Ethan covers up his laugh with a cough.
“They did make a lot of babies, but I think you’ve got it backwards,” I say, stifling my own amusement. “They kept having kidsbecausethey were in love. Oh, take a right up ahead, please,” I direct Ethan.
“Oh, sorry. I thought …”
“Landry and I are both staying at his sister’s old house. We’re, um, roommates.”
Ethan’s brow rises, but he keeps his thoughts to himself. And Landry stays quiet so long that I would have assumed he’d passed out if he weren’t slowly stroking my thumb. I bite my lip and attempt to hide the way it makes me shiver.
“Thanks again for doing this, Ethan,” I begin, because I can’t stand the awkward silence. “If I’d have known my designated driver would get this sauced, I wouldn’t have …” I leave things ambiguous again, hoping he draws his own conclusions.
“No worries, Miss Daisy. Just don’t tell Dr. Reed I’m the one who drove his Jeep if he finds anything wrong with it later.”
I laugh softly. “Where’s Caidence? I didn’t see her tonight,” I remark as he pulls into the driveway and puts the car in park.
He reaches back to exchange the keys for his phone again, and I notice he looks sad. “She couldn’t make it. Well, not as a guest, anyway. She had to help her parents with their catering business.”
I nod and offer him a small smile before turning back to my charge. “Landry, hey, we’re home now. It’s time to go inside,” I croon near his ear.
He stirs and groans as Ethan comes around and opens the door. “We’re home?” Landry asks, seemingly lost.
“Yeah. Let’s get you to bed.”
“Okay.” He pulls himself up and out of the backseat with Ethan’s help, then he stops abruptly and squints at him. “You know, I wasn’t always this pathetic.”
“Really?” Ethan asks, obviously humoring him.
“Yeah. Your Aunt Ten had a huge crush on me when we were growing up.”
“No cap?” Ethan continues.
“What?”
“He means ‘no kidding,’ ” I translate for Landry, and he nods and starts walking again.
“Oh yeah, no cap. I’m pretty sure I was her first?—”
“Landry!” I turn to interrupt him in my rush to unlock the front door.
“Kiss. I was gonna saykiss.” Landry glares at me as he defends himself.
Ethan laughs. “So what happened?
“With Tenley? Oh, I tried to feel her up in front of everyone at a party, and she barely even acknowledged me again after that.”
The confession surprises me since Landry seems so anti-PDA.
“I was actually referring to the low point you seem to have hit in your life in general, but yeah, that tracks,” Ethan clarifies as we move Landry into the house.
“As for the rest, I guess it’s just finally getting too hard to keep up,” Landry mutters. “I’ve never been able to make my dad proud or keep my mom and my sister safe. And the only time I can hold a conversation without offending someone is when I’m talking to one of my patients.”
There’s a tiny ache in my chest after he says it. Because I know Landry’s infamous negativity isn’t just a character quirk; it’s a symptom of something bigger.
“Kids tell the truth, you know. They don’t have a filter, and it’s so much easier to read them than to guess what adults are really thinking,” Landry continues as I lead us to his bedroom. “Except for you, Daisy. You’re honest. Well, you try anyway.” I don’t respond as we steer him into the tiny bedroom, and he plops down onto his bed.
“You, uh, might want to help him with his tux,” Ethan volunteers, his eyes darting around the room and landing on the dresser. “JD mentioned having to return the rentals tomorrow.”
“Oh right, good idea,” I say, following Ethan’s gaze. My lips part in a slight gasp when I see Landry’s wedding band sitting there, but I move to block the ring from Ethan’s line of sight. “Come on, let’s get you changed.”
