Page 66 of Best Served Cold

This is happening.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

SOPHIE

“I missed all of that?” Otis asks, looking dejected.

We’re sitting at the breakfast table at ten on Saturday.

It’s a bit late, especially since my shift starts at noon, but I didn’t sleep much last night. After leaving Buchanan Brewery, Hannah, Briar, and I went to Prohibition, a speakeasy-style bar, to get another drink so we could dissect our conversation with Rob and the other guys. Basically, they wanted to know everything Rob had said to me.

I told them most of it, including a suspicion I hadn’t shared with Rob, that GingerBeerBabe might be helping Jonah. A woman had made that call to Rob’s caseworker, and even though I didn’t like Patricia, I couldn’t see her condescending to do that.

“But why would he be banned from The Ginger Station if she’s still into him?” Hannah asked, which was a good point.

“I’ll check with that bartender,” I offered, because apparently she and Dottie have been trading recipes.

The only thing I kept from my friends was my information-sharing pact with Rob. I trust Hannah and Briar, but I’m not ready to tell them about my past either. I’m worried they would judge me.

I couldn’t bear it if they did.

“So he wants to practice pretending to be a couple?” Hannah said, wagging her eyebrows. “You know, you really should have seen the look on Jonah’s face last night. It was the best thing that ever happened to me. I’m just gonna say it. You should definitely make him suffer more by sleeping with Rob.”

“Hannah,” I said. “That’s a terrible idea. He’s Jonah’s brother.”

Briar lifted a finger. “Agreed. I’m going off men for at least six months, and then I’m only going to date people who adhere to a very specific checklist.”

“Eating granola?” Hannah asked. “Believing in crystals?”

Briar gave her the side-eye. “Not being a cheater or related to a man who cheated on me would be a good start.”

I sighed. “Briar’s right. If Rob and I got together, I’d have to see Jonah all the time. I wouldn’t be able to escape him.”

Hannah laughed, her eyes flashing with mischief. “Yeah, I’m sure the two of them are going to hang up Christmas stockings for each other.”

That almost put tears in my eyes. “Did I ruin his relationship with his brother forever?”

“They hated each other anyway,” she replied. “You said so.”

I had said so. I’d thought so. I still think so. I’m ninety percent sure Jonah did something awful to Rob, somethingunforgivable, but the only way I can find out is by telling Rob my own story.

“What about his father?” I asked. “His relationship with him sounded complicated anyway. What if I’ve destroyed it?”

Hannah shrugged. “Shouldn’t you leave that up to him?”

Maybe she was right, but I slept fitfully anyway last night. Then I got up and made pancakes for Otis, because he’d texted me to say that he’d accidentally captured the wrong pigeon and had claw marks all over his arms.

We glumly ate them while I told him all about what had happened at the brewery last night.

“I would’ve come if I’d known that would happen,” he continues.

“Trust me,” I say, pushing away my plate. “It was not fun. Catching that pigeon was probably more fun.”

“It was kind of fun.” My cousin sighs and runs a hand through his already-messy hair. “I had to use my wits to set the trap. But it was a bummer when I figured out I’d been chasing the wrong bird the whole time.”

This feels a little too close to home for some reason. I get to my feet, grabbing my plate. I’m about to grab his, too, when I realize I’m doing it again. Parenting my cousin. Trying to take care of other people’s problems so they’ll think I’m helpful. So I leave his plate and bring mine to the sink.

Otis doesn’t even hesitate to bring his things into the kitchen too.

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