Page 75 of The Truths We Seek

“You’ve said,” Shae deadpans as she walks through the department store like she owns the place.

Knowing her, she actually might, but fucked if I know.

“You think Carlos would like this?” she asks, waving at an air fryer. “Or do you think he’d be offended.”

“It’s Carlos,” I answer, trying not to laugh. “Of course he’d be offended.”

“You’re right,” she sighs. “I swear, him and my mom are the hardest people to shop for.”

“You got the guys sorted?”

“Pfft, no! They’re impossible, but I was thinking of buying you lingerie and gifting it to them.” She winks at me and I burst out laughing.

“Even your brother?”

She shudders and I laugh again. “So gross, but yes, even him. Easiest gift I could think of. I get them chocolate and booze every year too. I swear, Teo is the only easy one to shop for. That boy’s obsession with gaming is almost unrivaled.”

“Is he coming home?” I ask. We haven’t seen him since the trip to Tommy’s. Angela was pretty sad when he wasn’t home for Thanksgiving, and I felt awful because I’m fairly certain I’m why he’s staying away, even if Meyer told me I’m being ridiculous.

Shae nods then moves out of the home section and into the clothing section. Shopping with her here feels weird. She usually drags me around boutiques; I did not expect a department store to be on the list of places to visit today. “Yeah, Meyer lost his shit on Teo after Thanksgiving and basically told him to get home or be cut off. I don’t think I’ve ever see him that angry.”

Well, I had no freaking idea. I swear, sometimes I feel like I live in a world of my own, but I can’t tell if it’s on me for not paying attention, or just how awful those three can be at communicating in general.

“Don’t pull that face. Do you have any idea how much shit I never know about? And I’ve been around my entire life. Their little boys’ club is almost impossible to crack the secret code for. Even when you’re in, they forget to tell you stuff. Why do you think they do like, daily debriefs? Cause otherwise they’d even forget to tell each other shit.”

I unwrinkle my brow, not having realized I’d scrunched up my face, and stick my tongue out at her. “You think I’ll ever make it to the inner circle?”

“You’re already in. They just still want to protect you so they’ll keep stuff from you without even realizing they’re doing it. They’re cavemen..” She bangs her fists on her chest and I laugh. “We men, you princess. We protect, grrrrrr.”

I laugh even harder when I see Bruno and Tonio trying not to laugh as they trail behind us.

“Pretty accurate.” I giggle and she laughs too.

Looping her arm with mine, she drags me toward the exit. “I thought so. Okay, this place is a bust. Coffee, lunch, or more shopping?”

“Coffee, please,” I beg.

“You should eat,” Bruno pipes up, and I roll my eyes, hearing the high five between him and Tonio. “Please let us eat.”

“Fine…” Shae drags out the word, glancing back at them. “What do you want to eat?”

“We get to pick?” Tonio asks, sounding shocked.

Shae stops and we turn to face them as we exit into the main mall. “Well, it is the holiday season.”

“Be still my beating heart, the generosity.”

The teasing between the two of them is so much like siblings, it’s fun to watch. It also occurs to me that I need to get Bruno a present, so I unlatch my arm from Shae, letting Tonio lead her to wherever we’re eating, and walk with him.

“What is your Christmas wish, Br—Eddie?” Using his real name is still so weird.

He chuckles at me and shakes his head. “You can call me Bruno, Quinn. But my Christmas wish... is for my girls. They all have such big dreams for next year. The twins want ivy leagues and Ella wants Julliard. I don’t remember when they grew up and got such big, expensive goals.”

“How likely is it?” I ask, chewing on my lip because that was kinda rude.

He shrugs, but smiles. “We’ll do what we can.”

I tuck it away but ask him again anyway. “Okay, but what about you and your... boyfriend? Husband?”

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