“Yeah, I know. This favor isn’t as big of a commitment, I swear.”
“So what is it?”
“Isabella is taking Norah out for a bachelorette party tonight—”
“Yes,” Leo interrupted. “I’ll do it.”
“But you don’t even know what I was going to ask.”
“You want me to take you out for a bachelor party? Man, I thought you’d never ask.” He perked up, scooting to the edge of the couch cushion. “I’m in.” This could be exactly what Leo needed to take his mind off Isabella. A guys’ night.
“Not exactly.” Landon rubbed his hand over his short brown hair.
Leo pinched his brows together. “Then what?”
“They’re just taking Norah to O’Henry’s. And Norah doesn’t want to go alone.”
“But she won’t be alone. She’ll have Nina and Isabella and I’m assuming Maddie and Taylor.”
“Right,” he stretched out the word. “She doesn’t want to go without me.”
Leo blinked at his brother. Was he serious? Norah couldn’t even go to her own bachelorette party without Landon? He was no therapist but that sounded like all kinds of messed up.
“So what exactly do you need from me?”
“I want you to come with me.”
Leo pumped the imaginary brakes in his brain. “The last thing I had on my agenda tonight was hanging out with Isabella Whitley and her crew at a bar.” He gulped his coffee. Sure, he wouldn’t mind a glimpse of Izzy dressed for a night out on the town, bending over a pool table with a stick in hand, shimmying her hips to the music. Just the picture in his mind was enough to instigate a spark moving south. “C’mon, Landon. Don’t you think you’ve asked me to sacrifice enough?”
“You don’t have to hang out with her,” Landon insisted. “Just hang out with me. We’ll have a beer or two, shoot some pool, play some darts, and I can drive Norah home when the night is done.”
“It sounds a lot to me like you don’t trust your fiancée and you want to babysit her.”
Landon stood abruptly and took a swig of coffee. “Never mind. I don’t expect you to understand. Just forget it.” He crossed the room in a hurry.
“No, I don’t thinkyouunderstand,” Leo called after him. When Landon didn’t stop, he said, “She came back, ya know?”
Landon froze.
Standing, Leo said, “Did you know?”
Landon turned slowly and faced him. He shook his head. “No. I didn’t know. When?”
Leo’s heart heaved at the memory of the words Isabella spoke up on the mountain. He glanced at the nearly empty mug in his hand before looking back at his little brother, not fully sure he could believe him. “I guess sometime after college and before Mom passed.”
“Wow,” Landon said, breathing out a long sigh.
“Yeah. So you didn’t know?”
“Honest, man. I had no idea. And I don’t think Norah knew either. She would’ve told me.”
“But that’s what I don’t get. How could she have come home without anyone knowing?”
The rumble of Dad’s old work truck sounded outside and pulled both of their attention toward the front window.
“Like I said, just talk to her.” Landon made it sound so easy.
Leo rubbed the back of his neck. Talking to Isabella wasn’t easy. It seemed like any time they talked, other things happened too. Sexy, tempting things. Things they had no right doing when things between them still weren’t clear.
