I drop my head into my hands as I sit down again. “Shut up.”
“As proposals go?—”
“I know, bro. Giant fumble.”
Sadie is staring at me with an expression I’ve never seen on her face before. Sadie is usually the sweet, mild-mannered one. But right now, she clearly wants to go full mama grizzly on my ass.
“You need to understand something, Felix.” Her voice is quiet but has an edge to it that makes my shoulders go ramrod straight. “My sister might be young, but she can handle her own life without someone trying to fake rescue her.”
“That isn’t what I was?—”
“It’s time for her to stand on her own two feet without being rescued or running away,” Sadie cuts me off. “It’s part of her book club bucket list challenge. You need to respect that.”
“I do.” If I’ve learned one thing from hanging out with my brother’s wife, it’s that you don’t mess with the book club.
Ian laughs like he can read my mind. “Oh shit, you’re going to incur the wrath of the book club. Those ladies will shank someone who tries to take down one of their own.”
“I’m not trying to take down anyone,” I protest. “Especially not Piper.”
Sadie stands, poking me hard in the shoulder, and I’m reminded that she trains dogs for a living. She’s a woman who knows how to establish dominance. “Then do better.”
She picks up Ellie, who protests leaving Beast, and heads upstairs. I hear her knock softly on Piper’s door, murmured voices, and then the door closing.
I close my eyes and lean my head back on the couch cushions. Something furry climbs into my lap. Beast gets comfy on my thighs, his weird little chicken-dog mug inches from mine, and starts licking my chin like he’s a therapy dog who knows I need comfort.
“At least someone likes you,” Ian observes.
I open one eye to glare at my brother. “Fuck off.”
“For a guy known for his charm and flash, you really are in overyour head here.” Ian’s grin is wide and completely unsympathetic. “As your older brother, I love it.”
“Fuck. Off.”
“Already established that.” He leans forward and points that big brother finger in my direction, clearly enjoying this. “But seriously, Felix. That was epically awful.”
“Already established that.” I repeat his words back to him as I scratch behind Beast’s ears. “I just wanted to fix things and?—”
“You can’t fix Piper. She’s not broken.” Ian’s voice loses some of its teasing edge. “She needs to figure out who she is without feeling like people are trying to manage her life.”
“I know.”
“Do you, though?” Ian raises an eyebrow. “Because it sounded like you were trying to turn her into one of your responsibilities. Something to be checked off a list.”
The words sting, because they’re true. It’s exactly what I was doing. It’s what I do.
“I’m in way over my head,” I admit.
“Yeah, you are.” Ian grins again. “Stick with the dog.”
As if on cue, the animal shifts his position, his back end facing me, and lets out a long, rumbling fart directly onto my lap.
The smell hits me like a defensive lineman smackdown.
“Hell, no.” I try to push the dog off, but he’s surprisingly solid for something that looks like it was assembled from spare parts. “What the hell do you feed this thing?”
Ian is laughing so hard he can barely breathe. “That’s pure karma, brother.”
Beast, completely unbothered, settles into my lap and closes his eyes.
