Just One Kiss (Very Irresistible Bachelors #2) - Layla Hagen Page 0,67
time last year.”
I threw my head back, laughing. “Okay, okay. Point made.” On a serious note, I added, “I just don’t want to see you two struggle.”
She leaned closer, smiling. “We won’t struggle forever. All beginnings are hard, right?”
I said nothing. Skye poked my arm.
“Back me up. I’ve made a mile-long list of motivational quotes. I need you to approve every single one of them.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Tess and I will regroup, okay? Don’t worry that much. It’s just been a very rough week.”
“I didn’t know you and that guy were so serious,” I blurted.
“We weren’t.” She looked in the distance, frowning. “I mean, you know I’m laid back about these things, but I didn’t think he was going to just run off when things got a little rough.” Her voice was small. I hated it, and what I hated even more was that I couldn’t do anything about it.
A beeping sound came from her bag. Skye rummaged through it, taking out her phone.
“Tess woke up and texted me.” She looked up at me, eyes wide, as if she’d suddenly had an idea. I braced myself but made an inner promise to just go along with whatever she wanted, because tonight was all about Skye.
“How much do you love us?” she asked, batting her eyelashes.
“Very much.”
“Enough to go with us to an outdoor movie screening? Tess said they’re showing Gone with the Wind in Central Park.”
I really didn’t have a choice. At least it wasn’t a museum.
“I’ll do one better. Why don’t we call Cole too? We’ll make a party out of it.”
Skye grinned from ear to ear. “My favorite people in the world and a movie screening? I can’t say no to that.”
I was banking on it. We made a beeline to the elevator, but I waited to call Cole until we were back out on the street again. The wind on the deck was too strong to have a phone conversation.
While Skye ordered an Uber, I called my brother.
“What are you up to?” I asked the second he picked up.
“Nothing.”
“Can you meet me, Skye, and Tess in Central Park?”
“Sure. What happened?”
One of the things I loved about my family? We could tell when something was off before the other even spelled it out. Walking a few steps away from Skye, I filled Cole in quickly.
“That motherfucker.”
“Which one? The investor or Skye’s guy?”
“Both. Who are they?”
“I don’t know.”
“They screwed with our sisters. We need their names.”
“Cole. Central Park. Twenty minutes. Don’t bring up the topic at all. Just managed to stop Skye from beating herself up.”
Cole was my opposite in many ways... except when it came to impulsiveness. Growing up, we’d competed in who was the most hot-headed, as if we were trying to win a medal for it. Luckily, our sisters had tempered us down. They were successful... most of the time.
Unlike the Empire State Deck, Central Park was crawling with people. Despite the vastness of the place, the perimeter of the movie screening was claustrophobic. But a deal was a deal, and Skye already looked more cheerful.
After I bought us hot dogs from a vendor passing by, Cole texted that he and Tess had found an empty patch of grass.
“Oh, look, Tess is waving at us,” Skye said. We bought two more hotdogs and then did our best to reach our siblings without stepping on anyone.
“Jesus, I can’t understand why it’s so crowded. The movie’s been out for fifty years,” Cole said.
Our sisters glared at him as the four of us somehow crammed in on the blanket Tess had brought.
“Yes, but it’s still more amazing than 99 percent of the stuff they make nowadays. So, let’s set some rules,” Tess said. “We won’t talk shop tonight.”
“Or about romantic stuff,” Skye added.
“Deal,” Cole and I said at the same time.
“You’re in for brothers of the year, both of you,” Tess declared.
“You only have two brothers,” Cole teased.
“Yeah, if we’re going to compete, it’s going to be among each other,” I volleyed back. “Personally, I feel like I’m in the lead by a solid lap.”
Skye rolled her eyes, taking Cole’s arm. “He’s less bigheaded. I’m siding with him.”
Tess crossed her arms over her chest, looking between the three of us.
“Tess, I’m going to be real mad if you don’t side with me,” I warned. The corners of her mouth tilted up.
“Of course I’m going to side with you. It’s all about balance in this family.”