Page 5 of Can't Win 'Em All
I cocked an eyebrow as I waited to see how Zach would respond.
“I’m celebrating my wife,” Zach replied, not missing a beat. “The bourbon and soda will be enough for me.” He clapped his hand on my shoulder. “My friend here, however, is always open for offers.”
I glared at him. “Don’t make me sound pathetic.” I turned my smile toward Misty. She seemed nice enough. “I’ll have a Maker’s Mark on the rocks, please. Also, keep those weird pink drinks away from me.”
“Oh, those are for an engagement party,” Misty said. “They’re not for everybody.”
“They’re for us,” Zach replied. “My wife and I are the ones throwing the party.”
Confusion had Misty’s eyebrows moving toward one another. “Um … I was told it was an engagement party.”
“It is.”
“But … if you’re married, how can you be engaged?”
Rather than being annoyed by the question, Zach shrugged. “We’re having a second wedding. Our first was an impulse event. This time, we’re going a little bigger … although nothing too extravagant.”
“Oh.” Misty bobbed her head. “I understand.” The look on her face said otherwise. “I’ll get your drinks.”
I waited until she was gone to unload on my friend. “Can you not try to set me up with the server? It makes me uncomfortable when you act like my pimp.”
Zach laughed. “Sorry. She’s pretty, though. I thought she would be right up your alley.”
I shrugged. “I’m not feeling her. She’s a blonde.”
Zach’s eyebrows winged up. “Since when are you picky about hair color? I seem to remember coming home when we were living together and finding more than one blonde riding you on the couch.”
“Riding me?” I spurted out a laugh. “That’s something Olivia would’ve said. Are you picking up her sayings now on top of everything else?”
Zach shrugged. “Maybe I am. She says funny things. I can’t help it.”
“I’ve always thought she was funny,” I agreed. “I just never thought you would be the one bringing out the funny in her.” I cast him a sidelong look. “You didn’t know that, right? Like … back when we were sixteen and she was fourteen, you didn’t think there was a chance she would be the one polishing your funny bone, did you?”
Zach gave me a dirty look. “No. We’ve been over this. I thought you were going to stop being weird about me being with your sister.”
“I’m not trying to be weird. It’s just … well … my duties as a best friend and my responsibilities as a brother are starting to war with one another. As much as I want to encourage you, she’s still my baby sister.”
Zach’s sigh was long and drawn out. “I will never hurt her,” he said after several seconds. “Not on purpose. I’ll protect her with everything I have.”
Because I knew that was true, all I could do was nod. “I know. I’m just in a funky mood. Ignore me.”
Oh, well, I had his full attention now. “Why are you in a funky mood?”
I shrugged. “I’m just … I don’t know … it’s hard for me to explain.”
“Oh, please tell me this isn’t about me and Livvie.” Zach looked pained. “Man, I told you that it wasn’t on purpose. Yes, I kind of thought maybe it was a bad idea from the start—I had a few hidden feelings for her—and I probably should have told you that before we exchanged vows. I didn’t know this was going to happen, though.”
I regarded him for several seconds. Torturing him might be fun. If he didn’t have so much going on. It’s not just his father—although Ryder Stone was making things difficult for his entire family—but it’s being a husband too. Marriage was not new for Zach this far into the game, but they were still settling in. I didn’t want to add to their adjustment period.
“It’s fine,” I assured him. “I don’t ever want to hear about the things you do with my sister, though.”
The relief was palpable as Zach relaxed. “What are you talking about? We go home every night and play Monopoly. We don’t do anything else.”
I laughed because I couldn’t help myself. “Good to know.”
“That’s what you want to hear, right?”
“Yup. Monopoly and Chutes and Ladders for the rest of your life.”
