Page 50 of Mine This Time
“Huh?”
“Men can be real assholes. If you know what I mean.”
“Right,” I replied, thinking of Brett and how he’d treated Mari.
“Your mother really liked Mari.”
“She only met her for like a minute,” I countered.
“She’s a good judge of character. Over the years, I’ve found she’s almost always right.”
I interjected, “Because she is, and you’re smart enough to stay on her good side.”
My father winked before his gaze sobered again. “I can’t tell you what to do, son. But I can tell you that I think maybe you don’t wanna let Mari slide by. You just might come to regret it.”
After I left the café—the very place I’d taken Mari to lunch the day she’d showed up at my office looking for Brett—I decided to do the next uncomfortable thing. Somehow I thought this would definitely be more challenging than my chat with my father.
“How’s it going, Nash?” Max said the moment he picked up his phone.
“All right. You?”
“Busy, but that’s my life all the time. Something else come up? I thought we were all done with that mess Brett made.”
“We are. That’s not why I’m calling.”
“Oh, okay. Then, what can I do for you?”
“Do you happen to know where Mari is?” I asked, jumping straight to my point.
Max was silent for a few beats, and I could’ve sworn his tone was cooler when he spoke again. “I do. She’s in Alaska, but she’s flying to meet us here in San Francisco this afternoon. Harlow and I just flew back the other day. Did Mari leave something there?”
“Uh, no. Look, I’d really like to talk to her, and I thought I should let you know she means something to me.”
I wasn’t a man who experienced trepidation often, but just now, my heart was kicking against my ribs.
“Excuse me?”
“I like your sister.”
Oh, fuck. Like didn’t even come close.
“You like her? I like her too, but you’re gonna need to clarify a little more than that.”
“It’s safe to say we definitely don’t like her in the same way.”
Jesus, this conversation was a fucking disaster. I didn’t usually have trouble explaining anything. About now, I felt like a ten-year-old called to the front of the class when I forgot to read the assignment.
I forged on because I didn’t see any other way. “Look, Mari will give me hell if I get into the details. But I respect you. I’m coming to find her, and I hope you don’t feel the need to kick my ass.”
Max was dead silent on the phone, just long enough that I wondered if he hung up on me. “Max? You still there?”
“I’m still fucking here,” he muttered. “Mari is coming to stay with us, and I wish I hadn’t told you that.”
There was a sound in the background, and then Max’s voice became muffled. “For fuck’s sake, Harlow. Don’t?—”
Next, I heard a female voice come on the line. “Nash?”
I presumed this was Harlow, but I’d only met her once and couldn’t say I recognized her voice. “This is Nash.”
