“I know.”
“Zane was devastated.”
“I know.”
“Don’t do it again.” He gave me a look and I nodded, understanding his unspoken words. I had nearly killed my brother inside and out. It had been selfish of me to disappear and not say anything; I still thought my reasons were respectable, but as time went by, I was starting to see that I didn’t have to be a martyr in the situation.
“So Zane got himself a hottie,” Leo joked, breaking the tension in the room.
“I heard that, Leo.” Zane came running down the stairs and into the living room. “Don’t you go getting any thoughts into your head.”
“Scared of a little competition?” Leo joked and Zane laughed.
“Never.”
“If Lucky’s a smart girl, I think we both know how this will end.” Leo winked at Zane and I laughed.
“Yeah, she’ll choose me.” I joined the conversation and Zane gave me a small glare.
“Who’ll choose you?” Lucky had a big bright smile on her face as she walked down the stairs in a simple white dress.
“These two fools think that you would actually give them a chance if I wasn’t in the picture.” Zane walked over to her and grabbed her hand. I smiled to myself as I watched him pull her into the crook of his arms. It was amazing to see Zane so protective and caring with Lucky.
“Oh, Leo. You’re here.” Lucky pulled away from Zane and ran up to Leo with a delighted face. “I didn’t know you were coming over.”
“Zane texted and said pizza was on the way.” He laughed. “I couldn’t say no to that, plus I haven’t seen Noah since he’s been back. I wanted to lay my eyes on him.” He hugged her back tightly, and gave her a big kiss on the cheek. “You’re looking positively radiant, Lucky. Probably the most beautiful mother-to-be I’ve ever seen. You almost make me want kids.”
“You’ll have gorgeous kids.” Lucky blushed and grinned and I laughed at the murderous look on Zane’s face as he watched her with his friend.
“It’s a pity Zane got to you before me.”
“That’s enough, Leo.” Zane walked over and stood next to Lucky. “Maybe it’s time to get your own girl.”
“No thanks.” Leo shuddered. “I don’t have time for the stress and drama that comes along with relationships – no offense, Lucky.”
“None taken.” She laughed and put her arms around Zane’s waist. “Trust me, sometimes I wonder how I put up with this guy.”
“Because you love me, duh.”
“I won’t love you so much if you keep embarrassing me.”
“Sure.” Zane laughed and walked into the kitchen. “You guys want a beer while we wait on the pizza?”
“I’ll take a Bud.” Leo lounged down on the chair and stared at me. “So, you dating anyone?” He gave me a quick look and I shook my head.
“Nah, not really. Not now that I have a kid to look after.”
“A kid?” His eyes bulged wide open and I laughed.
“I adopted a little girl.” I smiled. “You’ll have to meet her.”
“Whoa, I go away for a few weeks and I miss everything.” Leo shook his head in wonderment and I was about to tell him more about Skylar when the doorbell rang. My heart thudded as I walked over to it quickly, hoping to see Robin on the other side.
“Hey,” I opened the door with a wide smile and sighed when I saw the pizza deliveryman.
“Hey, pizza delivery.” He said in a monotone voice. I tried not to roll my eyes at him or say something smart like “I thought you were the paperboy.”
“What’s the damage?” I took out my wallet and pulled out some bills.
“There is no damage to your pizza, sir.” The pimply-faced teenager looked at me with a blank expression.
“What?” I frowned and then realized he had misunderstood my question. “What’s the total?”
“I didn’t total anything, Sir. I only tapped the back of that car. It wasn’t totaled at all.” He stammered as he held the boxes in his hands, and it was at this point that I realized that he was either high or the biggest idiot I had ever met.
“How much money do I owe you?”
“You don’t owe me, oh wait.” He paused as he realized what I was asking. “A hundred should do it.”
“A hundred dollars?” I asked him incredulously.
“Yes, sir.” He beamed at me and nodded. “A hundred dollars will take care of the bill nicely. Plus tip of course.”
I grabbed the boxes from his hand and handed him $40, before glaring at him. “You better believe I’m going to call your boss and report you. Now get out of here. And don’t try to pull this scam on anyone else.”
“But sir,” his eyes widened in panic. “The bill is $55.”
“Then I suggest you find $15 from somewhere.” I smirked at him and slammed the door shut before he could say anything else. I turned around and saw that Lucky was standing right behind me, with a surprised expression, but laughter in her eyes. “Did that just happen?” I asked her and she burst out laughing.
“That was hilarious.” She grinned, while wiping tears away. “If I hadn’t just witnessed that, I would never have believed it.”
“They’re letting any old fool be a pizza delivery guy these days.”
“What is the world coming to?” She grinned and shook her head. And then the doorbell rang again and she smiled at me. “You go and take those boxes to the kitchen and I’ll take care of him this time.”
“Okay,” I grinned and walked back to the kitchen, sad that I wasn’t going to get to hear Lucky give Dopey a piece of her mind. I put the boxes on the counter and pulled out some plates, while Zane opened up the bottles of beer.
“Shit, that pizza smells good.” Zane groaned and opened up a box. “It tastes good too,” he mumbled through a mouthful of pepperoni.
“Thanks for waiting on us all to get a plate before you started, greedy bear.”
“Whatever.” He laughed and handed me a beer. I took a swig of Bud and then froze as I heard a tinkle of feminine laughter that didn’t belong to Lucky. Robin was here. I quickly placed the bottle back down and ran my hands through my hair. My heart started beating rapidly, and I turned around slowly before walking back into the living room with a big smile on my face. Joy poured through me when my eyes fell upon her – she looked as beautiful as I remembered her, and she looked happy as she stood there laughing. I stared at her for a moment, just memorizing her features, when a feeling of jealousy spread through me. Robin wasn’t just laughing at some random joke. She was laughing up at Leo, who was laughing down at her, and very obviously admiring her goods. I felt a surge of anger as I stared at handsome Leo flirting with her. He was a blond Adonis and I knew that to most women, he was one of the most handsome and charismatic men they had ever met. I was scared that now that Robin had seen him, that she wouldn’t be interested in me; especially as we had already had a bit of a rocky start. I stood there for a moment more just glaring at Leo, and then I caught myself. I was being just like Zane, only I didn’t yet have the girl.