only time I felt like I could breathe.
That I could actually be Victoria.
Thirty minutes later, I glanced down at my phone. No Eddie yet. I clicked the screen on to see that there were no missed texts. I thought about climbing out of bed and checking to see if he’d left the food at the door…but then dismissed that thought. After all, he knew to knock loud, and it was a Saturday night. He was probably busy.
My eyes drifted closed a few times, and once I let them settle, a sound from the hallway startled me awake. I pushed myself up to sitting and peered into the darkness. Would Eddie actually enter my house if I didn’t answer the door?
“Mom?” I called out, straining my ears to hear anything.
Nothing.
“Eddie?” I asked, and then felt stupid. Eddie wasn’t there. I doubted breaking and entering was something a restaurant owner wanted on their record.
After a few seconds of waiting with my breath sucked in and my body on high alert, I eventually shook my head and settled back.
“Boo!”
I screamed, flailing my arms to free them from my comforter, only to find Danny’s grinning face hovering in my doorway. I cursed under my breath, grabbed a pillow, and chucked it in his direction.
“Rude,” he said in a mock-indignant tone. Then he held up the plastic bag full of food and wiggled his eyebrows. “I come bearing gifts.”
“So you’re the reason I didn’t hear the knock,” I said once my breath calmed and my heart stopped pounding.
Danny chuckled as he entered my room. In the other hand, he had a six-pack of beers. “Hey, I was just in the right place at the right time,” he said as he tossed the beers onto the bed—right onto my legs—then he made his way to the other side of the bed and flopped down.
My whole bed shook as he took his time to get situated. While he kicked off a few extra pillows and adjusted the blankets, I opened one of the white Styrofoam containers, causing the smell of the food to waft up along with the steam.
The smell of lo mein always sent my salivary glands into overdrive. I didn’t wait for him as I grabbed my chopsticks and dove in.
“Rude,” Danny said again as he grabbed a pot sticker and popped it into his mouth.
I glanced over at him as I let my lo mein noodles dangle from my mouth. I shrugged and slurped them up. “I was golfing all day,” I mumbled through the food.
Danny wrinkled his nose as he dug out the black plastic fork from the bag and speared a piece of chicken. “Yuck. Why would you do that?”
The Friends theme song sounded in the background, and I glanced over at Danny and saw him relax against the headboard. He looked so…calm. Like nothing in this world would bother him. Like he didn’t have the stress of the family name on his shoulders.
For a moment, I allowed myself to wonder what that would feel like.
And then I told myself to stop wondering. That was the last thing I needed to do. My life was about being mayor. I was born to carry on the name of Holt. Having a simple, nomad life like my younger brother just wasn’t in the cards for me.
I gave him a pointed look, and he nodded as he swallowed. “Mom and Dad are home.” He paused and then chuckled. “And they are desirous of you to carry on the family name.”
I swallowed the lo mein that I’d been chewing, wincing as it slid down my now tightening throat. It was one thing to listen to my own thoughts about my parents’ expectations, it was a whole other thing to hear it come from someone else’s lips. Danny had released those ideas out into the world, and there was no way I was going to be able to pull them back and stuff them into the far corners of my mind, where they could stay. Forever.
I shrugged as I shoved another forkful of food into my mouth. “It’s no big deal. It’s something I gotta do.” I swallowed my food. “Besides, I like being mayor. Magnolia is a beautiful town.”
After a few bites of my food—despite my protests—Danny settled back on the headboard and eyed me. “Really? You like it?”
I furrowed my brow and allowed my gaze to drift over to the TV, where Ross and Rachel were talking. “Yes,” I said quietly.
I knew I was supposed