Page 54 of The Best I Never Had

“Owe—”

“I’m a thirty-two-year-old man. I don’t need my grandmother talking to my mother on my behalf. I’m happy with my life.” Mostly. “Maintaining Dad’s legacy is an honor. Bringing a fake girlfriend was a spur-of-the-moment, terrible idea that’s come back to bite me, but there’s nothing that needs to be done.”

She looks like she wants to argue, but for once in her life, she lets someone else win. “We should get downstairs to meet everyone for the movie.”

“Thank you, Nana.”

She nods. “I’ll keep my mouth shut, but I want you to think about it. You shouldn’t have to live a certain way just to keep her happy.”

Nana’s words echo in my head as we head downstairs to meet everyone. The whole family is coming out this time, and all the aunts, uncles, and cousins have gathered into little groups to catch up while they wait. I spot Thea standing with Camila and force myself to walk the other way, joining another group of cousins. A few seconds later, my cousin Lynne—who works as Aunt Dawn’s second-in-command—calls out. She tosses me the keys to the bus, the giant yellow key chain catching the light as they land in my hands.

“Anyone else want to drive tonight?” I ask the group of five around me as casually as I can. I don’t know why my heart is thudding. This is my family. I love them, and they love me. So why does the idea of not doing what they want make me so jittery?

Tommy claps me on the shoulder. “We don’t mind. You love driving.”

I almost nod and let it drop, but then I catch sight of Thea, her head thrown back in laughter. Something about knowing she’s in the room gives me a surge of confidence, even if her attention isn’t directed at me.

“I’ll drive,” I say, “but it’s not like I like it.”

Everyone in the group tilts their head at the same angle—a move I’ve seen from Nana thousands of times—and I’m reminded of how weird it is to be around so many people who grew up with the same mannerisms.

My cousin Jourdan is the first to recover. “Since when? You always drive.”

I laugh, trying to keep it light. “I always drive because y’all hand me the keys and say I’m driving.”

I flick the keys around my fingers, a nervous tick I can’t help whenever they end up in my hands, waiting for someone—anyone—to speak.

“Thea thought it was weird that you drive all the time when we went out to the bar,” Camila speaks from behind me and I jump, not realizing they’d come over to our group. Thea’s next to her with her bottom lip tucked between her teeth.

“Hi,” I say, unable to stop the smile spreading over my face.

Her answering smile sends tingles to my toes. “Hi.”

Camila’s eyes flick between us, but she holds her tongue in front of the others. “That’s why we came over here. Thea has an idea.”

Thea bounces a little on her toes. “You don’t want to drive tonight?”

I glance down at the keys and shrug. “I don’t mind driving.”

“That’s not what I asked. Do you, Owen Hayes, want to drive tonight?” she asks with a raised eyebrow.

I hide my chuckle by dipping my head. “No, Thea Pappas, I don’t want to drive.”

She snatches the keys from my grasp. “Perfect.”

I look over at my cousins who are eyeing her warily. Visitors always underestimate how dangerous these roads can be, and none of us is willing to die for Thea to prove a point.

“You don’t want to drive, either,” I say, reaching for the keys, but she pulls away, holding the keys behind her back. I’m tempted to take the excuse to wrap my arms around her, but I won’t with everyone watching. “These roads are tight and winding. They’re scary to drive in a regular car. It should be someone who knows them well.”

Her eyebrows bounce a few times. “I agree.”

Then she looks at the little clumps of the family, chatting about the latest gossip.

Her gaze lands on the closest group to us, and she calls out, “Gabriel, catch.”

He turns and she lets the keys fly. His hands come up on instinct, closing around the cool metal and looking at them in confusion.

She spins in a circle as she says, “New game. Last person to touch the keys for the bus has to drive.”