Page 86 of The Secret
She wasn’t joking; she’d said exactly that. I didn’t figure she’d actually follow through with it, but at a certain point it would have caused me more trouble to explain why I couldn’t bring him than to just bring him.
Plus, I wanted him with me.Always. Everything was better when Con was there. It was as simple as that.
“Out of my way, unicorns!” Leandra, dressed in a sparkling shirt, pushed through the assembled children so she could get to Con also. “I’m Leandra, mother of this one.” She laid her hand on Olivia’s shoulder. “As well as two others who are napping. Are you overwhelmed yet? Have we overwhelmed you?”
“Nah, I’m very un-overwhelm-able.” Con embraced her too, and Leandra gave me a smug smile as she released him.
I wasseriouslyamused that neither of my sisters and only one of their kids had greetedmebut were clustered around Constantine like he was anactualunicorn I’d brought along for show-and-tell.
I couldn’t blame them on the one hand, but it made me uneasy, too.
Olivia would probably still be asking about Constantine the unicorn at her sixteenth birthday party, and I couldn’t foresee a future in which I knew the answer to that question.
Fucking depressing. Yay, unicorns.
“Micah!” Mason approached through the side yard. He was wearing fitted khakis and a V-neck sweater that would have looked more appropriate at an upscale brunch than an outdoor kids’ party.
I opened my mouth to give him shit when I saw the woman clinging to his arm. Victoria was wearing a pale orange sweater dress with a drape-y neckline, a plethora of bracelets that clinked as she moved, and short, pointy-heeled boots that sank into the grass as she walked. Her long, blonde hair curled in loose waves around a face dominated by huge brown eyes and perfectly pouty lips.
I was one hundred percent gay—after one disastrous attempt at dating the lovely Miranda Fulmer in high school, I’d known for sure—but evenIcould sense how sexy Victoria was, like a ghost of a thing I might have felt, had my biology been other than what it was. And like my brother, I’d probably have done a lot more than wear prissy sweaters to keep her happy, too.
I’d never understood why Lauren and Leandra didn’t like her.
Mason and I shook hands, and I kissed Victoria on the cheek.
“Victoria, so nice to see you. You look lovely,” I said, and she blushed prettily. “And it’s nice of you to host the party,” I told Mase. “You probably didn’t realize you’d be stuck with upholding this tradition when you decided to move in last year, huh?”
“But soon it’ll be someone else’s turn,” Victoria said, smiling. “Won’t that be nice?”
“Pardon?” I looked at Mason in confusion.
“Nothing,” Mason said quickly, giving Victoria a look that made her roll her eyes. “I’m always happy to host, you know that.”
I frowned. “If you’d—”
“So, he’s cute,” Mason interrupted, nodding at Con. “And clearly the twins approve.”
“Nice that they approve of someone,” Victoria sighed. “I’m starting to take it personally.”
“Oh, babe. It’s not you,” Mason said. “It’s just that they’re, you know, overprotective. They’ll warm up to you.”
“It’s been eight months,” she reminded him. “It took them eightsecondsto likehim.” She tilted her head in Constantine’s direction.
“Yeah, Con’s a charmer,” I said, turning to watch Constantine also. He was standing in the middle of the herd of unicorns—and their mothers—who were peppering him with questions, and I could sense that same neutron-star magnetism that had pulled me toward him working on everyone else.
He was so freakin’ gorgeous.
I was so freakin’ screwed.
“I keep hearing that he makes you laugh,” Mason said, smiling. “And I heard he was a troublemaker back in the day, which means I automatically feel a certain kinship with him.”
I snorted. I watched Con shake hands with Leandra’s husband Jared and grin at ten-month-old Gwynnie, who looked like she’d just woken up. The baby immediately stretched out her arms to Constantine, who took her with ease, smiling all the while.
“The man can charmanyone,” I said, grinning despite myself. “He’s got them eating out of his hand.”
“That’s a good thing,” Mason said.
“Mmm.” It wasn’t quite agreement, but I hoped he wouldn’t catch it.
