“Original cast ofHadestownor current?” I demanded.
Delaney’s eyes lit. “Eva NoblezadawasEurydice, so.” He folded his arms across his chest, as though daring me to argue, but his grin was downright infectious. “WhyWicked?”
“Because… because I like that Elphaba figures out who she was supposed to be all along, I guess? And also because Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero in the movie is a fucking wet dream.”
The minute the words were out, I realized I should not have been talking about wet dreams with Delaney.
Not ever, but especially not now, when we were sitting so close together, cocooned by the snow and the firelight, trying so hard to not-think.
I sat upright and pretended to check on Teeny, who was fast asleep. “So, did I pass?”
“You… yes. You did.” Delaney stared down at his glass for a long moment. “You’re full of surprises, Brewer.”
I could say the same about him, and I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing.
This teasing, intimate version of Delaney wasn’t new, exactly, but I’d only ever caught glimpses of it before. Seeing it now made it even harder to remember why I was not-thinking.
“So… next question? Or do our musical questions count? I figure you’ve got a complex system of rules you haven’t fully informed me of yet,” I teased.
He shoved my knee. “Shut up,” he said without heat. “Yes, fine. Ask your second question.”
“Why’d you move to Copper County?” I asked. “For Tam and the baby, I know. But that’s a big change to make for your niece.”
Delaney’s head snapped up, and he glared at me, twice as hot as the fire. “Hold up, we’re getting personal now?”
“Weren’t we before?” I shot back.
“I mean… no? You were supposed to ask my favorite author or ice cream flavor, and I’d tell you Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Coffee Coffee Buzz Buzz!” He slammed back a gulp of wine. “Fuck’s sake, Brewer.”
“Explain the rules beforehand, Delaney,” I mocked. “Or suffer the consequences.”
But when Delaney ran a frustrated hand through his hair, the movement caused the too-big sweatshirt to slip down over his collarbone, and that sliver of skin became the whole focus of my consciousness… which felt a whole lot likemesuffering the consequences.
“I guess…” Delaney licked his lips. “Can we blame it on an early midlife crisis?”
“Full and honest or drink,” I reminded him.
He gave me a glare that wasn’t nearly as searing as usual, either because the wine made it hard to focus or because he didn’t seem to notice that his glasses had slid down his nose again and he literally couldn’t see me. The urge to reach out and push them back up for him was almost overwhelming.
So fucking cute.
“Thatisan honest answer,” he argued. “But if you need the full version…” He sighed. “You know how I visited Tam last fall when she was on bed rest?”
I nodded. Everyone in Copper County knew about Tam’s pregnancy complications and that all of her brothers had come, at one point or another, to check on her. Delaney was the only one who’d stayed.
His fingers toyed with the hem of his shorts. “So, we were sitting in her sunroom one day. A bunch of people had come over to bring her baked goods, and I was stuffing my face. Tam was sprawled on her chaise, laughing her ass off at something—probably me. Then she stopped laughing suddenly and looked at me and said, ‘Delaney, you need to promise you’ll visit more when the baby’s here. I want my daughter to know her uncle. Fuck, I wish you assholes lived closer.’ Meaning me and our brothers, you know?”
Delaney darted a glance at me like he wasn’t sure I was still paying attention.
As though I could possibly pay attention to anything else.
“Yeah. I got that,” I said roughly.
“Anyway, I don’t know what came over me—this is the early midlife crisis part—but we both got all emotional and sappy after that.” He pulled the sweatshirt cuffs over his fingers. “Tam can at least blame the pregnancy hormones, but I have no excuse. I remember thinking howprettyandcolorfulthe trees by the lake were, and how the air smelled like woodsmoke, and how fucking delicious the muffins I was eating were. And next thing I know, I opened my stupid mouth and said, ‘I’ll move here!’” He rolled his eyes. “Like an idiot.”
“I don’t think that’s idiotic,” I said. “I think it’s sweet.”
It was also surprising. God knew I was no stranger to impulsive decisions—after the dustup with my father, I’d walked away from my job at my grandfather’s company with no plan whatsoever—but impulsive wasn’t on my top ten words to describe Delaney.
