I doubled back to the kitchen, thinking I could sneak out the back door and hide for a little bit. It was damn cold out there—February in South Jersey was no joke—but maybe I could sit in my car. It wasn’t like anyone was going to miss me in this crowd.
The doorknob was in my hand when I felt a punch on my back. “Where the hell do you think you’re going, cubby?” Danny hooked his arm around my neck. “The party isn’t out there.”
“I was just going to get some air. Fucking crowded in here.” I kept my voice low, in case my mom was lurking nearby. The woman moved like a panther. “And don’t call me that. You know I hate it.” The nickname was a new one, relatively-speaking; when the college fans had picked up on my high school team’s name for me—Lion—the whole thing had gone viral on social media. My brothers’ response was to remind me that I wasn’t really a lion; to them, I’d always be the littlest brother. The cub. Danny especially liked to jab at me when he thought I might be getting too big for my britches.
“And that’s why I do it. Anyway, sorry, dude—you’re not going anywhere. Mom needs you to bring those bags of chips to the living room and refill the bowls in there.”
I groaned. “No way. And how do you know she wants me to do it?”
Danny grinned. “Because she told me to do it, and now I’m telling you. Oldest story in the book, bro. Now get moving.”
I could’ve stood there and argued with him longer. Over the years, my brothers and I had turned bickering into an art form. We could keep it up for hours, debating the smallest, most ridiculous and meaningless shit. Drove our parents crazy, but hey, we looked at it as part of our job. Still, tonight was special, and I wasn’t going to mess it up for Simon and Justine. Plus, I was fairly sure I’d end up losing when Mom came in and banged our heads together.
With an exaggerated sigh, I grabbed the chips and shot Danny a death glare. “Payback’s a bitch. Just remember that.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Get moving.” He smirked. “I could be mistaken, but I thought I heard Carrie and Quinn come in. So if you were heading outside to avoid her, you might want to go through the dining room.”
I flipped him my middle finger and stalked out of the kitchen, muttering under my breath. There was just something about being back here in this house that made me forget I was twenty-three years old, an adult living on my own. I had a feeling that even when I was eighty, my big brothers were still going to get a lot of joy out of bossing me around.
The living room was crowded, but to my relief, Quinn wasn’t in there. I tore open the first bag of chips and dumped them into the nearly-empty bowl and then repeated the same routine with the next one. Most of my older relatives had ended up in this part of the house, so it was a little quieter in here.
Great-Aunt Libby snagged my arm as I passed. “Leo, be a lamb and get your uncle here a cup of coffee. You know if he goes, he’ll just spill it on the way back.”
Uncle Hal wheezed with laughter. “Not if I tip a bottle over into the cup while I’m at it.” He held up his hand, which shook slightly. “I only get steadier with a little nip in the brew.”
Shaking my head, I patted Aunt Libby on the shoulder. “You stay put, Uncle Hal. I’ll get your coffee.” As I passed him, I bent to whisper into his good ear, “Just don’t let anyone else have a sip, okay? The little extra I add will be our secret.”
He chuckled again, slapping me on the back. “That’s my boy.”
I was still grinning as I rounded the corner and nearly knocked over Quinn.
“Whoa.” She teetered for a minute and instinctively grasped my arm. “Sorry about that. I was taking a short cut to the desserts.”
It had been just about a month since I’d seen her. The first thing I noted was that she wasn’t quite as thin as she’d been then, and I was glad about that. There was a little more color in her face, too, and it looked as though she’d had her hair trimmed. It wasn’t short, but the curls that bounced around her shoulders seemed a little more tamed. More styled, or whatever it was the girls called it. It was different in a good way.
She wore dark blue jeans that clung to her legs and heels that brought her eyes closer to my level. Her loose black top should have seemed formless, but it somehow clung to her boobs, accenting their curves and cleavage, making my mouth water and my hands itch to touch her.
Quinn’s fingers released my arm as she realized it was me she’d run into, and she took one step backward, bumping into the wall behind her. When her eyes met mine, they were guarded and tentative.
“Hey, Leo.” She slid her hands into the back pockets of her jeans, hunching her shoulders. “I wasn’t sure you’d be here.”
I shrugged. “A brother’s engagement party is pretty much a command performance. Plus, with it being off-season, I didn’t have any good excuse to say I couldn’t make it.”
“Ah.” She nodded. “Well ... they seem happy. I’ve only met Justine a few times, but I think she and Simon make a cute couple.”
“Yeah.” I wasn’t capable of saying much more than that.
“And your mom is definitely pleased.” Quinn focused on a spot over my shoulder. “She’s finally getting that daughter she always wanted, huh?” Her lips pressed together, and I was sure we were both thinking the same thing: we’d always thought Quinn would be part of my family someday. The possibility felt very remote right now.
“I guess.” My fingers fisted around the empty chip bags I was still holding. “So how’re you doing, Mia?”
I hadn’t planned to use the pet name; it had just slipped out. The moment it did, Quinn’s eyes went softer for a moment, and she cleared her throat before she answered me.
“I’m okay. I’m ...” She drew in a deep breath. “Better, maybe. Or on my way there, I think.”
“That’s, uh, good.” I nodded, my head moving up and down like a fucking bobble head.
“Yeah.” Her tongue darted out to run over her lips, and her gaze flickered up to me. “Leo, I’m moving to California.”
