Page 54 of So Much More

“Ditto.”

As soon as Leslie leaves, my mom calls to find out what Randall learned about Andrea. In order to tell that story, I need to tell her everything that happened with him.

“Honey,” she says when I’ve finished, “I know you’re hurting from what Randall did, but I’m proud of you for talking to him and deciding to try to work through it.”

“Thanks. You really think I’m making the right decision?”

“I do. Do I think it’ll work out in the end? I don’t know. But I’m glad you’re not giving up on him. You seem to truly care for him, and vice versa. Now, tell me about your sister.”

twenty-three

“She’s really giving you another chance?” Ash asks.

I’m lying on my back on the couch again, like I was the night I told Ash about the cuddling. “Kind of,” I say to the ceiling. “We’re starting as friends, although I’m not exactly sure what that means. We didn’t talk about how often we might see each other or talk to each other. But I’m certain it means I can’t touch her.”

“Can you handle that?”

“I’ll have to. I need to earn her trust back.”

“I think you can, if she’s willing to give you the chance.”

I turn my head to look at him. “Really?”

He nods. “It might take some time, but she’s a smart and perceptive woman. If you commit to making this relationship work and becoming the man you want to be, she’ll see it.”

I look back at the ceiling. “She’s so much better than me.”

“She’s not.”

My head whips back toward him, and he holds a hand up before I can respond.

“I’m not saying she’s down at your level, whatever you think that might be. I’m saying you’re up at her level. You’re a good man, regardless of your occasional harebrained decisions, and you deserve a woman like Wendy.”

A lump forms in my throat at his words, but I manage to choke out, “Thanks.”

Brrrring!

As my brother answers the phone, my heart pounds. I know it’s probably not Wendy, but the fact that it could be her is something I couldn’t have imagined twenty-four hours ago.

“Hey, kiddo,” he says, so I know he’s talking to one of our sisters, and I try not to be disappointed.

“Yeah, we’re both here. … Do you want me to come get you? … Okay, when you get here, pull up to the curb and have Sonya run in and tell Jeff you’re here. He’ll call up and one of us will come down to park the car. … Nope. Don’t argue with me. That’s the way this is going to happen. … Yeah. See you soon.”

He hangs up the phone and unnecessarily says, “That was Tonya.”

“I never would have guessed.”

Ash rolls his eyes at me. “Dad left town for a couple days, and the girls want to come down and have dinner with us and watch a movie. I guess I should have asked if that was okay with you, but I assumed you’d say yes.”

There’s only one other person in the world I’d rather spend my evening with than my sisters. “Of course I’d say yes.”

* * *

“We want to go to that Irish pub you guys always talk about,” Sonya says.

I suck in a breath as Ash sends a sharp look in my direction.

“We’ve been there a lot lately,” he says to them. “I’m tired of pub grub. How about Italian instead?”

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