“I care about my brothers. You and Leo. I want the two of you to be safe, and the rest of the world can go fuck themselves!” My wife’s shout sounds as clear as if she were in the room with us.
Paige and I stare at each other, eyes wide.
Then my friend leans forward to squeeze my hand. “I’m sure she cares about you too.”
“And you,” I add.
“She just wanted a nice dramatic effect for her words.”
We nod in agreement, both seeming to have grasped at least a basic understanding of Luna’s personality.
Her loyalty.
Abandoning her attempt at small talk, Paige reverts to her original subject. “You like her. What are you going to do about it?”
I shrug and offer a playful smirk. “Marry her?”
Paige just stares at me, waiting for my defense technique to wither and die under her scrutiny.
I sigh. “I’m not sure. But I’ve got more than a year to figure it out, right?”
“I guess.” Paige’s lack of confidence causes a sharp panic to stab inside my chest.
“Well, what do you suggest?”
My best friend chews on her lower lip before answering, “Seems like you need to woo your wife.”
That’s a nice thought, if I could actually make it work.
“Okay. And how exactly do I do that?”
Paige turns her bewildered gaze to me. “I don’t know. Why would I know?”
“Maybe because she’s your sister-in-law and you’re also a woman?”
Paige fiddles with the end of her ponytail. “We haven’t spent too much time together. Not enough for me to know how toattract her at least.” She gives me a helpless shrug. “Dash likes when I cook for him. Maybe try that? It could be a family trait. Maybe all the Lamonts are constantly hungry.”
“But Luna is a nutritionist. And she makes all her own meals.” And makes a lot of mine too. Better than anything I could ever hope to make.
My friend piles cheese on a cracker as she thinks. “Maybe make her snacks then. Or cook on a night she seems busy and it would help her out.”
“That could work.”
We’ve only been living together a couple of weeks, and her schedule seems to shift based on which clients she’s working with. I could probably find time to take control of the kitchen.
“But there has to be other things. Wooing things that are specific to Luna. You need to keep an eye out for them. What does she like? What does she do for fun?” Paige sits up straight, a triumphant smile curving her mouth. “Give her those things or fill her time with that, and then you’ll be an expert wooer.”
“I can do that.”I think.
Paige gives my knee a friendly squeeze. “You got this. I believe in you.” She reaches for her beer, her sip leaving a thin line of foam on her top lip.
Objectively, the sight is adorable. There were plenty of times over the years I tried to convince myself that Paige was the one for me. But changing our relationship into something romantic never felt right. Then she met Dash, and I knew it would have been a mistake. Paige never looks at me the way she looks at him. And I’m betting I never look at her that way either.
Pretty sure I’ve stared like a lovesick puppy at Luna more than once.
“I’ll ask Dash. He might know the quickest way to her heart.”
“I don’t think Dash is the best source for wooing his sister,” I mutter.
