I’m practically hyperventilating. If Sarah says yes, then she’lllivewith him. In his house.Forever. Which means she’ll always be there to keep Jonas on track and make him laugh and, most importantly,I won’t have to worry about him anymore. Or, well, at least, not nearly as much as I currently do.
“Dude, listen to me,” I say, my voice spiking with sudden urgency. “We’ve got to pull out all the stops—trick Sarah into saying yes.”
Jonas looks indignant. “Fuck you. I don’t need totrick her.” He looks at Uncle William, apparently hoping for a little backup, but Uncle William doesn’t say anything. “Well…I’ve tricked her pretty well so far, haven’t I?” Jonas says, and we all laugh.
Sarah enters the dining room and Jonas’ entire face lights up like a bonfire.
“Hi, baby,” he says.
“Hi, love,” she replies, returning Jonas’ goofy smile and taking her seat.
Love? Sarah called my brother ‘love’? Oh my fucking God. Sarah Fucking Cruz is gonna say yes. Praise the lord—she’s gonna agree to become Mrs. Faraday. If I were capable of shedding a tear, I’d surely shed one of happiness right now.
15
JOSH
Dessert and coffee are done. And for the past thirty minutes, Uncle William’s been telling Sarah stories I’ve never heard before about his late wife, Sadie, (a raven-haired beauty who died in a car accident about a year before Jonas and I were born).
“Do you have any photos of her?” Sarah asks.
“Of course,” he says. “I’ve got our entire wedding album upstairs.”
“Oh my gosh,” Sarah breathes, her cheeks flushing. “May I see it?”
“Of course. And I’ve got a whole bunch of pictures of Jonas and Joshua from when they were little I’ll show you, too. You’ll get a kick out of those.”
Sarah squeals. “And do you have photos of yourself as a little boy, too, Uncle William?”
“Sure, I might be able to dig up one or two,” Uncle William says, standing up from the table with Sarah. “Boys? Care to join?”
“Come with us, baby,” Sarah says, holding out her hand to Jonas.
“Sure,” Jonas says smoothly—shocking me for the billionth time today. He takes her hand.
I never would have predicted Jonas would say yes to voluntarily going down memory lane. As Jonas well knows, almost all of Uncle William’s photos of Jonas and me as happy little kids include Dad—and normally, like me, Jonas bends over backwards to avoid seeing a photo of that bastard every bit as much as I do. But, damn, I guess up is down and right is left when my brother’s in the presence of little Miss Sarah Cruz.
Uncle William looks pointedly at me and I shake my head.
“I think I’ll sit on the veranda and look at the Hudson for a bit,” I say.
My reply can’t possibly surprise Uncle William. As far as I’m concerned, if I never see Dad’s face again, it’ll be too soon for me—and Uncle William knows it.
“Okay, son,” Uncle William says softly. “Katya’s got the blue room in the back all ready for you. Just make yourself at home, as usual.”
“Thanks,” I say. “I appreciate it.”
The trio walks toward the far hallway, Sarah’s arm threaded into Uncle William’s.
“I bet Jonas and Josh were the cutest little things,” Sarah says happily.
“Oh, they were adorable little buggers,” Uncle William says, just before they exit the room. “Oh my, did those boys climb every rock and tree and chair and piano. I remember this one time, I found Jonas and Joshua...”
They’re gone.
I smile to myself. I so rarely see Uncle William outside of a business context. I’m not used to seeing him acting like this—so relaxed and nostalgic. I can only assume he’s acting this way thanks to Sarah. Our crew’s fearless leader puts everyone at ease, doesn’t she? Especially my high-strung brother. She’s like aloe vera on a sunburn for Jonas—a soothing balm for his soul. And anyone can see it. Uncle William obviously has.
I didn’t detect even a hint of skepticism about Sarah from Uncle William, not even a whiff he thinks Sarah’s a gold digger. His demeanor toward her has been one-hundred-eighty degrees from the cold way he reacted to Amanda when Jonas brought her here that one and only time—and Jonas had been with Amanda almost a year by then, I’m pretty sure. And now he brings Sarah here after a fraction of that time, and Uncle William falls all over himself to make her feel like part of the family? Wonders never cease.
