Page 7 of Courageous Hearts

“Break a leg,” Sophia calls.

“I don’t think that’s good luck for bartenders,” I shoot back.

She waves me off as Grant reclaims his phone. “It’s not that you normally look bad,” he says in all seriousness. “But this is something else.”

“Is that your way of telling me I look charming?” I tease, snapping my suspender.

He rolls his eyes. “Like you need any help breaking hearts.”

“Hey,” I grouse, taking offense at the insinuation that I intentionally hurt the people I’m with.

Grant’s face settles into one of disapproval, a look that has never failed to make me feel like the younger brother, when that’s not actually the case. “Come on, James. Name the last woman you spent longer than two weeks with.”

I bristle. “It’s not my fault I haven’t found the right woman yet.”

“You don’t give them a chance,” Grant argues.

“Are we really doing this?” I ask, frustrated by how quickly this conversation took a downturn. “Are we really fighting about my love life again?”

“You mean your lack of one.”

“All right. I’m gonna go,” I grunt out. “I’ll talk to you later.”

“James, wait,” my brother says, rubbing over his eyes. “I’m sorry. You know it’s ’cause I care.”

“You could care a little less,” I suggest.

Grant shakes his head. “I’m sorry. I just… I worry about you sometimes. You’ve always been flighty.”

“This apology just keeps getting better,” I deadpan.

Grant groans. “You know I admire your spirit of adventure. You take things as they come, and that’s not a bad thing. You’re much more adaptable than I’ve ever been.”

“But?”

There’s definitely a but.

“You forget I know what’s in here,” Grant says, tapping his chest. “Because for all the ways we’re different, we’re also the same, you and I.”

“Yeah, well. Being identical twins, it comes with the territory,” I point out.

“Precisely,” Grant says, his brown eyes—my brown eyes—watching me closely. “Which is why I know, despite your whimsy, you’re not a love ’em and leave ’em type.”

I don’t bother to correct Grant that, for me, it’s never gotten as far as love.

“Your point?” I ask.

“My point is if you go into every relationship assuming it has an end, you’re fulfilling your own prophecy. You need to put in the effort, James, instead of skipping onto the next new thing.”

I shake my head. What my brother doesn’t understand—what he’s never understood—is that it’s not a matter of novelty for me. I’ve simply never felt that spark of something more that made me want to give chase.

I believe there’s someone out there for me. Our mom found our dad. Grant found his Sophia. But until I find the one, I’m not willing to settle. If that’s me “giving up” on a relationship before it has a chance to flourish, then so be it.

“Thanks for the lesson, Teach,” I say, forcing a crooked smile. “Can I go now?”

Grant sighs, and even though I can tell he sees through my bluster, his own lips quirk in that way that makes his left dimple pop when he says, “Dismissed.”

Slipping my phone into my pocket, I grab my keys to head to work.

---