Under the Same Stars(76)

“Where’s Katie?” Connor asked.

“She and Amanda went to visit their cousins in New York.” I thought for a moment. “It’s funny how whenever one of them goes on a trip, the other leaves Philly, too. Austin came home when Katie went on all those bachelorette trips this summer, and when Austin’s gone, she goes to her parents’ or stays with friends. That’s strange, right?”

Connor shook his head. “I don’t think so,” he said after a sip of his latte. “I don’t think they like being apart. They did long distance for what? Five years?”

I shrugged.

“Yeah, so now that they’re finally living together, I bet it’s really tough when one of them is gone. They like being together together. Plus, it doesn’t seem like either person is a fan of being alone.”

Hmm, I thought, chewing some muffin. Is that why Katie was rude the night before Austin left for Jackson Hole? Because she was going to miss him so much?

Connor sighed. “I knew this thing with Samira was going to shatter at some point.”

My brows knitted together. “You did?”

“Haven’t you noticed her staring at Austin when he isn’t looking? It’s like she’s always swallowing a secret when they’re together.”

“Then she should’ve spoken up sooner,” I said, finding myself frustrated with her. “The wedding is only three months away. She’s had plenty of time.”

Connor was silent for a beat. “Do you think Austin feels the same way?”

“I don’t know. He didn’t tell Dad much on the phone, but he’s definitely stunned.” I rose from my seat and pointed to the bakery case. “I’m gonna buy some chocolate-peanut butter cupcakes to bring home.”

They were my brother’s favorite.

***

The vibe was most certainly not romantic when Connor dropped me off later. Even though he hopped out of his Jeep and ran to open the passenger door for me, always chivalrous. “Let me know how it goes,” he said as we hugged.

Dad’s Lexus cruised up the driveway around 6:00. Da and I were ready and waiting in the kitchen. “Hello!” Dad called when the mudroom door opened. “We’re home!” He entered the kitchen and mouthed, Buckle up.

Austin looked rough. He wore an inside-out sweatshirt with old jeans, and under his baseball cap, his hair was matted down with grease. The stormy sea-colored bags under his eyes told me he hadn’t slept. “Could I please have some tomato soup and grilled cheese?” he asked.

I opened the oven, where we’d been keeping his sandwiches warm, and Da popped the lid off the pot on the stove. He ladled thick red soup into a big bowl.

“Thank you.” Austin took a seat at the island, and we watched him eat in silence. After devouring three grilled cheeses and basically licking his soup bowl clean, he said he was going to take a shower. “Then I’ll tell you everything,” he said.

Half an hour later, we congregated in the family room with the cupcakes. “Okay, so what happened?” I not-so-delicately asked when no one said anything.

Dad and Da shot me sharp looks.

“You can’t let me enjoy my cupcake first?” Austin laughed, but it sounded hollow. He took one final colossal bite, swallowed, then spoke. “It started out great. No one’s flight was delayed, we hung out at the cabin until they surprised me with Sam, and then we hit some bars in town…”

He summarized their adventures on Saturday, right down to cooking the fish they’d caught for dinner. It couldn’t have been more different than Katie’s Last Splash.

Until.

“Earlier in the day, Wit and Sam struck a deal that whoever caught the least fish had to camp out in a tent that night. And well…” He sighed. “I’m embarrassed to say that ended up being me.” He gave us a sad smile, as if the fish tally were the most important thing in the world. “After dinner, I made a big show of setting up the tent while everyone else was around the campfire. We were playing Cards Against Humanity—Wit brought like every expansion pack in existence—and the s’mores stuff was long gone, so someone broke out the beer, bourbon, and even fucking Fireball.” He groaned. “Full-on drinking.”

“Were you drinking?” Da asked.

Austin shook his head. “I did a celebratory shot on Friday night, but no. I stuck to nonalcoholic beer on Saturday.”

We nodded. Austin described nonalcoholic beer as “juiced bread,” but I knew it made him feel included among his friends.

“Things were rowdy,” he continued, “but not too rowdy. We were having a great time. Then Katie called around midnight, so I went up to the cabin to talk to her for about an hour.”

An hour? They’d talked for an hour? Even though Austin was on his bachelor trip?

But then I remembered Katie disappearing for a while our first night on Seneca Lake, and realized she’d probably been in her room on the phone with Austin.

Connor’s right, I thought, shifting on the couch. They really don’t like being apart.

“Wit was the only one who wasn’t plastered when I came back out,” Austin said. “Sam was…” He trailed off. “Sam was drinking the Fireball straight from the handle. Wit helped her inside when we called it a night. They went into the house while I retired to my tent.”