Page 112 of Snow, Ice, and Spice
Just then someone bumps into me, I open my eyes and turn around. When I see it’s Tyler stealinglumpiafrom my plate, my annoyance overtakes the urge to cry.
“Whoselumpiaam I gonna steal when you’re away?” He wraps his arm around me while stuffing his face.
“I guess you’ll have to learn to make your own plate of food for the next few weeks, you thirty-two-year-old man-child.”
Behind me, I hear Austin laugh. He high-fives me as he grabs a napkin from the counter.
“Words to live by, Tyler,” he says. “Listen to your baby sister.”
Austin walks off, leaving Tyler rolling his eyes as he eats.
I jokingly take a bow, which makes Tyler laugh. He takes a long gulp of beer from the bottle in his hand before looking at me, the expression on his face noticeably more serious.
“Hey, um, I just wanna say that I’m sorry,” he says, his voice quieter.
“For what?” I take a small bite oflumpia.
“For being an annoying, overbearing older brother.” He sighs. “Look, I know you and I are really different. I’ll probably never leave Denver. I like being close to home and family. And you’re a free spirit to the max with all the traveling you’ve done. And that’s honestly really cool. You’ve made a life for yourself traveling and living the way you want. That gig with Sadie Skinner? Pretty freaking sweet. Clearly, you’re doing just fine.” A small smile tugs at his lips as he looks at me. “It’s just hard for me sometimes because I’m your big brother. I want to make sure you’re okay, you know? Even though I show it in annoying ways like lecturing you about getting a real job.”
He sets his half-empty beer bottle on the counter. “I guess I’m just trying to say that I’m sorry for making you feel like just because you live your life differently it’s wrong. It’s not.”
I stare at my big brother, half heartened, half shocked. It takes a long moment for me to process what he’s said.
“Wow, Tyler. I don’t know what to say. Except maybe…” I frown at him and poke his arm. “Who the hell is this emotionally mature man and what have you done with my dipshit older brother?”
He grins and rolls his eyes. “Very funny.”
I pull him into a hug. “Seriously though, that means a lot. Thanks.”
“Always here for you, sis. Both Gage and me. You know that, right?” he says when we break apart.
“I know.” I pat his arm. “Speaking of Gage, where is he?”
“Filling Mom’s car with gas and airing up the tires so you’re good to go when she takes you to the airport tomorrow.”
I smile and shake my head. “Of course he is.”
Tyler lingers at the island for a moment looking like he wants to say something.
“What?” I ask.
He hesitates. “I guess I just thought that Theo would be the one to take you to the airport.”
A knowing look flashes in my big brother’s eyes.
I fiddle with a napkin on the countertop. “And what made you think that?”
“Because that’s what couples do. Give each other rides to the airport. That’s half the reason to get into a relationship, I thought.”
I don’t laugh at his joke. “Well, you thought wrong.”
“Come on, Maya. I know I’m an idiot, but I’m not blind. I’ve seen you and Theo together. You’re crazy about each other. Why isn’t he here?”
For the second time in five minutes, I’m stunned by the emotional astuteness of my frat boy brother.
That tightness in my throat hits. I take a second to down the water in my glass just to buy myself an extra moment to collect myself.
“It just didn’t work out.”
