“Yeah no, I’m fine. Thanks, bro!” Oscar called, and only then did I remember that I wasn’t alone.
I spun around to face Oscar, nervously smiling. “Sorry, it’s nice to meet you too.” A bunch of high-pitched laughs sounded behind us, earning my attention for a second before turning back to face Oscar.
His charming smile beamed down on me, one I was sure had worked a treat many times before. “You’ve met the whole fucked-up Romano clan now.”
My laugh was nervous as I took a sip of my drink. “I wouldn’t say fucked up.”
His brows rose. “Severely fucked up?”
I laughed, my nerves melting the longer I stood here, then shook my head. “I’d say strong.” My hands flailed. “To go through what you’ve all been through and still be laughing takes strength.”
“And patience.” He shuffled, his eyes flitting to the floor and then back to me. “I just had to believe that one day things would be normal again, and eventually they were.”
“I get that.” My face pulled. “Well, I’m starting too.”
Oscar shrugged, like he knew. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m still being patient.” Something in his eyes shifted. “Guess it’s hard to outrun something that you’re around all the time.”
I rolled the invisible lint between my fingers, peering up at him. “Harder when you’re pretending like everything in your life is perfect and shiny.” My smile spread wide, pretty.
He eyed me. “How’s all that going, by the way?”
My eyes pinched. “How much has Marcus told you?”
“I’m here, aren’t I?” He jutted his chin at me, eyes tracing my face. “I know what this night means to you.”
This time my smile was real. “Then I can be honest and say that I think it’s going to take a lot for me to ever willingly go back to that life.” My eyes danced around the room. “Life is way too short to spend it crying in your room and believing that your dreams will only ever be dreams.”
His eyes slid closed as his head shook, like I’d stolen the words from his mind. “Fuckin’ amen to that.”
A laugh blew through my nose as my eyes fell to my feet. Then two seconds later they were searching the crowd for theonly place I wanted to look. To the only person I shouldn’t want to look at.
It wasn’t hard to spot him. He was the tallest person in here. Even if he wasn’t, I’m sure the compass pin in my brain would find him because he felt like my true north. Had done for a while. He was where I’d run to when I didn’t know where else to go. He was plan A through Z.
He was as good as home.
And I was scared that would be true regardless of whether he ever answered my question.
“He’ll come to his senses.”
I blinked as Oscar’s voice brought me back to the moment, my eyes finding him. And when I saw that knowing look on his face, I panicked. I painted on my smile, high and mighty and not at all real. “What do you mean?”
He laughed, a proper one. The same kind his brother had. Deep and real. “You really don’t need to do that.” He knocked his head to the side. “You think he doesn’t tell me everything?”
My breaths stuttered as I tried to find my words, as my gaze flicked back towards Marcus, until I waved that tiny white flag and looked back at Oscar. “I’m not so sure he will.”
His eye roll made me wonder whether the Romano genes contained some secret spell that made you fall for all of them. Then they slowly sank back to me, his head shaking. “C’mon. What’s not to like?”
It was my turn to roll my eyes.
He chuckled. “No, seriously. You’re smart, your accent is like honey, your art skills are… award-worthy, you know?”
My face pulled inwards. “It’s subjective.”
“It’s awesome.” He nodded, his eyes wide. “Own it.”
It was like charm was sewn into their genes.
I blew him off, jutting my hand forward.
