Page 71 of Dad Next Door
“Like what? I need some happy news after this week.”
“Apparently Simon and Jace had a big argument on Sunday. Leo didn’t hear what they were saying, but he said Jace stormed out and didn’t come home until Wednesday. When he did, it was with some ginormous friends, Leo’s words, and he gave Simon a letter and said he was moving out.”
“Wow. That’s cold. A letter?”
“A handwritten one. Leo found pieces of it in the garbage after Simon ripped it up. He didn’t read it because it was in cursive, but he said it was long, like multiple pages.”
I laughed into my pizza. “I love this for him. The king of sending letters when he has a temper tantrum got a handwritten breakup letter.”
My sister grinned. “He certainly had the day he deserved.” She glanced around, like she was making sure Leo wasn’t in earshot. “What do you think pushed Jace over the edge? It had to be the wedding, right? What didn’t you tell me?”
“Nothing. I told you everything. We went, Quinn was the perfect date, Simon did his posturing thing, then we left.”
“Yeah, I know all that. But you never told me how you and Quinn went from a fake date to seeing each other.”
“It’s nothing crazy. We just realized that our date wasn’t fake after all.”
“That’s so sweet. And totally not the whole story.”
“Sorry, sis. I know you love drama and gossip, but it really was that boring. We kissed while we were dancing. That’s the most dramatic thing that happened.”
She narrowed her eyes like she was trying to suss out if I was withholding anything vital. “That’s it?”
I nodded and took another big bite of my pizza.
“Well, I’m glad you two finally got your heads out of your asses and made things official.”
I choked on my pizza.
“What?” She blinked innocently. “You two are too precious for this world with your it’s-not-a-date dates and making moon eyes at each other when you thought no one was watching.” She pointed to her eyes with two fingers, then at me with one. “And I’m always watching.”
“That’s… We weren’t like that.”
She swiped the crust of my pizza out of my hand. “You mean you weren’t spending all your free time together and gushing about him incessantly when you weren’t?”
“No.”
She arched her eyebrow and took a big bite of the crust.
“No?” I repeated, not quite as confident in my answer.
“Oh, my sweet summer child,” she said when she’d swallowed. “You’re so clueless it’s adorable.”
“Shut up.” I snatched the last of the crust from her hand and shoved it into my mouth.
“I’m happy for you,” she said, her tone serious. “He’s good for you. It’s nice to see you with someone who treats you right. I know it’s only been a month, but you’re different. More like the man you were before Simon. I’ve missed that version of my brother.” She glanced at the time over the stove.
I took another bite of my food so I wouldn’t have to answer her. She wasn’t wrong. I felt different. Less stressed and more settled, even though the only thing in my life that had changed was my relationship status.
Having someone to talk things out with and get advice from made all the craziness that was my life easier to handle. I hoped I did the same for him.
“When are you leaving tomorrow?” I asked after a bite.
“Julie’s picking me up at ten. I should head out. I haven’t started packing yet.”
“I still can’t believe you’re going camping. You can’t even walk barefoot on grass without freaking out.”
“Because stepping on bugs and worms is so much fun.” She made a face. “But we’re not camping. We’re glamping. We’re talking pure luxury that just happens to be in the woods. Glamorous camping is the only way to go.”