he wasn’t going to order the same thing he did every time. Was he looking weird because I was being weird? There’d been something in his eyes when we’d been outside….
My cousin didn’t glance up as he shot his best friend the middle finger.
Zac snickered.
Worried it was me causing him to make that strange expression, I nudged Boogie. “I like that dumb look on your face.”
And one of my favorite people in the world nudged me back in a way I was pretty sure said I wasn’t causing anything before lifting his other hand and shooting yet another middle finger at the man across from us.
And that made Zac laugh, the sound rich and familiar still. Like old times. But not like old times.
Focusing down at my menu, I reminded myself again that this was all fine, that I wasn’t going to stare at Zac’s face or, much less, bring up anything from the past. I wasn’t going to ruin dinner with my cousin. I was going to go about the rest of my day and my week and—
“I was going to wait until after we finished eating, but the dumb look on my face is because I was planning on asking you two to be in my wedding, and I wasn’t sure how to ask.”
Yeah, both of our elbows dropped off the edge of the table—mine and Zac’s—and for whatever freaking reason, we looked right at each other. Light blue to my very dark blue. Just like in the past when we’d be on the verge of ragging on Boogie over something.
And that was when he raised his head.
Busted.
His facial expression wasn’t a hurt one or even a sad one. He still had too much of a babyface to really be good at mean-mugging, but it was more… resigned. He knew us both well enough to have an idea of what we were thinking. Which was: you want to marry her? Of all the people in the world… of all the women he’d dated over the years... her?
But he didn’t say anything. He didn’t explain or apologize. He’d made a decision, and everybody else had to live with it.
My cousin—the man who was basically my brother, who had been there for me more often than my own dad—was going to get married.
To someone who didn’t deserve him.
Shit.
“Congratulations?” I said, trying not to let it sound like a question and failing because… well, because I still couldn’t believe he was going to get married, period, much less to someone I didn’t like. If I’d ever fantasized about it, I’d figured he’d marry someone I liked as much as I did my sister’s husband.
“Congrats,” Zac said, sounding only slightly more convincing than me.
At least it wasn’t just Connie and me who hated Boogie’s girlfriend. Future wife. Whatever she was now. It made me feel a little more justified in my dislike to see Zac didn’t seem all that stoked about it either.
“Thank you,” Boogie replied.
I scratched my nose, and Zac just sat there. Neither one of us had the balls to make a face, probably because we were both being watched.
Boogie’s tongue poked at the inside of his cheek, and he continued making constant and complete eye contact with one of us the whole time as he kept on talking. “I’m doing this, and you’re both going to be in the wedding, bitchfacing or not,” Boogie let us know before bringing the menu back up to his face and hiding most of it. From the other side, he said, “We’re planning on doing it in February, on our anniversary. Mark it in your calendars.” He rattled off a specific date at the beginning of the month.
They’d already planned this far ahead? What the hell? And in February?
And I should’ve been surprised, but wasn’t, when Zac echoed, “February?”
“Yes, February. I haven’t told my mom yet, or anybody,” he ended, still focused on the menu.
And that got my thoughts to stop in their place.
As much as I disliked his girlfriend, well... Boogie was my favorite. Favorite cousin. Favorite male. Favorite Pictionary partner. He was my brother from another mother. And there was no way in hell he was going to be getting married without me close by.
Even if I thought he was about a million times too good for the woman he was marrying.
But most importantly, Boogie had been there for me from the moment my parents had moved into my abuela’s house and every second since.