He also hesitated because he wasn’t sure what came next for them. He wanted more; he just had to find the right way to finesse it, because he wasn’t sure what she wanted. These things became far more complicated later in life—one person wanted marriage while another was thinking, “no more of that, thank you very much”. One person might want to maintain separate households because they’d learned to love living alone, while the other person might be missing that closeness because they hadn’t had it in so long. Nothing was cut and dry. Or easy. Case in point, Donovan’s mom and Stuart. He was still asking her to marry him nearly every single day, and every time, even when Donovan or Austin were around to witness it, she said no.
Nine days in, Donovan was officially worried and feeling incredibly guilty, too. Their mom was still struggling with her recovery, while Donovan had promised Lela that no matter what, he would be at Tammera and Delia’s wedding tomorrow. He’d asked his mom how she felt about it, but she’d simply told him to go, with every dramatic sigh of a well-practiced martyr. He needed a second opinion.
“Hey, Austin, are you up for a walk down to the pond?” Donovan asked.
Austin was consumed by a book in the library, where the shelves contained far more leather-bound volumes than anyone could ever read. When they were younger, the brothers took turns riding the ladder while the other pushed it as fast as humanly possible across the room. “Yeah. Sure.”
The pair took their usual route: out the French doors at the back of the house and across the flagstone patio surrounding the pool, then down the grassy slope to the water. “Do you feel like Stuart has everything under control?” Donovan asked.
Austin shrugged. “I don’t know. I mean, he’s doing a great job, but I worry about what she might be able to convince him of if we aren’t around. That dynamic hasn’t really changed.”
“She is doing better with pain, though. She not only needs less medication, she’s fighting it less often.”
“That’s true.”
Donovan cleared his throat. “Well, here’s my problem. Lela’s best friend is getting married tomorrow and I promised her I would be there for the wedding.”
Austin smiled. “That’s a problem? That sounds like a pretty great problem to me. I would love to be going to a wedding with Lela tomorrow.”
That irked Donovan, but he ignored it. “The whole reason I bring it up is because I want to know that you’d be okay with me leaving.”
“Yeah. Of course. Stuart and I can manage.”
“Are you absolutely sure?”
“Yes. You should go.”
“Okay. Good. Thank you.” He wasn’t good at spilling his guts, especially with his brother, but he felt like this had to be said. “Also, you should know that Lela and I are romantically involved.”
Austin clutched at his chest dramatically. “Oh, my God. My brother finally got a clue?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I hoped this would happen, but I was starting to wonder what your problem was. I’m just glad you actually told me and I didn’t have to hear it from Echo.” Austin looked Donovan square in the eye. “You keep things to yourself. You keep it all bottled up. You’re exactly like Mom and it makes me nuts.”
Donovan knew this about himself. He was trying to be better, but it was a bad old habit to break. “You’re right. I’m sorry. Wait. Hold on a second, what do you mean you hoped this would happen?”
Austin laughed quietly and shook his head. “You don’t know why I flirted with Lela, do you?”
“I assumed it was because I asked you not to. Also, she’s stunning, so I get it.”
“I did it to force you to spill your feelings for her. It was so obvious from the first few moments I saw you two together.”
“Obvious from who?”
“Obvious fromwhom. And you, Donovan. I’ve always been able to read you, but I also know that you’re not super in touch with your feelings. I thought that if you were jealous, you would step up.”
“Huh.” Donovan was still trying to wrap his head around this.
He playfully slapped Donovan’s chest with the back of his hand. “Have you told her that you love her?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“I haven’t had the chance. There hasn’t been the right time.”
“Well? Do you? Love her?”
