“Finicky fixtures? Try saying that five times fast.” Even his attempt to joke fell flat—probably from his exhaustion, or whatever ailment was plaguing him.
I still chuckled at his humor, shaking my head but furrowing my brows. “What’s going on with you?” I resisted the urge to sit beside him on the floor, knowing better than to do something that asinine—my back couldn’t take that kind of abuse. “I haven’t seen you this out of sorts since you proposed.”
“Fuck. I know,” he answered, running a hand through his messy hair as Tito whined because he’d stopped his ministrations. “But who knows where to begin?”
Huh. I tugged on my polo, unbuttoning the second button and wondering how he’d react to me doing something completely out of the ordinary. Maybe he could be my sounding board, and I could be his. Fuck knows I’d thought of nothing but my night with Summer since she left the other night, and the last thing I wanted to do was scare her off by turning into some clingy man-child who texted her fifty times a day.
“Well, while you figure it out, how about I start?”
I opened my top drawer and took out two mini-Kong chew toys, throwing one to Miller, who tossed it into the dog bed. Tito followed and Port jumped from my lap, running toward the toy, so I tossed mine in that direction as well. Playful growls and yipsfilled the silence as we watched the pups wrestle with the toys and each other.
I tore my eyes away from their antics and focused on Miller. “Right. I got a call this morning, and an offer from a guy to buy the Mustang.”
“Yeah? So? You’ve gotten offers before and have refused to get rid of it. Didn’t Mark offer to buy it before he and Jenna got married?”
“Yeah. You’re right. I’ve gotten several offers over the years.”
I reached into my back pocket and took out my wallet, slowly opening the worn leather and handing Miller a folded check. His eyes widened as he took in the amount, then darted to mine, his mouth opening and closing like a fish gasping for water.
“This… This is big.”
“Yep.”
“Are you going to share what prompted this change of heart? You couldn’t be sick of us nagging you since we’ve been doing it for the last fifteen years.”
“Nope. I can handle a little nagging.”
Port raised her head from the bed and jumped on her brother’s back, wrapping her two front paws around his neck and furiously licking Tito’s cheek. Miller smiled, and that simple gesture seemed to melt some of his exhaustion away.
“I’ve been meaning to sell it for a while now.”
“Ah. So, this wouldn’t have anything to do with Mom’s neighbor’s daughter or the red bruises decorating your neck?”
“I thought gossiping with Mom wasn’t one of your pastimes anymore.” One hand darted to my neck until I found the raised marks he saw. How the hell had I missed that when I got out of the shower this morning? “Damn.”
“Wear them proudly. I know I do.”
“Yeah, no. I’d rather my private life stay that way.” I pulled my collar higher on my neck, making Miller laugh as I rolled my eyes and huffed.
“So, you don’t want to tell me more about Mom’s neighbor girl or your late-night excursions?”
Ah. Deflection. My bread and butter.
Still, I started this give and take nonsense. The least I could do was see it through.
“She might have been a contributing factor, but ultimately the choice was mine. Keeping that half-finished Mustang in my garage did nothing productive.”
“It’s nice to see you finally letting go and moving on. And I would love to know exactly how much she contributed, bro-tastic.” Miller waggled his eyebrows.
The need to brush off his question warred with my desire to have an intelligent conversation about my issues.Fuck.What the hell was wrong with me? I’d gone from someone who kept their thoughts close to the chest to someone who willingly sought the opportunity to talk.
But his drama was just as important as mine.
“Not until you explain why you look like a dump truck ran you over,” I answered, grabbing my cold coffee from the desk and finishing the mug with a grimace.
“Fine. I proposed.”
“Yeah. We know. Last weekend, right? Mom has been up your ass to plan an engagement brunch, and you’ve been oddly elusive.”
