Page 85 of Ten Rules for Faking It
Chris shook his head, letting out an exasperated huff. “Jesus. Sit down, you idiot. Stacey, this is my brother Noah. Noah, Stacey.” He waved a hand between them. “Don’t hit on each other. Seriously.”
They both opened their mouths, their mutual shock comical. A laugh burst from Everly’s chest, and she slapped a hand across her mouth.
“Something funny? Maybe a text or something?” Stacey gave her a sickly sweet smile, and Everly bit her lip, trying to contain further giggles.
Noah sat beside Stacey and shook her hand. “I’ll do my best not to hit on you, but I’m fairly hungry, so I might not be responsible for my actions if we can’t order soon.”
Stacey nodded and picked up a menu. “Noted and completely understandable. I make no promises whether I’m hungry or not.”
Chris caught Everly’s eye, and they shared a smile before picking up their menus. Maybe she could handle part two of an evening she’d wanted to put behind her hours ago. WithStacey there, she could breathe easier and know that she could be on the listening end of the conversations. She could do that.
Listening and observing were her sports. She was a gold medal champion in both, which was the only excuse she had for looking at the menu without actually seeing the words. Observations: the scent of Chris’s cologne and the proximity of his hand when he set his menu down, the way his laugh was a little gruff, sort of like he’d slept on it, his affectionate smiles toward his brother even as he rolled his eyes. By the time their waitress joined them, with water and apologies, Everly still wasn’t sure what she wanted. From the menu.
[28]
The service at the restaurant was beyond slow. Normally, this put Everly on edge. She didn’t like feeling stuck, but it felt different with Chris and Stacey—one of whom she was very comfortable with and one who gave her this dual, confusing sensation of ease mixed with nerves. Noah was hilarious, and listening to Chris try to defend his actions as a younger sibling gave Everly a completely new view of him.
Noah hooked one arm around the back of his chair, casually elegant and completely at ease with himself. He finished his pint and set it down. “Our dad isn’t the most affectionate. Our mom is. She used to tell us that if you want to be really good at something, you have to practice and work hard.”
They’d finished their dinners and were waiting for their bills. The restaurant was quieter, but music still played in the background. The smell of french fries and burgers permeated the air, and Everly was sure she wouldn’t be able to eat again for days. The milkshake had been unnecessary but delicious.
“I’ll pay you to stop talking,” Chris said, leaning back in his chair, clasping his hands over his stomach, drawing Everly’s attention.
A quick, hard flash of curiosity danced through her mind with the force of a tornado, making her wonder what he’d look likeunderhis shirt. She choked on the last of her milkshake.
“You okay?” Stacey asked, her eyes playful.
Everly nodded, eyes watering. “Fine.”
Noah grinned at his brother. “When Chris was about six, he took his favorite stuffed bear—he slept with that thing until he was fourteen.”
Chris crumpled a napkin and tossed it at Noah. “Screw you.” He looked at Stacey, then Everly. “I absolutely didnot.”
“I could be a bit off on the age. Might have been sixteen. Anyway, he takes this bear to our dad in his home office, just offers it to him. I was reading, and Wes was playing on the computer. We just liked to be around our dad, and as long as we weren’t bugging him, he didn’t mind us hanging out in there, absorbing his business sense. He looks down at Chris and says, ‘I can’t play with you right now.’”
“This is completely against the bro code.” Chris groaned, draining his soda glass. He glared at his brother, but there was no heat in it. This is what they did. It made her wonder what it would have been like to have a sibling.
“No way. This is good stuff. Keep going,” Stacey said. She was digging into the last of her milkshake, pulling out chunks of Oreo with a spoon.
“Chris tells Dad he doesn’t want to play. He tells him that he can borrow the bear to hug. My dad stops doing what he’s doing. He hates being interrupted, but he stops and says, ‘Why would I want to hug your bear?’” Noah’s grin was contagious. “Chris says, ‘Because you don’t know how to give hugs. You can practice on Bear, and I’ll tell you if you’re doing it right.’ Our dad went three shades of red. Wes and I couldn’t stop laughing.”
“Oh my goodness, that’s absolutely adorable,” Stacey said through her laughter.
Everly glanced at Chris. Despite his smile, she didn’t think he enjoyed the story. She hated the image of him craving attention he didn’t get from his dad. Maybe because she’d been on the receiving end of having tales told about her to provide comedic relief, mostly by her parents, she could read that in his body language.
“I think it’s sweet,” she said quietly. “Did he practice?” Her dad would have. He had faults, but giving affection wasn’t one of them.
Chris ran a hand through his hair and scoffed. “No. He took the bear away and told me to go play with my brothers—who are both jackasses, so I probably went off by myself.”
A pang of sadness struck her heart. No, her dad definitely wouldn’t have taken the bear away. She wondered what other little secrets went into making Chris the man he was. Noah was more outgoing and had a different presence than his brother. Though she could see some similarities in the eyes and the nose, she found Chris more attractive in a less obvious way. Noah was all sharp cheekbones and magazine smiles. Chris was… real.
“Aw. We weren’t all bad,” Noah said, folding his arms and letting out a weary sigh.
If he’d come from New York, the flight was probably catching up with him. The day was certainly catching up with Everly.
“I’m not sure whether to be happy or sad I don’t have siblings,” Everly commented.
“You have me,” Stacey said, holding out a bite of Oreo for Everly in challenge. Everly shook her head, so Stacey shrugged. “Your sister from another mister.” She ate the Oreo and dropped her spoon, making it rattle against the glass.
