Page 6 of Falling into Place
He mirrored her tone. “Macy.”
“You got acat.”
“So?” He took a long gulp of beer. She better have stocked the fridge, because he’d need another in about thirty seconds.
“And you started gardening,” Sasha put in.
His cheeks heated. “How did you know about that?”
“You posted a sad-looking picture of a tomato plant on Instagram.”
One, he forgot he’d posted that.
Two, he was proud of that endeavor. Setting up that tiny raised bed in his backyard had been more work than he’d expected. “It won’t seem so sad when I’m enjoying homemade salsa in a few months. Watch: It’ll be better than Pub W’s.”
His sisters exchanged another look.
Macy leaned forward, clasping her hands together on the table as if she were a credentialed therapist. “We think you’re depressed, Brooks.”
“Do what, now?”
“To be fair, she’s the one who said ‘depressed,’” Sasha said. “I said you were lonely.”
Brooks shifted his gaze between them, eyes wide. “Ease up, ladies. I’m not depressed or lonely. I’m justbusy. I wanted a pet, so what? And my diet’s been shit the last several years. My body composition is basically protein bars and caffeine. I liked the idea of having fresh vegetables around. What’s the big deal?”
They stared back at him, Sasha with a sad, pseudopitying expression and Macy with a bland I-don’t-believe-you-for-a-second look.
He crossed his arms. He loved his job and actually enjoyed being in the hospital. What was so wrong with that? “Should I revert back to my womanizing, asshole tendencies from high school? Is that what you want?”
“No,” Sasha said immediately.
Macy remained calm. “Of course not. We want you to consider a standard and respectful adult romantic relationship.”
In the split second before he launched into a speech about his happiness and self-worth not being tied to his relationship status, Sasha tossed out, “And we want you to save Mom’s business while you do it.”
His words caught in his throat and he frowned. “I don’t see how those are connected.”
“Did you knowThe Bacheloris one of the highest-ranked reality TV shows?”
He blinked, disoriented by the random question. “What?”
“Last season averaged five million viewers per episode, mostly young people. It’s been on the air for over twenty years.”
“Everyone hates that show,” Brooks said, apprehension growing again.
“Peoplelovethat show, despite the fact it’s a fake, problematic mess. Everyone wants to watch people fall in love. They come back for it time and time again.”
A thick black line connected the dots between his brain cells. “I don’t like where you’re going with this.”
Sasha took a deep breath as if bracing herself. She darted an anxious look at Macy, who nodded at her like,Go on. “I want to feature you as a bachelor inLiveOKC. A single guy in Oklahoma City on the dating scene, showcasing some of the best places to take someone out, which would enhance our regular content, like restaurants and fun date locations. We could do a couple big pieces in the monthly print issue, and if people signed up for the newsletter, they’d get updates in between, like documenting your triumphs and failures.”
“Myfailures?”
Macy shook her head and Sasha waved a nervous hand. “Not like bombing a date or anything. We won’t do a post when that happens—”
“Whenit happens?” Good God, did they think he was a total amateur when it came to women?
Maybe he should bring up his high school exploits again. Didn’t matter if it was sixteen years ago, he was. Smooth. As. Butter.
