Page 27 of Sterling Fight

“I’ll figure something out.” Because right now I’m too wrapped up in her agreeing with me, and sitting across from me, and staring occasionally at my mouth.

Genie clears her throat, breaking this magnetic spell between us. “So, let me get this straight.” She pauses to take a bite of French toast. “Stone is the oldest, and the sheriff.”

I sigh in relief at the change in topic. “Yes.”

She waves her fork in the air. “Then Clay, who runs the Sylver Seed & Soil. Then you.”

I nod and take another bite of French toast.

“Then after you is Knox. The firefighter.”

“And a bricklayer with the Seed & Soil. He specializes in designing patios and retaining walls.”

Genie makes a face like she’s impressed, and I wonder if she’d be impressed by the garden I have on the side of my house.

“Then Ford. Baseball player.”

“Former centerfielder for the Chicago Anchors.”

Wow, Genie mouths. “Then Sebastian, who runs Curmudgeon Bakery. I love that name.”

“He’s very . . . curmudgeonly. Well, he was until he married Enya.” What a miraculous shift from grumpy Sebastian to a sunnier one. Is that all it took to absolve the hurts of the past? The love of a good woman?

“Huh. It might run in the family,” she teases, arching a brow.

“I’m not a curmudgeon.”

“Oh, please. You had this whole broody, soulful poet vibe going on in high school.”

I choke. “I didn’t have anything going on in high school. I was a loner.” And a loser according to a few people. My head was always down in a book, and I kept to myself.

“But you were part of Math Club.”

I don’t know how many truths Genie can handle in a day. I can’t believe I’ve already admitted I have the same notebook she had when she was a child. I’d rediscovered it stashed in my dresser at Stone’s house years later when I officially moved out.

Then the tattoo which is a constant reminder of what she asked me.

One look also told her I attended the garden party to see her.

Not certain I have much pride left, so I decide to just let it all hang out. “I followed a girl into a classroom after school one day and suddenly I was a member.”

Genie’s face goes blank. “What girl?”

I tilt my head, implying the obvious. “What were you doing in Math Club?”

She blinks a few times and then clears her throat. “I needed extra credit in Geometry.”

“From Mr. Martin?”

“Exactly.” She points her fork at me. “Math and I are not friends. Neither were Mr. Martin and me.”

I huff. “Didn’t all the girls have the hots for him?” He’d been a young guy teaching math to high school girls only a few years younger than him.

“Not me.” Genie fakes a gag. “So back to your family, who did I leave out?”

“Vale. My sister is the youngest.” Vale tries so hard to keep me in the family fold, like she’s the mother hen when she’s the baby chick. “She’s a physical therapist. And a single mom.”

From there, I detail all my nieces and nephews, who goes with whom, and who has life partners.