Page 139 of Bottle Shock
CHAPTER 38
Gavin
SCOTTIE CAN TAKE HER
That was not how I planned on telling Scottie I was in love with her for the first time.
Not in the middle of a screaming match with my sister.
Definitely not with my entire family watching from the lawn behind us.
Elyse calmed down pretty quickly, though. So much so that she and Scottie have been in the office for over an hour now, door closed, and I haven’t heard any yelling.
Thank God.
“So…” Shane drawls, leaning back in his chair, hands laced behind his head. “Scottie, huh?”
Jesus Christ.
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Shane?—”
“No, no, hold on.” He lifts his fist toward me, eyebrows raised.
I look at him. He looks at me.
There’s no winning here.
I sigh and bump his knuckles, hating that I’m encouraging this.
He grins. “Nice.”
Dominic sits beside me, elbows braced on his knees. “I think the honeymoon will be good for her,” he says to no one in particular. “Take some of the edge off.”
The room nods like this is a perfectly reasonable conclusion.
I clear my throat, and every head swivels to me.
“Just so we’re clear,” I say, “I won’t be answering any questions. We’re still figuring things out.”
Shane nods. “Yeah, okay, but like…still it’s nice, though.”
“Shane,” Ethan grumbles.
“What? Can I not be happy for them?”
I sink back into the couch, wishing I could disappear beneath the cushions.
After everything went down, everyone migrated to the living room. Except Ariana, who had the sense to grab Lily the second voices started rising. She whisked her upstairs and texted me twenty minutes ago that her and Lily were watching a movie.
So, at least one thing went right.
“I had a feeling you two might end up together,” my mom says, breaking her silence.
Our response is to stare at her.
She shrugs, unbothered. “What? I’m a mother. I notice things.”
Shane shakes his head. “I didn’t see it coming.”
