“Remy, seriously?” She stomps her foot impatiently, almost making me laugh. “Don’t leave me hanging here! Did my tequila make the clothes fall off?”
“Win,” I chastise, my voice low and authoritarian. The kind of thing only the oldest brother in the family can pull off. And even then, evidently, I can only pull it off a fraction of the time because Winnie is utterly unfazed.
“I’m sorry, but no.” She holds up a defiant hand toward my face. “I donated to the cause. I took the morning off work. I spent all night thinking about it. I deserve confirmation.”
“You spent all night thinking about Maria and me?” I tease with a shake of my head. “That’s pretty sick, sis.”
“Shut up. You’re stalling. Tell me if it worked and she’s madly in love with you or not.”
“Win, that’s not what the night was about. She just lost her sister and her brother-in-law, and she has no support system in place. I’m—”
“Blah, blah, blah, Rem. I know all of that. I know. And it’s really freaking sad, okay? But you know there’s another dimension to this. A happy dimension that I don’t know about and want to know right now. It’s written all over your damn face.” She takes a deep breath. “Tell me what I don’t know.”
Tired of fighting it, I sigh heavily and stare directly into her eyes. It’s not a confirmation, but at the same time, it is. Winnie knows me better than almost anyone in my family, and the look on my face doesn’t go unnoticed.
Suddenly overcome by craziness, she jumps up and down with a squeal and claps her hands together in front of her. “Oh yay! I’m so excited! I’ve always liked her so much, and now I get to like her on another level. She’s so cute with you, and the way she looks at you when you hold Izzy, and the way she got you a plate from the—”
I groan. “Winnie. Stop. Please. I’m begging you. It’s new. It’s all very new, and the last thing I need is the pressure of your visions for our life, okay?”
“But can I envision silently?” she whispers with her hands still clasped together like she’s praying.
I scoff. “I wouldn’t even dare to be foolish enough to think I could stop you.”
She smiles, jumping up and down again and leaning forward to place a kiss on my cheek. “Thank you.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
She giggles as she retreats down the hall with a wave over her shoulder. “I’ll go get Izzy.”
I breathe in extraordinarily deeply, step inside the door and close it, and let my head sink back to the wall just inside. The truth is, I haven’t stopped to think about much of anything since we left here last night. I’ve been going on instinct and feeling and gut.
I spent time with someone I enjoy. I took that enjoyment to the next level. And I comforted a woman I care about as she freaked out this morning.
I know that, eventually, all of that will have to come into much more vivid detail, but for now, I’m okay with miring myself in the haziness and enjoying it.
So much of my life is exact. Numbers, timing, consequences. I want just a moment to enjoy myself before reality comes crashing down.
My phone buzzes again in my pocket as I’m waiting for Winnie to return with Iz, and as much as I don’t want to deal with yet another person giving me shit, I pull it out anyway. I’m shocked to find a message from my most taciturn brother.
Flynn: Winnie says you’ve got Izzy today. Daisy is busy with work, and I’ve got the boys. Baby playdate at the library downtown?
A baby fucking playdate? Add those to the list of words I never thought would come from Flynn.
And there’s only one person besides Maria who knows what I’m up to today.
Winnie walks back down the hall with my girl in her arms, and it’s all I can do not to yank Izzy from her hold and contact the authorities to come pick up the traitor. “What the hell, Win? Are you superhuman? How have you spread the news of me being with Izzy today so quickly?” I ask, holding the phone and message up as evidence.
She waves me off with her hand. “I sent one little group text. It’s no big deal.”
“Group text? As in, the whole group?” I question. Without delay, my phone starts having a technology seizure in my hand, text message notifications nearly blowing it up.
Jude: Just heard you’re opening a day care, dude. Mind if I put Sophie’s and my future child on the list now so I know we’ll have a spot?
Ty: You should take Izzy to the Carlyle today. I hear they do a nice lunch spread.