Page 99 of See It Through
Cormac stole my phoneout of my hand. “Nope.”
“Hey! What’s the problem?” I held my hand out, palm up. “Give it to me.”
“Not happening.” He tucked my phone in his pocket. “You haven’t stopped looking at it since I got here.”
“That’s an exaggeration. I’m just replying to Remi. It would be rude not to.” I picked up a dart and waved it at him. “Hand over the phone, bucko, and no one gets hurt.”
My brother laughed, but he wasn’t budging. And maybe he was right. I was more than a little bit enamored with my man. Like most things, when I was into something, I was all the way in, and everything else fell by the wayside.
Since the night Remi read Graham’s letter, he’d opened up to me in a way I hadn’t thought he could. We’d been raw, real, and honest with one another, and that had made me fall so deeply in love with him, I couldn’t begin to know how I’d find my way out if I’d one day have to. But I trusted Remi through and through. In my heart, I knew I was safe to keep falling, and he’d be right there along with me.
After a couple solid weeks of living in coupledom bliss, it was time to come up for air and give some attention to the other people in our lives. So, when Cormac asked me to meet him at Joy’s for dinner and a couple rounds of darts, I accepted. This had been our thing for the past few years. Even though peeling myself away from Remi had been torture, it was better to keep the balance. Besides, Remi was hanging with Caleb at the ranch, and that made me happy for them both.
“Fine,” I huffed, setting down the dart to pinch Cormac’s bearded cheek. “It’s a good thing you’re so adorable, or I’d be mad at you.”
He swatted my hand away. “One, you gotta stop pinching my cheeks, Banana. You may have noticed I’m a full-fledged adult now.”
“Pfft. You’re a cute little baby.”
My brother rolled his eyes. “Too far.”
“You’re the babiest brother I have,” I countered.
“True. Caleb sprung out fully grown.”
I giggled and played along. “With a beard too.”
He slung his arm around my neck, grinning down at me. “I like you like this, you know.”
“Like what?”
“Happy. You had a long, stormy year, but I think you turned a corner and found the sunshine. I can see it in your eyes. You’re really happy.”
I leaned into him, my chest a little tight and a lot warm. “I am, Maccie. I never would have predicted I’d find it with him, but…”
“Sometimes the best things in life are ones you don’t see coming, huh?”
“I think so.”
Shattering glass at the front of the bar grabbed our attention. I gasped as Alice fell down on her butt and Cleve went tumbling after her. By sheer luck, he splattered on the ground beside her.
Cormac moved before I could, hurrying toward the broken glass and sprawled bodies. But Christine got there first, and instead of helping her husband up, she gave him a swift kick to the ribs.
“You fuckin’ drunk,” she slurred. “Look what you did. Now we’ll have to pay for all these glasses you broke.”
From behind me came a bitter remark I did not need to turn around to recognize. “Oh my, how tragic. A drunk old man tripped over a mouse.”
The accompanying laugh was just as recognizable. “So tragic.”
“That’s whatIsaid, Tina.”
“I know. I was agreeing with you, Teller.”
Rolling my eyes, I walked away from the terrible twosome without giving them a backward glance and joined Cormac in helping Alice to her feet. She seemed dazed, patting herself to check for glass or wounds, maybe. Avoiding eye contact like it was her job.
Joy rushed over, bundling Alice in her arms and walking her away from the mess. “It’s all right, honey. Don’t worry your pretty little head about this.”
Groaning, Cleve attempted to pull himself off the floor without much luck. His feet slipped out from under him, and even though Cleve was lower than scum, had tried to run me off the road, had potentially been harassing me, and had definitely been trying to poach my clients for months, Cormac was ever our father’s son, offering the man a hand. Once Cleve was mostly steady on his feet, my brother wiped his hand on his jeans and steered me away as Cleve and Christine started hissing at each other.