Love, Exes, and Ohs (Cactus Creek #4)(13)

She remembered.

When Xoey had found out that Cody’s birthday was only a few short months after the anniversary of his death, she’d nearly tackled Isaac in his apartment the morning of and demanded to know what his plans were for the night.

After he managed to convince her that he wasn’t going to do anything self-destructive, she told him that she wanted to have a small birthday party for Cody that weekend. It had been an oddball, slightly morbid idea that Xoey had run by his friend Tessa first.

Tessa had loved it.

Not surprising, really, seeing as how the two seemed to be cut from the same cloth in a lot of different ways. Moreover, when Xoey discovered that Tessa’s sister Willow was born in the same month as Cody, she’d decided to do a joint party.

Tessa brought her husband Brian, her stepdaughter Skylar, and their infant twins.

Isaac brought his parents, who Xoey had already gone and invited, of course.

And Xoey…well, Xoey brought a twelve-pack of seasonal Ocotillos beer and cake.

At all of their puzzled looks, she explained that since Cody had never gotten a chance to celebrate his twenty-first birthday, Xoey had scrounged up the biggest variety she could from the brewpub’s limited bottled inventory. So Cody could get to try a bunch of different brews.

Throughout the entire night, two 8x10 photos of Cody and Willow had sat beside each other, right next to the most elaborate birthday cake Isaac had ever seen.

It was funny that while Isaac and Tessa had been in a grief support group together years ago, and had stayed friends all this time, they’d never actually seen photos of their respective departed siblings until that party.

Seeing the two smiling photos together with the big cake and the case of beer had made something wide and deep crack in Isaac’s chest.

Tessa’s too, from what he could see.

Because that night, their siblings looked…happy.

Like they’d just made a new lifelong friend.

And for the first time in a long while, a new birthday memory.

There had been a number of tears shed over the beauty of it all by the end of the evening by Tessa and his parents. And an infinite number of smiles.

As for Isaac, he simply found himself falling even more in love with the woman who planned the entire special night for not just Cody and Willow, but for all of them.

So yes, of course she’d remembered.

“I’ve been putting aside a bottle of every special edition and seasonal beer we’ve brewed all year.” She beamed. “With our normal brews on tap, that’s twenty-four bottles in all.”

Knowing that Ocotillos officially manufactured less than half that amount every year made that deep, wide crack in his chest grow.

He brushed a kiss across her cheek. “Thank you.”

As he felt her soft, pouty mouth curve up into a smile, just inches from his lips, he had to clench his fists to stop himself from reaching for her.

His hands ached to slide her dark, silky hair to the side so he could chase away the dark clouds her deep chocolate-with-cinammon eyes hid so well and kiss her soft lips again and again until her throaty voice could utter nothing more than his name.

The chiming peal of Xoey’s cell phone a second later shattered the moment.

“I should probably get that. It’s Dani’s ringtone.”

“I hear she has a date lined up for you already—your handpicked Mr. Right based on that formula you came up with last night.”

A puzzled look crossed her features for a split second, before a dozen slow-rising emotions followed.

He expected her to see joy, excitement, maybe even a blush or two.

He didn’t expect her to look…sad.

“You should probably answer that, babe. Mr. Right awaits.”

He left before he could psychoanalyze his choice of words.

Because while he believed wholeheartedly in the perfection of their imperfect fit, she didn’t.

He was just one of her Mr. Wrongs.

That didn’t stop him for waiting on her, however, and hoping to hell that his heart could find some way to let her go before she went and got married to the mathematically perfect paragon.



*



XOEY LET DANI’S CALL go to voicemail.

In striking contrast to last night, which she was now remembering pretty well, the idea of going out on a bunch of blind dates that were Frankensteined combinations of her exes left a bad taste in her mouth.

It tasted like next-day tequila.

And hearing Isaac encourage her to go find her Mr. Right had simply set the alcohol on fire and sent it burning through her insides.

The gut-incinerating reminder that they were friends and nothing more was always a bitter pill—one she found near-impossible to swallow the closer they became.

Because as much as she’d never jeopardize their friendship for anything in the world, there were admitted moments of…weakness. Tougher still was the fact that there was never a consistent trigger beyond him just being him.

It wasn't just his looks. Though she’d be lying if she said she didn’t still feel her heart speed up a little whenever she saw him.

Tall, casually carefree light brown hair—a contrast to the always quietly intense look on his face—paired with a seriously ripped physique that had somehow become even more distractingly photoshopped in the last year. He was a little too tough and serious looking to be pretty, but a touch too boyish to look hardened. When it came to Isaac, while a woman could easily fall in lust at first glance, the second glance was when she’d be in real trouble.