her tight to me before I left.
“Same time next week?”
“I’ll check my calendar and get back to you.”
But she didn’t really want a family dinner date like the Caldwells. This one, though… This had been a good start.
“I’ll see you later in the week for brunch, though.” She looped an arm around my waist.
“Always.”
Roy opened the door and I took that as my cue, stopping to shake his hand on the way out of his house. I glanced up at the familiar windows and something shifted inside me, almost as if I was finally ready to hand the baton to him.
“Hey, cool car.” Harley bounced out of the door behind me.
“Thanks. Maybe when you get your job in sports medicine, you’ll get a better one than this, though.”
She laughed. “That’s my plan, bro.” She bit her lip. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to call you—”
I pulled her in for a quick one-armed hug. “No worries.”
“You know, I don’t have any brothers or sisters, and I always thought it would be kind of cool to have a big brother.” She seemed suddenly shy.
“Oh, we’re not always cool.” I paused as I realized I’d essentially referred to myself as her big brother. “I mean, so I’ve heard about them.”
She nudged me and looked up. “I really hope we can spend some more time together soon. Just let me know if you need me to get your mom to make meatballs again, all right?”
My sudden laughter surprised me. I’d never thought I’d be a brother, never thought someone else might need me…never imagined that someone might be Roy’s daughter.
I looked back up at my old bedroom window. Someone who lived here still needed me, and my heart swelled a little at the thought.
I reached into my wallet and drew out a business card. “Sorry it’s a lawyer’s card. They’re not too cool unless you’re in trouble, but my number is right there—” I jabbed a finger awkwardly at the raised print. “So, you just… uh… You go ahead and use it whenever you like, okay?”
15
Jamie
“Shit, dude.” I glanced at Adrian as he drove his car towards the mall. “I can’t believe Nico gave me the whole day off. Why do you think he did that?”
Adrian didn’t even look my way. “Probably tired of having your whiny ass sitting in his office all day.”
“Ha-ha.” I drummed my fingers on my knee and pulled the seatbelt looser over my chest.
“Yeah. You’re right. It’s probably more that he’s worried he’ll randomly throw you over the desk and have his way with you.” He mimed forcing himself to vomit before he laughed. “Chill, dude. He did a nice thing. We’ve got brother time.” He patted his hand on my twitching knee. “We got this.”
I buried my face in my hands. “Do we? Do we, though? We found nothing for me to wear in my closet… Nothing.” My voice rose in pitch.
“Yeah, I hear ya.” Adrian’s croon spoke of his sympathy. “Big night out and not a stitch to wear.”
“I’m not joking,” I wailed.
“Oh, neither was I,” he assured me as he flipped the blinker to swing into the mall parking lot. “Your wardrobe is pitiful. You either have shit you can work in or shit you wear to class. Dude, do you do anything but work? Or study to work?” He shook his head. “This is the most serious wardrobe malfunction I’ve seen. I mean, I’ve seen some doozies when people are wearing outfits, but not even having something to wear in the first place?” He kissed his fingertips. “Perfection.”
“Do we have enough time? He’s picking me up at seven.” I checked my watch then compared it to the clock in the dash. “What time do you have?”
“Plenty. We have plenty. Just think of me as your stylist extraordinaire, okay? We’ll get you looking all pretty for your man.” He reached over and ruffled my hair. “Okay.” He screeched into a parking spot. “We’re here. Cinderella, you shall go to the ball.” He climbed out of the car before sticking his head back inside and looking at me. “I’ve always wanted to say that.”
I sat for a moment after he’d slammed his door shut and stared out of the windshield. I tried to even out my breathing. There was no point panicking…no point panicking…no point… Shit, I was panicking. I sucked in another large breath and climbed out.
Adrian looked at me. “With a case this big, we gotta get serious. I hope you brought your wallet.”
Sighing, I followed