Winston Brothers Box Set - Stacey Lewis Page 0,117

Fallon he loved her?” Remy questions, raising an eyebrow, earning a muffled laugh from me and a dirty look from Reed. He says exactly what I’m thinking.

“Okay, so maybe I’m not the best person to get advice from, but if you want her to be yours, you have to figure out how you’re going to approach the situation. Have you considered the possibility that she already knows it was you? It’s not a stretch to believe she wasn’t as drunk as you were if she willingly left the bar with you. Plus, if she was gone when you woke up, she was probably sober when she left. Maybe she’s just afraid to make it known?” I chew on the inside of my cheek, contemplating what he’s saying.

She could be afraid to tell me. She could also be embarrassed.

“What do you want to do?” Remy asks. It’s times like these I wish Dad were here to offer up a bit of good advice. He might have been a shitty father after Mom died, but when it came to her, he was so loving, always knowing the right thing to do or say.

I sigh, leaning back against the booth. “I don’t know, but I can tell you I’m not letting her go. I can’t, not now that I know who she is. She might not realize what she means to me, but maybe, maybe if I make it known, she’ll open up to me and tell me the truth?”

Reed and Remy look at each other, a silent conversation passing between them that pisses me off. I’m the middle brother, so shouldn’t I be the one who has the ability to have secret conversations?

Finally, Reed nods. “You should definitely tell her. Don’t just blurt it out though. Maybe you can get her to go out to dinner with you? You could tell her then. Make it romantic or something. Fallon’s the one you should be talking to about this. She’s the one with ideas on how to confess your feelings to someone. We all know I suck at that.”

Remy and I both laugh at the sulky way he says it, but it’s so true.

After thinking for a minute, Remy agrees with him. “That is a good idea, at least, providing you can get her to agree to dinner after work.” His eyes meet mine, and even though the mirth in them is obvious, there’s something in them I can’t decipher. It almost looks sad, but I don’t know why he would be. “You’ve been kind of a dick to her, Ryker. It might work out better if you ambush her at work instead.”

His suggestion has merit. If I hadn’t followed her to her apartment tonight, we never would have talked, and I’d still be trying to figure out who my mystery girl was. Now, I just need to come up with a game plan, and hanging out with these two getting drunk in a bar isn’t going to get that done.

I look over at Reed and grin. “Okay, you guys have convinced me. I’m going to go home and try to figure out what to do to make it easy for her to admit. And Reed?” His eyes narrow on mine at the laughter in my voice. “I’ll definitely be calling Fallon for help.”

He curses under his breath, then tosses some bills on the table and pushes Remy out of the booth. The three of us walk out together, and for the first time in a long time, we exchange hugs before parting ways. I’ve missed the friendship I have with my brothers, and I’m not sure what happened to cause a rift between us. Maybe it was Dad being sick and none of us knowing the right way to handle it, or maybe it was something else. I don’t know, but whatever it was, I’m glad we’re getting back to the way we used to be.

“Good luck, Ry,” Reed throws over his shoulder before climbing into his car, a smile pulling at his lips. I nod, acknowledging his comment.

Luck? Yeah, I think I might be needing it.

Chapter Seventeen

Ava

“You’re pregnant?” The words come out more like a statement than a question as she shoves the test into my hands. A number of emotions threaten to break through me, but I hold my ground, nodding my head yes. I am so mad at myself for letting this happen. It is almost the same thing my mother went through when she had me, and I