“Why? You going to threaten to beat me up again if I say I’m interested in her?”
He glances over at me, considering. “You’re really serious about her this time?”
“I was serious about her the first time.”
He snorts. “Dude, you weren’t serious about anything back then. You were definitely not looking to settle down with my sister.”
I sigh. “Probably not. It doesn’t matter, anyway. She thinks I’m an asshole and a player because I kissed her three years ago,never called her, and then you told her I went home with another woman the same night.”
He runs a hand through his hair. “Shit. I don’t remember that. Sounds like something I’d do, though. I was pretty pissed at you for kissing her. I was not about to let my best friend break my sister’s heart.”
“I believe your exact words were that you weren’t going to let Gentry steal your best friend.”
He chuckles. “That, too. It was a shit night. Shit couple of weeks.” He pauses, looks over at me. “I can talk to her if you’re really serious about her. I can tell her I made up that stuff about you going home with someone else.”
“Really?” I ask, surprised. “You’d do that?”
“Of course, bro. Just treat her right, okay? You can’t treat her like a casual fling or break her heart, because then Gentry won’t want you around. If I have to choose, man, I’m choosing her.”
“That’s fair. I swear, I only have the best intentions with Gentry.”
“Good. Now, get in touch with dear old dad and make sure he comes to the wedding.”
“You really want the man you hate more than anyone else in the world at your wedding?”
Brodie’s jaw tenses. “This isn’t about me. It’s about my sisters. Dad needs to step up and take care of his family.”
“What do you think Gentry’s going to say about that?” I do not want to get on Gentry’s bad side. She’s never mentioned her father to me, but if Brodie hates him for abandoning their mother and the family, it stands to reason that Gentry feels the same.
“Gentry’s not going to say anything until he’s here. I don’t want to risk getting her hopes up just for him to disappoint her like he usually does. Once he’s here, we’ll sit down with him and discuss the options. Tell him to get here the day before thewedding, but he has to stay somewhere Gentry won’t run into him before we’re ready.”
“Don’t you have a wedding to plan?”
Brodie snorts. “Between Daphne and her mother, there’s nothing for me to do. And I’ll feel better starting this new life with Daphne if I know Gentry and the kids are taken care of.”
My ears pop as we head into the mountains. “Where the hell are we going? I thought we were just hitting the golf course.”
“There’s not a decent one in Yuletide,” Brodie says. “We’re going to this ski resort town about twenty minutes from here.”
The reality of what we’re actually doing and how long we’re going to be away hits me. “Yeah, no. I’m out.”
He doesn’t slow down, and barely glances at me. “You got something better to do?”
“I’m going to help your fiancée and your sisters set up foryourwedding. I’m not going to go play all afternoon while they do all the work. I don’t even like golf.”
Brodie snorts. “You love golf.”
“I used to love drinking beer while I rode around in the golf cart, but I’ve never liked the game, Brodie. I’ve told you this.”
He glances over at me, brows high. “Seriously? I don’t remember that.”
“Because you never paid attention. We went out, we had a good time, and I went along with whatever you wanted to do, because I always had fun. It’s not what I want to do anymore.”
His brows rise, and he smiles as he nods. “I get it, you’re trying to impress Gentry. You can do that after we play golf.”
“Come on, man. Even if you aren’t involved in the wedding planning, you should be there with your fiancée to help get everything ready.”
His shoulders drop, but he pulls off the road and onto the wide shoulder. “She doesn’t want me there.”
