she moved in with Abby at the end of last year. In just six months or so, they’ve done a pretty good job making the small cabin feel like home.

There are touches of my sister’s modern preferences mixed in with Abby’s organic vibes, from the woven art hanging on the walls and the neutral color palette to the natural wood furniture I’m pretty sure used to belong to Abby’s parents. It’s homey, the kind of place that feels like you can settle in and take your shoes off.

“Where’s Briar?” I ask, taking a seat on a stool at the peninsula countertop that divides the small kitchen from the living room.

Rusty grabs a beer from the fridge and takes a seat next to me.

“She and Andy got done with work a little late, but they’ll be here soon. Jackson’s on his way, too.” She tugs an old casserole dish from the oven and sets it on a cooling rack on the counter that separates us. “I hope you like brownies.”

“Are these slutty brownies?” I ask, my mouth salivating at the thought.

“They are.”

I pump my fist in excitement, and Abby laughs.

Abby works at Ruthie’s, the bakery in town, so everything she makes is incredible, but her slutty brownies are what made her famous, at least with me. It’s a cookie base and a brownie top with Double Stuf Oreos in the middle, and it is the most gooey, delectable dessert I’ve ever had.

“Can I have some right now?”

She giggles. “If you want, but we should let them cool a little bit first.”

“Oh trust me, I want. Let me know when they’re good to eat because I will literally down the entire tray.”

“I didn’t realize you had such a sweet tooth,” Rusty says.

I lean to the side and bump him with my shoulder. “I’m dating you, aren’t I?”

He rolls his eyes and takes a swig from his beer, but I can see the way his lips tilt up just the tiniest fraction. I know he’s still mad at me because of Sunday night, but my goal is to make him smile. Rusty can be such a big grump, and there’s something inside of me that’s relished the way he has smiled in my direction over the past few weeks. Iknowthose smiles weren’t fake, because almost all of them seemed reluctant.

Those are the best kind.

“Are you guys going to become one of those nauseating couples who are constantly doing and saying adorable things to each other?” Abby asks, mid-laugh. “Because I’m not sure I can handle seeing my brother like that.”

Rusty shakes his head. “You think it’s easy for me to watch you and Jackson being all loved up?”

“Or for me to see Briar and Andy?” I add, leaning into Rusty’s body and linking my arm with his. “Face it, sister—PDA is a-comin’.”

Abby rolls her eyes. “I guess I can’t gripe about it too much, huh? Apparently we landed in an exclusive club of sisters who date their brothers’ friends.”

“I better be the only friend you’re dating.”

I turn, spotting Jackson walking through the living room and into the kitchen. He places a kiss on Abby’s temple then lifts a bottle of tequila for us to see.

“Grabbed this from the store. You were out,” he tells Rusty.

I tuck my lips into my mouth and glance up at Rusty with a sheepish expression. He just chuckles under his breath and takes another sip of his beer.

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