shut down the brewery for the night to come play with us.”
Seth heard Lucien’s muted voice in the background say, “The gorgeous twins can’t come? That’s a damn shame.”
“Don’t be jealous, baby,” Aria told her husband. “You’re handsomer than the two of them combined. I was just saying. You know, objectively speaking.”
“Stop with your lovers’ spat,” Seth cut in. “So should I ask Tara to join us around seven?”
“Yes, we’ll be there by four to prepare dinner, but we can eat around seven.”
“Should I get the wine?”
“Are you trying to insult Lucien?” Aria made a good show of sounding horrified. “We’ll be bringing a box of his vineyard’s finest wines. But do ask Tara to bring a few growlers of her best ales. I’ll make some beer-friendly appetizers to pair with them.”
“Got it. I’ll see you guys soon,” Seth said.
“We can’t wait, sweetie.” Sometimes she seemed to forget that he wasn’t the gawky teenager he was when they’d first met.
And like the sap that he was, the first thing he did when he got off the phone was to text Tara.
SETH: Can you get tonight off?
TARA: Why? I already took too many days off for my sprained ankle. I should be working extra days.
SETH: Aria and Lucien are coming and want to invite you over for dinner.
It wasn’t his idea at all.
TARA: Ugh. How can I resist Aria and Lucien?
SETH: Hey … and you can resist me?
There was a pause before she responded.
TARA: You know I can’t resist you.
Her breathless cries as she fell apart in his arms echoed in his mind. No, she can’t resist me. A lazy smile curved his lips at the thought.
SETH: Just making sure. So can you come over? Around seven?
TARA: I’ll prevail upon the kindness of my brothers’ hearts. Again.
“Yes.” Seth pumped his fist, extraordinarily proud of his accomplishment.
Then he heard a small cough behind him. He spun around to find the interior designer standing at the door of the restaurant’s office. Ah, yes. He hadn’t closed the door.
“The chairs are here,” the designer said with the slightest arch of his brow. “Do you want to check them out before we accept delivery?”
“Sure. I’ll come with you,” Seth said, keeping his expression bland.
He stood back and let the interior designer take charge of inspecting the chairs since it was his area of expertise. Once the chairs were accepted and lined up in one corner of the dining hall, Seth called it a day and headed back to the house.
He was used to coming home to an empty house, but his place was a minimalist two-bedroom condo. It seemed happy to be empty. But Aubrey and Landon’s house seemed lonely and sad without its family. Suddenly missing his brother and his new family, Seth climbed the staircase and headed to his room. It hit him that he would be moving across the sea in a couple weeks, and he would rarely get to see them. And he would miss and worry about his mom.
I’ll miss Tara like hell.
The thought stopped him midstep. He could barely stand not seeing her for a few days. Would he be able to turn around and leave her in two weeks? Fuck. It wasn’t a matter of what he could or could not do. He didn’t have a choice. He resumed his trek up the stairs. There was no point in torturing himself about the future. He had her for now, and he would make the most of their remaining time together.
When he reached his room, he headed straight for the shower. He bowed his head under the hot spray and let the water stream down his face and the rest of his body. He washed away his sudden punch-in-the-gut panic and focused on the evening ahead with Tara and his friends. After drying off, he pulled on a pair of jeans and a charcoal pullover and jogged down the stairs. Just as he reached the bottom of the stairs the doorbell rang, announcing the arrival of guests.
Seth swung the front door open with a big grin on his face, only to witness a makeout session in progress. He immediately proceeded to close it shut, but Lucien slapped his hand against it, his laughter floating into the house through the narrow gap. Seth opened the door again but stood blocking their path with his arms crossed over his chest.
“Hey, is this the way you treat your friends?” Aria said, bending down to pick up the lemons that had spilled out