“Like I was going to give you details. Ew.”
“You don’t need to give me details,” he says, squatting down to flattenout the edge of his mat. “The face you make sometimes when you even think about Addison tells me more than I need to know.”
I lift my foot and nudge him in the ribs with the toe of my sneaker. Not hard, but enough to catch him by surprise and make him topple over onto his ass.
He just chuckles as he stands back up. “You know you could have invited her.”
“I did,” I tell him. “She laughed and offered to meet us at the diner afterward.”
“Then I guess she doesn’t love you as much as you love me.”
“Shut up,” I say, though I know he’s joking.
He yanks me into a side hug, squeezing me tight against him. “Hey, you know I’m only giving you shit, right? I’m so happy for you, Riles.”
“Thanks.” I wrap my arm around his midsection and bury my face into the thick material of his hoodie.
When we let each other go, he pulls the hoodie over his head and tosses it to the ground beside his yoga mat. I’ll probably need to take my zip-up off for the class, but I’m going to wait until the last minute. The October chill is definitely in the air this morning. But I’m sure once I get my body moving, it won’t be that bad.
“So what about you?” I ask, prompting my brother to give me a quizzical look. “You haven’t dated anyone in a while. Maybe you should try to find your person too.”
“Ugh, you’re as bad as Brenden.”
“I’m absolutely not. I only want you to find the kind of happiness I have. And yes, I’m fully aware that not everyone needs to be in a romantic relationship to be happy, but I know you. I know you want that.”
Sighing, Andrew says, “Sure, it’s something I’m hoping to find eventually. But I’m plenty happy being on my own right now.”
“Well, maybe you’d have a better chance at finding someone if you actually went on dates.”
At this, his cheeks turn pink, which isn’t something I see on him often. “I do go on dates. They’re just not the kind of dates I feel like I should tell my sister about.”
It takes me a second to figure out what he means, and then I groan.
“I may not have dated anyone seriously in a while, but that doesn’t mean I’ve been lonely,” he adds.
“Yup, okay.” I hold up a hand to stop any further conversation. “Don’t need details. I got it.”
I take off my sneakers and plop down on my mat. Laughing, Andrew kicks off his sneakers too. He’s about to sit when a child comes barreling toward him shouting, “Hey, Mr. Andy!”
The kid manages to stop himself mere inches from knocking into my brother, and then he throws his short arms around Andrew’s waist.
Giving the kid a couple pats on the back, Andrew says, “Hi, Mason.”
Mason releases him and takes a step back, giving him some space, but not much. “It’s so cool that you’re here! I made my dad take me, because of how you said you liked yoga, and I wanted to try it.”
Although I’m watching this exchange from the ground, I don’t miss the way Andrew’s face morphs into a quick look of panic before he smiles tepidly at the kid. “Um, that’s nice,” he says, his head swiveling back and forth like he’s looking for something. Or someone.
Mason notices me now and waves. “Hi! I’m Mason. Mr. Andy’s my teacher this year, and he’s super cool.”
I smile. “You’re right. Heissuper cool. I’m Riley, his sister.”
“I know who you are! My dad says I’m not allowed to ask you for autographs or anything, but I know you’re famous. My mom used to listen to your music all the time, but then she left us, so now she doesn’t.”
“Oh. Uh... I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay,” Mason tells me, arranging his face into what I think is supposed to be a stoic expression, but he doesn’t quite get there. “I cried a lot about it, but I’m better now.”
I don’t know the appropriate response to that, but as my brain is putting some things together, I spot Connor Shaw rushing over this way.Right.I recognize Mason now as Connor’s son who ran into us at the summer festival when he was chasing a squirrel. I should have realized it right away, since the kid is currently wearing a T-shirt with a large graphic print of squirrel on it.
