The Ex Files (Ocean View #1)(43)

“Tara! He’s never going to want to talk to us if this is how you act.”

“Fine. So, Luke, anything new and exciting going on in your life you’d just so happen to like tell us about and ask for our sisterly advice on?” She points her eyes to Quinn with a ‘Happy now?’ look, and Q just rolls her eyes.

“Tell us what’s going on, bro.”

I sigh, not sure where to start. “It’s the matchmaker.”

“Got that much. What about her?” I wander to the corner holding old children’s books and flip through a few.

“She’s it.” I feel dumb saying it out loud, but it’s… it’s the truth. Cassandra is what my mom was to my dad. I’ve fought the knowledge for a week, feeling crazy all the same. But something sparked when I found her on the side of the road. When I was amused by her attitude and anxiety. It escalated on our first date when I forced her to open up to me, when she blended so well with my friends, enjoying herself once she loosened up. The final nail was our night together, learning her body and seeing how fucking well she suits me. But her hesitance. Her fear, regardless of how warranted it is…

“She’s it?” Quinn is confused, but Tara’s staring at me because she knows. When Tara met Chris, she didn’t bother to fight it, knowing from seeing our parents it was a useless battle. She met him when she was 20, and it’s been him for 20 years now. It’s a family blessing and a curse to have seen that magic growing up and know it’s possible—to know it’s out there.

“She’s it,” Tara says, her eyes locked on me.

“Yeah.” Something in my voice clues in Quinn, and her face softens, eyes melting with understanding.

“Oh my god, Luke!”

“She’s scared. She doesn’t know,” I say with some frustration, running a hand through my hair and shutting the book about mother ducklings and starting to pace.

“So tell her.”

“Not that easy, Q. Not everyone grew up in our house. It’s crazy to anyone else. Her dad’s a fuckup—left her mom for a hidden mistress when she left for college. It destroyed her mom. He’s on his third wife. Her job is to meet and filter out scumbags. She’s got… she has ideas of the kind of people men are.”

“I mean, it seems valid. So, what? She won’t date you? You’re not like that at all.” Quinn is getting frustrated for me, ready to go to war if needed to protect her little brother. It’s sweet but unnecessary.

“Well… not quite.”

“She’s going to date you?” Tara asks now.

“Not quite.”

“Jesus, Luke, spit it out.”

“She only does two dates. She’s got these rules. To protect herself or for her job, who knows. But they exist. I’ve made her break all of them already.” I smile with manly pride, and my sisters roll their eyes at me, probably knowing already what I’m saying. “But we’ve had two dates.”

“But she’s it!”

“I convinced her to give me a third. In two weeks, for her dad’s wedding. So we’re… tentatively together for the next two weeks.”

“Just two weeks?”

“I know it’s going to be more than two weeks. She doesn’t.” My gut sinks, wondering if I’m wrong, knowing I’m going to fight for this but letting her think I’m accepting the scraps she can give me. “Is that wrong?”

My sisters simultaneously answer.

“Yes,” Quinn says.

“No,” Tara disagrees.

“Look, I get it. But if she’s hesitant, is it smart to get caught up in that? Not to mention, she might get really pissed when those two weeks are over and you’re expecting more.” I nod. Because she will, undoubtedly. She’s convinced herself she’s fine alone, that she’s happy setting others up and getting nothing for herself. But I know she feels it too.

“Yeah, but if the reason she says no is she’s scared, wouldn’t it make sense to ease her into it? Let her get used to it in a way she’s comfortable with?” Tara asks. That’s what I was thinking.

“It just seems like a situation where everyone could get hurt.”

“But isn’t there also the chance for everyone to win? And isn’t that the point of it all? That careful balance when you’re falling in love. One wrong step, and it’s all over. But if you can walk the tightrope together, it’s beautiful.”

“But every part of this could be the mistake which ends it. I don’t know. I don’t know the girl. But if she’s hesitant and nervous already…,” her voice trails off.

“This is really not helpful at all, you guys,” I say, staring at my sisters who are arguing as if I’m not there. Both heads pop up to look at me.

“Sorry, Luke. Look. I just want you to be happy. I don’t want to see you hurt. And that look in your eyes… you’re already in deep.”

“So let’s ignore the fact I could get hurt. Let’s pretend that it’s less a question about if she’ll be okay with me and date me for real, but when.” My sisters look at each other, then at me. “In that case, how do I play this?” They do some kind of mental talk I could never do, some bond I think must be formed between sisters, before Quinn nods, and they both turn to me.