Page 11 of More Trouble
“He’s probably being looked after by one of those hot grid girls.” Maddox let out a laugh and I frowned at him.
“Why would you be looking at hot grid girls when you’re in love with my sister?” I pretended to be angry.
He held up his hands in surrender. “I’m not. Joking, Dre! Chill out.”
I winked. “You know better than to mess with me now.”
Maddox rubbed his ribs and gave me a solemn nod. “I do.”
Wes banged on the table to get our attention. “Guys, I gotta go do this. My stomach is in knots. What if she says no?”
“Wes, she’s not going to say no. Tell us when we need to start organizing the bachelor party,” I said.
“Well, we’ve only got a few months before the baby’s born, so it’s gonna be pretty quick.”
Maddox and I exchanged a glance.
“Don’t worry, man, we’ve got it covered,” he said.
Wes laughed as he tossed some cash onto the table. “I’ll catch you later, guys. I’m gonna go propose.” He pulled a scared-looking face and headed for the exit.
“Well, I never saw any of that coming.” I slumped back into my seat and slugged more beer.
“I knew about the baby, but I had no idea about the proposal. It’s about time though, isn’t it? I mean, they’ve been together practically forever.” Maddox shifted in his seat. “I should go too. Heavy day in the garage tomorrow.”
I glanced out of the window; the sky was almost black; it had started raining heavily. “Good idea, looks like there’s a storm coming in. Are you seeing Lyla tonight?”
He shook his head. “We don’t have to see each other every night. Before you say anything, it’s a mutual agreement, I’m not doing her wrong.”
“Better not be, Maddox. I don’t want to have to play the big brother card this early in your relationship.”
“Ha, I think you did that already.” He pointed to the fading bruise on his cheekbone.
“Get out of here. I’ll buy you dinner to make up for ruining your good looks.” I pulled out a credit card, took Wes’ cash and waved to Adriana.
“Thanks, buddy. I’m going to head off. See you later.” Maddox paused. “Give my love to Lyla.” He winked and headed off.
The rain was coming down in sheets when I went out to the car. It took me longer than usual to get home, but I was being careful; I’d had a couple of beers so didn’t want to get into any trouble.
When I got inside, I was soaked. It wasn’t late. Mom and Dad were in the living room, watching one of their favorite detective shows. I didn’t want to disturb them and went up to my room. Lyla’s door was open, and I stuck my head into her room.
“Hey, I have news,” I said.
She was stretched out on her stomach on her bed watching some reality show on her laptop. Hitting the keys, she paused it. “Sounds intriguing. What’s up?”
“I’ve been with Maddox and Wes.”
“Oh God, you didn’t hit him again, did you?”
“No, Lyla, I didn’t. I think we’re past that now.” I sat on the edge of her bed.
“It’s about Wes and Scarlett.”
“Omigod, is hefinallygoing to propose?” Lyla bounced up into a sitting position.
“Uh huh. And they’re expecting.”
“I knew it,” crowed Lyla, triumphantly. “I saw her in the diner the other day and she was eating all sorts of weird shit, like she was eating for two. Oh, I’m so excited!”
