Page 29 of Cloudy With a Chance of Bad Decisions
And thus far, obviously, I’d had an incredibly difficult time finding a partner who was interested in the kind of brood I desired. Brendon had convinced me he wanted that too—that it was only a matter of time before we adopted our first.
Stupidly, I’d believed him.
Only to find out later that it—like most of his promises—was only a ruse.
“How many kids?” My eyes narrowed, and Roderick’s smile grew even slicker. He was shorter than me by an inch or so, though he was thicker,especially as he’d filled out the last few years. Fuller around the middle than he’d been when we were younger, and he wore that width well. Juniper was a lucky woman, that was for sure.
“Last I heard, three to five,” Roderick said.
“Five kids? Or five total people?” Inquiring about Juniper’s brother didn’t mean I was committing to actually dating him. I was curious. That’s all.
“Kids.”
Five kids?
Christ.
I’d never met another man interested in that many before.
Juniper’s brother was getting more and more attractive by the minute—and I hadn’t even seen him. Ready to interrogate Roderick further—about health plans and savings—I was interrupted when the crowd erupted in a riotous cheer.
What the fuck?
“Juniper! Juniper!” I turned my head, watching as everyone scattered toward the gate that Joe and I had come through in anticipation. It slid open, and a tiny woman in a franklygiantdress popped through. She wore an oddly recognizable shit-eating grin.
Had I met her before?
No, no.I would’ve remembered that. I’d seen her on the invitation, that was why she looked familiar. No other reason.
Juniper’s blue eyes flashed, big skirt swirling as she waved both hands up at the sky and bellowed her hello. For a itty bitty thing, she had a surprisingly deep voice. Nearly as deep as mine, honestly.
Double-fisting two beers, Juniper twisted to face the gate, waiting for someone.
Her brother, probably.
Right.
Yes.
That made sense.
The man ofmanymatchmakers.
Was there something wrong with him? Not to be mean, but it was a fair conclusion to come to, considering how desperate everyone seemed to set us up.
The shade from the maple tree mostly concealed him, so it was hard to catch details. I squinted, but that didn’t help.
“There they are!” Roderick rose from his seat. “Over here, June!” It was impossible to look away. Roderick’s waving was as awkward as it was adorable. These awful, clumsy jerks of both his arms that kicked up enough wind that I worried he’d muss my hair. The two lovebirds were only twenty feet apart, and yet, he was acting like he was beckoning a plane down a runway.
I didn’t see why he needed to be so…exuberant.
But I suppose…it was cute. Especially when I glanced at Juniper and realized she was waving her arms just as excitedly back at him.
“That’s June’s brother,” Roderick whispered to me through the corner of his mouth, arms still jerking. “The tall one behind her.”
I wanted to act aloof—to prove how very uninterested in this little matchmaking endeavor I was…but nosiness got the better of me. So, instead of looking anywhere else, I found myself observing a tall, muscular man as he stepped out of the shade and into the sun.
His thighs tested the seams of his jeans, flexing in an oddly familiar and distracting way. For a moment, I let my imagination run wild. It was almost too easy to picture a kid attached to each leg, holding on for dear life as Juniper’s brother played with our children.
