“Well, I gotta say, I never figured you’d settle in on anyone like that high-end brunette. The blonde now, yeah, she’s right up your alley.”
“I don’t have an alley.”
“Pal, we’ve both got alleys. She’s a looker, no doubt, but that runs second or third in your personal alley. She’s fucking resilient, and that lives in your alley along with smart, responsible, and rooted.”
And, Miles realized, the disadvantage of having someone know you for a lifetime.
“She hasn’t had a chance to root.”
“Wants to, though, doesn’t she? That’s easy enough to see. I like her, but even if I didn’t, I’d make sure we do our best to keep her safe.”
“I know it.” Counted on it. “I’ve got to get to work.”
“Me, too. But before that, I should tell you, since I live in the friendship lane of your alley.”
“Alleys have lanes?”
“Ours do. So I’m telling you, I talked your sister into having dinner with me.”
Miles had started to stand, and now sat back. “What?”
“It took some doing, but we had dinner last night, and having worked a chink in that wall, I convinced her to go kayaking next Sunday. None of that should be a big surprise to you, seeing as I told you when we were—what, ten, eleven?—how I was going to marry your sister.”
“You also told me you were going to climb Mount Everest and pitch for the Red Sox.”
“Well, some dreams fade with time, some don’t. Or, in this case, some fade for a while, then come back in strong, bold colors.”
“I don’t want to think about this,” Miles decided. “I don’t want to think about Nell being right up your alley, or the two of you in strong, bold colors. It’s … disturbing.”
Jake only grinned. “I’ve been your best friend for twenty years or so. If you can’t trust me with Nell, then who?”
“You don’t have a sister.”
“That’s true.”
“So I’m not going to think about it.” Now he stood. “Except to say … she’s got soft spots. They may not show, but they’re there.”
“Miles, I’ve known Nell for twenty years, too. I know who she is. I’m going to tell you, the unvarnished truth is she’s a hell of a lot more likely to hurt me than I am her, as she’s been my soft spot off and on since I was ten.”
“Either way I end up pissed off at one of you.” Shaking his head, Miles walked to the door, then stopped. “You and Nell haven’t—”
When he broke off, Jake smiled again, lifted an eyebrow.
“No, no, forget I nearly asked. I don’t want to know.”
He drove back to the resort, intended to go straight to his office, then walked into Nell’s.
“Miles, great. I was just finalizing some of the changes for next week’s picnic, and—”
“Why didn’t you tell me you and Jake were dating?”
Nell angled her head. She looped one of the trio of chains she wore around a finger, smiled at him. “Because that comes under the heading of—what is it now? Oh yeah. None of Your Damn Business.”
“You’re my sister, he’s my oldest, closest friend. That sounds like it falls right into my damn business.”
She picked up the bright blue resort water bottle from her desk. “Miles, you’re not seriously going to attempt to dictate who I date?”
“No, but this is different.”
“In what way?”
“Sister.” He lifted one hand. “Best friend.” Then the other. “And you know Jake’s had half a thing for you for years.”
“One he’s contained admirably, or annoyingly, depending on the viewpoint. Either way, we had dinner and enjoyed ourselves. Alert the media.”
“Knock it off. You’re going kayaking on Sunday.”
Eyes slitted, she slammed the water bottle down again. “Does he tell you everything?”
“No. And I don’t want to know everything. But there’s a goddamn code, Nell. A friend’s dating your sister, he lets you know. It would’ve been nice if my sister let me know she was dating my friend.”
“He’s my friend, too, and it was dinner. Just dinner. If I decide it’s going to be more, that’s my choice and my business. So butt out.”
Now he sat. “I had one date—one—with that … I can’t remember her name. That girl who was part of your high school pack.”