Evie’s at the stove, stirring something that smells good. Not as good as Isabelle’s carbonara, but beggars can’t be choosers.
“Lemon and herb halibut is in the oven with some roasted veggies, there’s a salad in the fridge, and I’m just finishing the sweet potatoes.”
I let out a low whistle. “Damn, Evie. I missed out on not having you live with me last summer. How come I didn’t know you could cook like that?”
She turns and places the pot of steaming mashed sweet potatoes on a trivet on the counter. “Because up until recently, I couldn’t. But I wanted to learn. I’ll be honest, the fish is a new recipe, so it might be gross.”
Darling leans over and kisses her cheek, his hand sneaking around her waist. I arch a brow at him, but the ass ignores me.
“It’ll be delicious, honey.”
“As long as we don’t die,” I add with a smirk.
Soon enough, we’re sitting at their table, full plates of admittedly delicious-looking and smelling food in front of us, when my phone vibrates in my pocket.
I try to be subtle, pulling it out. But when I see Isabelle’s name, I can’t hide my reaction.
“Who’s got you smiling like that?” Darling asks before shoveling a forkful of food in his mouth.
“No one,” I say, pocketing my phone, even though I want to respond. I fill my own mouth with food and chew, hoping he lets it go. “Damn, Gigi, this is good.”
“Thanks,” my sister replies, her fork hovering above her own plate. “But I want to know who that was, too. I’ve never seen your face do that.”
“Do what?” I mumble around a forkful of salad. Evie grimaces and I just grin. I’m totally annoying her on purpose. I do know how to have good table manners, but bugging my baby sister is too much fun sometimes.
“Smile like that.” Evie eats her bite of food, still staring at me.
“What the hell are you talking about? I smile all the time.” I spread my arms out wide. “I’m a happy guy.”
“I know, but that was a different smile.”
I arch my brow at her. “You’re crazy.”
My phone vibrates again, and before I can stop myself, my gaze drops down to my pocket.
“See? There it is again!”
“Oh my fucking God, Gigi, I’m not doing any sorta weird smile.” I huff in annoyance, one hand clutching my leg over top of my phone, the other clenched tightly around my fork.
“My brother, you kinda are,” Darling says, almost apologetically. “But if you don’t wanna talk, you don’t have to. Right, Evangeline?” He levels a look at Evie that has her pursing her lips, but thankfully, she falls silent.
Even more thankfully, Isabelle doesn’t text again, so there’s no opportunity for my nosy-ass sister to bug me further.
We finish dinner, then move to the couch to hang out, the sports highlights on in the background. It’s just like so many evenings I’ve spent here, both before Evie and Darling got together and after. It never felt awkward. But tonight, I can’t shake the feeling that something’s missing. Or rather, someone.
Even with Ruthie curled up on the couch beside me as Evie and I destroy Darling in a game of poker, I feel…not lonely, but something kinda similar.
It isn’t ’til I’m driving home that I let myself imagine what it might have been like if Isabelle had been beside me, not the dog.
It’s a little scary how much I like that idea. And when I get home and finally let myself read her text messages, I start torealize no matter what I tell myself, it’s gonna fucking suck when she leaves.
IZ: So Willow invited me to watch the game with her and her friends in the stands tomorrow. Is that going to be weird? Me with your friends’ partners?
IZ: I won’t go if you don’t want me to. I know they’re all WAGS, or whatever you call them in baseball, and I’m not…but I like them, and it would be fun to watch the game. Let me know what you think.
IZ: Also… I can’t stop thinking about that night. It was amazing.
I stare at them for a long while, unsure of how to respond. Isabelle Murphy is finding her way into my life again. And when she leaves me this time, I won’t be able to pretend she doesn’t exist just to save my heart. There’s gonna be reminders of her everywhere.
