Page 67 of Deal Takers

Brody clears his throat and laughs. “Sorry, babe. You can’t blame a guy for trying.”

I smack his arm with the back of my hand. “Keep your lips to yourself next time.” I move closer to Nate and ruffle his hair. “C’mon, big guy, let’s go find you the best-looking horse on the carousel.”

Poor Devyn looks like she wants to run away. That girl has never been good with confrontation.

She clears her throat. “Brody, you coming?”

He rubs his neck and glances at his really confused-looking friends before returning his gaze to mine. “Uh…I need to hit the head first. I’ll meet you there in a few.” Before any of us can say another word, he ducks around us and disappears inside the nearby men’s room.

Needless to say, the rest of our zoo excursion is tense.

CHAPTER 43

Brody

“Talk to me, Brody,” Charlee begs.

I take a sip from my coffee mug. “I don’t want to talk about it, Charlotte.”

“C’mon, dude. This is obviously about a woman. Maybe I can help.”

I didn’t show up for dinner at Pistorio’s as planned, so Charlee knew something was up. Big sis decided to pop by my condo to check on me.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” I repeat. “Why is that so hard for you to understand?”

“It’s not hard to understand,” she replies. “But you’remoping, Brody. You don’t mope, especially not over a woman.”

I set my mug down and cross my arms over my chest. “I’m notmoping. I just didn’t feel like having Italian fordinner last night.”

She throws her hands up in frustration. “Well, now Iknowsomething is wrong!”

I glare at her. “Because I didn’t want you to cook for me?”

“Yes!” she shouts. “Youneverturn down a free meal, especially if Mom or I are cooking! Not to mention the fact you wouldn’t answer my texts all week.” She digs in the back pocket of her jeans and produces her cell phone. “You’re forcing me to pull out the big guns. Just remember, you brought this on yourself.”

“What are you doing?” I ask nervously as she thumbs through her phone and taps a button.

She switches the call to speaker and holds her hand out. I try grabbing it from her the second I see the contact name, but the call connects after the first ring.

“Mia cara,” my mother says, in her thickly accented voice. “To what do I owe the pleasure of this call?”

“Hi,Mamma,” Charlee replies. “I’m over at Brody’s. You’re on speakerphone.”

Let’s pause for a minute to rewind. Do you remember when I told you my mother is Sicilian? What I failed to mention was that she’sreallySicilian…as in born and raised on that tiny island off the coast of Italy. She came to the US for college, which is where she met my dad and never moved back. Anyway, did you ever see the episode ofEverybody Loves Raymondwhere the Barones went to Italy? There was this teeny, little gray-haired woman that everyone was afraid of despite her small stature. Super pushy…always trying to feed everyone. You know who I’m talking about now? Well, that’s my mom. She always means well, and Charlee and I never wanted for affection, but she can be a little…overbearing at times.

“Brody! You need to call your mother more,” my mom scolds. “Your sister call me every day like good girl. You need to take lessons fromCarlotta.”

I glare at Charlee. “Yes,Mamma.”

She smirks in return. “Mamma, Brody is upset over a girl, and he won’t talk to me about it.”

“B.J.!” my mom shrieks. “Why you no tell me you have a lady in your life?”

Yep, she called meB.J. It’s her affectionate little nickname for me that makes me cringe every time I hear it. Do I really need to explain why? All the future parents out there, hear me out. If your kid’s first name starts with a B, and their middle name starts with a J, pleasenever, ever, cut it down to initials. Trust me when I tell you that it will save your child years of embarrassment.

“Mom, there’s nothing to tell.”

“He’s lying, Mom,” Charlee says. “He didn’t show up for dinner last night.”

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