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I want to text him back, but Devon is hovering over us. It’s not going to happen right now.
“Hey, Aaron,” he calls to his friend as he puts his arms around us. “Did I ever tell you I have two sisters? Aren’t they awesome?”
Aaron looks squarely at Lisa. Yep, something’s going on between them for sure. Or if it hasn’t happened yet, it will.
“Yeah, pretty awesome,” he says.
My brother looks between Aaron and Lisa. “Ooooh, I saw that look. Better be careful with her, bro. I don’t want to have to school you.”
Lisa swats him.
“Can you please play overprotective brother with your real sister?”
Devon places his hand on his heart, as if wounded. “Me? Overprotective? Never.”
If that were true, I wouldn’t have had to put Enzo in my back pocket. A vibration tells me he texted again, and my fingers are itching to check it, to text him back.
But tonight is about Devon.
“Chari, am I overprotective?” he asks.
As if he could reasonably expect me to deny it. I grab my wine and take a sip in answer.
“Hey, come on. Stick up for your big brother here?”
Lisa clears her throat, and guilt rushes through me. I feel bad she has to hide my secret from him. I really do need to tell Devon about Enzo. Not that we’re officially dating or anything, but I am going on an international trip with him next week. Devon is sure to notice that. Despite Enzo’s worry, I just can’t keep a secret from my brother. Though I do wonder how Devon will react.
I guess we’ll find out in two days. It probably is silly to wait until after his birthday, but what will two days matter?
Another text.
“Holy shit, are you kidding me?”
Devon drops his arms and looks at someone near the door. I can’t see who it is, but at least I can text Enzo back.
But first I turn around to see who Devon is looking at.
“Two times in a month. What the hell are you doing here?”
I try to lift myself up from the barstool to see, but it’s crowded and I can’t get the angle right. “Who is it?”
“And thanks for those tickets. That’s one hell of a birthday present.”
No. It can’t be . . .
I grab my phone from my jeans and look at it before I can actually see him.
Are you still at The Wheelhouse? Have a surprise.
It’s Enzo.
15
Enzo
Imust be crazy. But it’s not like I was accomplishing anything anyway. After an hour of staring at my laptop—or more accurately, staring at the spot on my couch where Chari came apart in my hands two weeks ago—I made a decision. It was late enough that it wouldn’t take my driver long to get out of the city. I figured I could see her, celebrate with Devon, check on Tris’s restaurant, and head straight to the lab first thing in the morning. Plus I could get some work done on the way there and back.
I called my mother from the car to let her know what I was planning. Or at least to tell her I’d probably be staying at the house tonight. She, of course, suspects something.
