“Vodka, not tequila,” I clarify.
“Because your beloved does not, in fact, like tequila.”
I wink at her, then turn to make the other women’s drinks as they enter. Soon enough, they’re off bowling, and Aaron tips his beer at me. “You look different.”
I shrug. “Maybe.”
He laughs. “Things are going well with Darcy, then?”
“You know about us?”
He laughs harder. “C’mon, man, you think they don’t talk? Of course I know about you two.”
Something inside my chest unfurls and loosens, and I gotta say, it feels great. “Yeah, it’s going well.”
He toasts me, then takes another swig.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see a swath of dark blue, followed by my brother and his wife. “Shit,” I mutter.
Aaron’s eyes narrow, and when he swivels to see what’s got me scowling, all he does is snort a laugh into his beer. “Judging by your expression, that’s gotta be your other brother.”
“I’m not sure I like you,” I quip, then cross my arms and turn to my brothers and Charlotte.
“Anthony,” Levi says.
“Levi,” I answer.
“Look at the love!” Ox enthuses. “It just oozes from their pores, don’t you think, Charlotte?”
Charlotte’s grin is knowing. “Definitely.”
I decide there’s no point in being an ass to Charlotte. I like her, and she’s been good for my brother. Instead of him being an asshole one hundred percent of the time, it’s more like eighty percent. And that’s not nothing.
Is he an asshole because I was one first? Maybe. But I’m the oldest. It’s my job to be a dick.
I offer her an expression that isn’t murderous, and ask, “What can I get you, Charlotte?”
She considers, her gaze roaming over the stocked bar behind me. “Vodka and soda with a splash of cranberry and a lime.”
With a nod, I make her drink, and only then do I deign to look at my brother. What I see almost makes me think he’s been abducted by aliens, because the man actuallysmilesat me.
This must be what Darcy meant when she told me how different I appeared when I smiled. Because my brother almost doesn’t even look like himself. It’s unsettling.
“The usual,” he says to my unspoken question.
“Good to know some things haven’t changed,” I mutter. “Ox?”
He shakes his head and points to the uniform he’s wearing. “Not tonight. Figured I’d help deliver the bad news, though.”
I pull the top off my brother’s favorite beer and slide it towards him, waiting.
Levi grabs it and takes a sip. “Pipes burst at the rec center.”
I freeze.
“It’s a mess.” Ox picks up the story. “No way will they be done in time for the party on Saturday.”
“So, we need to move it here,” Charlotte finishes, the smile on her face telling me she’s heard about my supposed aversion to having it here and is hoping to soften the blow.