Page 115 of Our Chaotic Love Affair

“Does she?” Austin leaned forward. “Or does she deserve the guy she obviously fell in love with?”

“That guy doesn’t exist without her.”

“Exactly.” He grinned. “That’s kind of the whole point, Cash. Love doesn’t make you less yourself. It makes you more. The version of you that exists when you’re with her? That’s the real you. The one you’ve been hiding behind spreadsheets and Dad’s expectations for the last twenty years. Trust me, I know this. It’s like she held the key and she unlocked the real you.”

“Poetic,” Finn said.

Austin glared at him. “Only Cleo holds that key. She is the only woman that will ever hold that key.”

I looked at him. My little brother. The one I’d spent years trying to protect, trying to fix, trying to save from himself.

When had he gotten so wise?

“You’re drunk,” I said.

“Extremely. Doesn’t make me wrong.” He clapped my shoulder. “Tell her. After the wedding. Don’t let this thing with Cleo end because you’re too scared to try.”

“What if she says no?”

“Then at least you’ll know. But I don’t think she will.”

“I’ve never been in love,” I said. “Maybe it’s just infatuation. She’s different.”

“It’s love,” Finn and Austin said at the same time.

I shook my head. “I’m not convinced.”

“Love doesn’t convince you,” Austin said. “It just is.”

I sipped my drink. “Shit. You think so? Am I truly in love with a woman I barely know?”

“Yes. That’s how it works. Especially with someone like Cleo.” Austin sounded very confident. “That’s the kind of woman that spins into your life like the Tasmanian Devil and shakes shit up. You needed it.”

I let those words sink in. “Holy shit. You’re right.”

“About fucking time.” Finn raised his glass. “To Cash finally admitting he has feelings. Only took forty years and a Roman vacation.”

Hayes and Isaac wandered over. “What are we toasting to?”

“Cash being in love,” Finn announced.

“Oh shit, really?” Hayes looked delighted. “With the purple-haired girl?”

“Her name is Cleo,” I said.

“With Cleo,” Hayes corrected. “That’s great, man. She’s fantastic.”

Isaac nodded. “Does she call you Lurch?”

“She does,” I said.

“See? That’s love.” Isaac grinned. “When are you telling her?”

“After the wedding,” Finn answered for me. “He doesn’t want to ruin Austin’s big day with his feelings.”

“My feelings aren’t going to ruin anything,” I said.

“They might improve things,” Austin suggested. “Make it more romantic. Wedding magic and all that.”