That Secret Crush (Getting Lucky #3)(6)

Exciting plans.

“Do you want company? Rogan and I can come with you.” After years of being separated from her high school sweetheart and enduring one of the most tragic breakups I’ve ever witnessed, Harper finally got back together with her longtime love, Rogan Knightly, a few months ago. And they are sickeningly cute together.

I’m not jealous of their love. Not even a little.

Okay, maybe a tiny bit.

But my happiness for her definitely wins out. Even though Harper is two years older than me, she took me under her wing when we were young. We bonded over the insufferable Knightly brothers and were always running into each other over at the Knightly house. We spent many nights hanging out in the living room while the boys were forced to clean the kitchen after a big meal, talking about everything and anything that came to mind and solidifying our bond for life.

I shake my head. “No, that’s okay. I’ll just be a sobbing mess anyway.”

“You shouldn’t have to go alone.”

Yeah, I agree—Eric should be there with me, but when I asked him if he was coming home this weekend, he said he couldn’t get the time off. I want to believe him—I truly do—and most of me does. But a small part of me believes that if he asked, if he actually spoke to his manager about the importance of this weekend, he would be here.

But like always, Eric just pushed the hard stuff under the rug and walked by without a second glance. Despite being twins, we sure do have different ways of dealing with the unfortunate and devastating moments in our lives. While I take situations head-on, Eric hides.

It’s why he and Reid barely speak anymore.

It’s why he avoids my phone calls and texts.

And it’s why he hasn’t been home since Dad passed.

Losing Dad and then, only a few months later, losing the restaurant put a pretty big rift between the two of us. Yeah, we still talk and support each other, but I can tell Eric can’t bear to see me face to face, not after the promise he broke, the promise that was supposed to set our future . . . my future. Unfortunately the night they closed Bar 79 was the night I lost my confident brother forever, and I know him well enough to understand that seeing me just reminds him of everything he’s lost.

“It’s really okay. I’m good. But thank you.”

Victoria frowns. “Well, I think Rylee was planning on having the girls over tomorrow night. If you need a drink or three, you should come join us.”

Rylee is the local romance author; she met a guy at a wedding she was crashing for research and ended up marrying him. Beck Wilder . . . sigh, the rebel from out of town. Superhot with a heart of gold. They have triplets, and every month, Beck takes them over to her parents’, which lets them host a blessedly kid-free get-together with friends.

“Who’s going to be there?”

“Ren, Harper, Zoey, Rylee, of course, and myself.” Victoria brings her hand to her chest. “And I think Jen Knightly.”

“Ruth isn’t going?” I ask, thinking of the local coffee shop owner, who’s become a key member of our growing group.

“I think she has a date,” Harper says with a smirk.

“Oh yeah? With who?”

“She wouldn’t say, but I’m pretty sure it’s a guy she met online. She’s been messaging back and forth with him for a bit. She’s pretty excited.”

“Good for her,” I say. “She’s been hung up on Brig Knightly for a while, so I’m glad she’s finally venturing out.”

“Poor thing has no idea everyone in town knows. Well, everyone but Brig. And I agree; she needs to move on. Sure, Brig’s going to be my brother-in-law soon, but he’s a blind idiot when it comes to love.”

“Which is so strange, don’t you think?” Victoria asks, taking a small sip of her drink, fingers poised on the straw, one pinkie sticking up in the air. “That man is living out his very own romantic comedy, and yet he can’t figure out how to find love and hold on to it.”

“Don’t you get it, Victoria?” I lean across the bar and glance around the room to make sure no one’s listening. “It’s the curse.”

“Oh good gracious,” she huffs with an accompanying eye roll. “The Knightly curse, can’t ever forget about that.”

“It’s so real, according to Brig,” Harper says, chuckling. “He lives and breathes by that thing. Didn’t you hear about the witch doctor he went to the other day to ‘expel’ the curse?”

“He did not.” A snort pops out of me. “Oh shit, that’s amazing. Did the doctor say anything?”

“Sent him home with some oils and bundles of sticks to burn, apparently to clear out his aura. Griffin took the sticks. He said that, as a volunteer firefighter, he couldn’t in good conscience let his brother burn those things in his house.”

“Thank God for Griff. With how chaotic and intense Brig is about the curse, I could easily see him burning down his apartment.”

“Easily.” Harper laughs.

“So,” Victoria says, “are you going to come tomorrow? I think Rylee is serving nonalcoholic beverages as well per my request, if you’re not up for drinking.”

“Oh, I’ll be up for drinking; there’s no doubt about that. And yeah, I think I’ll stop by later on. Better than wallowing away in my apartment, right?”