I’m going to have to schedule a chiropractor visit after all of this head swiveling.
“I have to admit, I’m totally lost on this conversation. I don’t know what I have to do with your family drama.”
Miles looks at me in alarm, and I grasp his wrists and push his hands away from me.
Ainsley smiles at me. “It’s actually really simple. We need you and Miles to get married.”
FOURTEEN
Miles
Little sisters are nothing if not predictable. And I can always rely on Ainsley to make my life awkward.
Lucy looks as though she’s frozen in place. Her cheeks are puffed out, as though she has a mouthful of hot toddy but hasn’t swallowed yet.
“Now look at what you’ve done,” I chide Ainsley as we both stare at Lucy.
Lucy finally swallows—and immediately starts choking. I move closer to pat her back.
When I invited Lucy to be my roommate, I’d considered all angles. I don’t leap into big decisions like that without a decent amount of consideration. I thought about what it would be like to share a laundry room. Or if one of us brought home a date. Every scenario had gone through my mind—except one.
My family.
Never once did I consider that my sister would come over and propose marriage to my roommate for me.
With a sigh, I take the mug from Lucy’s hands and set it on the coffee table. She lifts the collar of her sweatshirt to cough into. It lifts her crop top higher and showcases her stomach—and I notice something. She has a belly button ring and a tattoo.I tip my head to the side, but then her shirt drops back down, and I can’t see what it is.
It’s then I realize that Lucy’s glaring at me. I don’t know if it’s because of my staring at the tattoo or the marriage proposal.
“Ainsley, please tell her you’re joking.”
Lucy nods emphatically.
“Oh, I’m not. I like her. Let’s keep her,” Ainsley says with a smile.
Lucy turns to me and holds her hand next to her face, as though hiding from Ainsley. “Why didn’t you warn me that your sister was going to propose?”
“Believe it or not, it came as a surprise to me too,” I whisper back.
Ainsley clears her throat loudly. “It’s only fair to let me explain why I would suggest it.”
Lucy’s still staring at me, her eyes wide. I grin at her. I haven’t seen her thrown off-balance like this yet. It’s actually kind of fun.
Finally, Lucy turns to speak to Ainsley. “Why would you think we would get married?”
Ainsley tucks her legs underneath her. “Oh, I know you haven’t even thought about it. But you already live together, and it would be perfect!”
“There’s a lot more to marriage than living together,” Lucy says dryly.
It’s hard not to laugh at those words, but then a lock of hair falls from her messy bun and rests against her neck. It’s mesmerizing as it lies there and lightly brushes her skin, and I have the sudden urge to do the same.
“Miles hasn’t told you anything?” Ainsley pries. She’s good at that.
“We don’t exactly sit around and have a sharing circle in the evening. The only time we sit on this couch together is to watch TV, not to talk,” Lucy says.
Ainsley scowls at this. “You’re definitely going to have to talk more than that if you’re going to make this work.”
Lucy’s glaring at Ainsley now, and it’s making me ridiculously happy.Finally. Someone else gets to experience interfering-Ainsley. Our baby sister Karis doesn’t meddle the way Ainsley does. Karis minds her own business—a trait I haven’t been grateful enough for. Usually, she’s the adored one. Precocious, outgoing, and loving to everyone she meets. She hides an interfering, knows-what’s-best-for-you attitude under that nice shell.
