Page 23 of From That Moment

I held back a shudder and wondered what the hell that was about.

“Not everyone has to work as fast as Arden and Cross.” Our siblings had fallen in love quite quickly with their prospective partners. I wasn’t going to fall into that trap. Not that I thought love was a trap, but I was going to take my time. I liked to date. I liked figuring out what I wanted. And I liked the fact that Allison and I were still figuring that out and thinking about it.

Great. Now I was worrying because of Nate. No, if I was honest with myself, it wasn’t only Nate. But I honestly didn’t want to be too honest with myself right then. As if we had conjured her by just talking about her, my phone buzzed. I looked down at the readout.

“Hey there, my lovely,” I said, and Nate rolled his eyes before going back to helping me set up our dinner.

“Hey, I have some bad news.”

I wasn’t surprised. Allison rarely came to family meals, and I didn’t know how to take that. She didn’t have any siblings, so she didn’t get the whole hanging-out-as-a-group thing. I got that in a way, but this was the fourth time she had canceled in a row. I didn’t know how to feel about that.

“Oh?”

“Don’t get that tone with me.”

“I didn’t know I was getting any kind of tone with you, Allison.” I started to leave the room when Nate glared at me. I flipped him off, and he grinned before leaving the room.

I took a breath. “I didn’t have a tone, Allison.”

“I have to work.”

“Now?”

“You know, not all of us have a beautiful nine-to-five job.”

I was not going to touch that with a ten-foot pole. I didn’t want to fight, mainly because the others would be here at any minute, but also, frankly, I was too tired for this crap.

“I’m sorry,” Alison said after a moment. “I’ll make it up to you,” she purred.

I held back a sigh because while the sex between us was great, nothing else seemed to be good. Maybe I was overthinking things, or perhaps everybody telling me I should be in a serious relationship by now was seeping into the rest of my thoughts. I let out a sigh and tried to figure out exactly what I was thinking.

“It’s fine. Get back to work. You can come to the next one. It might not be at my house, though. It might be at one of my brother’s or my sister’s. Is that okay?”

She was silent for a moment, and I wondered what the hell was going on.

“Of course. I can’t wait to see you again. Have fun.” And then she hung up before I could even say anything.

“You want to tell me what that was about?” Nate asked when he came back into the room, and I shook my head.

“Allison’s not coming.”

“Figured that. You guys okay?”

“Don’t know about that either,” I said honestly. “And I don’t have time to get into a deep psychological conversation about my relationship with Allison. People are going to be here any minute, and I need to check on the grill.”

“The pork’s on the smoker, right?” Nate asked, practically licking his lips.

“What do you take me for? I know how to barbecue.”

“Famous last words,” Nate said with a laugh, and I shook my head and went back out to my deck so I could work on turning some of the meat.

The smell went straight to my gut, and I growled, my mouth watering. I could not wait to dig in. We were going full-on barbecue with ribs, pulled pork, and grilled chicken. Whatever we didn’t eat, we’d have for leftovers for the next week. Plus, everyone was going to bring sides and desserts and whatever else they wanted. I wasn’t a huge fan of potlucks, but when it came to my family, I trusted them.

Mostly.

I walked back into the house and tilted my head at Cross as he walked into the house.

“Smells amazing,” Cross said, his hands full. Hazel was by his side, her hands full, as well. I laughed.