Page 76 of Late to Love

Darcy, being the far better human than me, gives him a smile and they make small talk. Harrison’s entire demeanor around Darcy changed when he realized I liked her. Smart man.

“I still don’t see why we need to close the entire day for this,” I grumble.

“Getting people to leave is a lot harder when they’re already here.” Harrison doesn’t miss a beat.

“We could be making money,” is all I say in return.

Harrison doesn’t bother replying, and Ox, Levi, and Charlotte come through the door next, loaded down with more decorating supplies than I’d prefer to see.

“What do you plan on doing with all of that?” I growl.

“We’re decorating, asshole,” Levi shoots back at me. “Deal with it. You don’t have to help, but youdohave to get out of the way.”

Charlotte shoots Levi a look, then closes the distance to pull me into a side hug. “Good morning, Grumpy!”

I grumble. It feels nice to default back to the grouch I was before Darcy made me happy.

But all Charlotte does is laugh, and Darcy does the same. With a sidelong glance at my woman, Charlotte observes, “You need more coffee.”

“Which is why I brought some.” Ox brandishes two carrying containers of iced coffee and hands mine over with a smug smile. He knows exactly how I like it: iced latte with oat milk and three raw sugars. It’s the only time I’ll indulge in something that tastes like a dessert, and somehow the bastard knew I’d want one.

Darcy accepts the frozen sugary concoction Ox hands her next, moaning almost as loud as when my mouth was on her in the shower upstairs.

I’m still not happy to be having it here, but there really was no other place. The only bright spot is knowing that Levi “this place isn’t good enough” Hall hates having it here. Seeing him climbing ladders and cussing when the streamers rip is also pretty damn satisfying.

The hours pass quickly, and soon enough, Reid is at the door, delivering lunch for all of us and promising to come back when he’s off duty.

There are more streamers and balloons than I can count, and the place is festooned with photos of my parents as well. Scattered in between are pictures of the five of us, and they hurt to look at. We boys go from scrawny and awkward up to hulking giants, and looking at them just makes me hungry. We were always hungry. Mom struggled to keep us fed, and there were more bologna and rice dinners than I’d prefer.

The background of the trailer park looms in so many of them, too. I never much minded living there, but I know it chapped Levi’s ass in particular. It’s why he bought them a house the second he could. Our parents would have stayed in that damn trailer park the rest of their days, despite it being unsafe as hell. The community was never the problem; the actual structure was what put Levi over the edge. And the more that hurricanes and other bad weather increased, the more his urgency became to get them the hell out of there. It was a rare instance of me agreeing wholeheartedly with my brother.

Darcy’s hand rests on my back as she approaches, standing next to me to look at one of the pictures. By some miracle, Coach had let us freshman football players have a few days off during the season, so I’d driven the few hours home to catch one of my brothers’ games. They were in high school, dressed out in full pads and nearly as tall as me, fresh off a win against some team or another. Mom and Dad bracket us on either side, both of them wearing smiles so proud that even now it almost breaks my heart. Because it was never me they were proud of, despite me playing for the University of Alabama. I remember that distinctly. It was always the twins. That night, my brothers had run some kind of offensive miracle and worked together to score the winning touchdown.

“You weren’t happy.” Darcy says it so matter-of-factly that I startle, looking at her with my mouth open.

She laughs. “Don’t look so surprised. I know your expressions. I know when your smile is actually a shield, and I know that most of your scowls are actually forms of a smile.”

Her words are a balm, and I feel myself defrost the tiniest bit. “Thank you.”

She tilts her head up for a kiss, then studies me. “Was it really so bad? Growing up with them?”

I open my mouth to speak, but don’t have the words. Yes, it was. No, it wasn’t. It’s so fucking complicated.

She gives an understanding chuckle and hugs me. “Come on. I think the guests are arriving.”

It’s a relief to lose myself to bartending for a while, and I half want to stay there when Harrison shows up an hour later to tell me my parents are there. “Go mingle and shit,” he says with a smirk. “I know how much you love that.”

I give a derisive snort as I toss the towel on the bar. “Watch out or I’ll fire you.”

He laughs. “You couldn’t handle this place without me.”

Mom and Dad are surrounded by people, and it takes them a long time to finally reach my brothers and me.

“There are my boys!” Dad opens his arms and gestures for Ox and Levi, the same way he always does. I swear I’m an afterthought.

But Mom turns to me for a hug, and it’s surprising to get her attention first. “Hi, Mom.”

She pats my back, then steps back and takes my arms in her hands, giving me a once-over. “How are you, my firstborn?”

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