America's Geekheart (Bro Code #2)(49)

“I eats ketsbup on my hambagurger,” James says.

“Little man, you have taste. Hank, grab a ketchup bottle while you’re in the fridge.”

“I didn’t know he was having a party,” I say quietly to Charlie.

She snorts softly. “Unplanned, but once you’ve been around long enough, you learn to anticipate it. If it wasn’t a workday, they’d be all over the game room and Ellie and Wyatt would be here too. And Davis isn’t usually here on a weekday. That’s odd.”

“Night shift,” he tells her while he grabs a spoon and dishes up some couscous. “Remotely.”

She’s still squinting at him like it’s weird.

“He’s a secret agent,” June tells me.

Davis rolls his eyes.

“Double major in computer science and nuclear engineering,” June adds. “Total recipe for him to be a secret agent. But we pretend we don’t know and buy into his story about working for that nuclear reactor south of the city to keep the feds off our tails.”

“You’re insane,” Hank tells her.

“You’re just mad you didn’t come up with the conspiracy theory first,” Charlie says.

June nods. “What she said.”

Hank grunts and turns his back to the women to grab a plate.

Levi and Tripp demand I sit between them in the airy dining room, which also has floor-to-ceiling windows, but these overlook the rest of the downtown skyscrapers. Mink Arena peeks through the buildings, though I can’t see Duggan Field at all.

The brothers pepper me with questions about where I went to school, how long I’ve been in Copper Valley, where I lived in town before I bought my house, how long I’ve kept bees, and when I started blogging.

It’s unlike any party I’ve ever been to with famous people, because nobody mentions movie roles, agents, managers, endorsement deals, or gossip rags. Mostly. Davis does pull up a seat at the end of the table and fist-bumps Levi for having another number one hit on the Billboard charts.

But that’s it before the talk turns to last night’s baseball game.

“Nice job shoving that funnel cake in Beck’s face,” Levi tells me. “We’ve all wanted to do it a time or two.”

“She had to seize the moment,” Tripp says. “Especially since the Fireballs probably won’t last another season.”

“Wait, what?” I ask.

He hands Emma a plate of mashed up chicken, vegetables, and couscous. “It’s like management is trying to make them lose so Copper Valley will kick them out. They need new owners.”

He slides a look at Levi, who ducks his head, but I don’t miss the other looks going around the table. Between Beck and Davis. The Rivers brothers. June and Tripp.

Even Charlie’s stopped clicking away at her phone, like she’s supposed to be taking notes, or maybe she’s mentally filing them away.

These people can talk without saying a word.

A chill slinks down my spine, because that’s tight. Not blood tight. Family tight.

And I feel like I’m eavesdropping on a conversation that I’m not supposed to know exists.

“Oh, for goodness sakes, boys, get your elbows off the table,” Mrs. Ryder says, breaking up the silent conversation that wasn’t really a conversation, and I surreptitiously remove mine as well. But when she beams at me, I get the feeling I could leap onto the table and do the MC Hammer dance naked and she’d think I was still just utterly perfect. “Sarah, where did you say you went to college? It’ll be so nice for Ellie to have someone to talk to about work. Not that Wyatt doesn’t listen, of course, but it’s hard for her to make girlfriends sometimes. People always want to talk to her about Beck, and they never stop to get to know her first.”

I can’t decide if I want to cry or hug her, because she clearly gets it. What it’s like to be liked for who you’re related to instead of who you are.

“Mom, Ellie’s been in two weddings in the last year,” Beck points out.

“But not for female engineers.”

“She smells fresh blood,” Levi tells me, hitching his chin toward Mrs. Ryder while I blink away the sting in my eyes. “Since Ellie’s basically committing incest with marrying Wyatt—”

“Oh, stop.” She points a fork at him. “They are not related.”

“It would be like her marrying me,” Davis says. “And Ellie’s my sister too.”

Everyone stops and looks at him, then a wave of laughter rolls through the open rooms. The amusement is so thick, it’s practically lifting a level of atmospheric pressure. I feel ten pounds lighter, which is something of a relief after the weird tension about the baseball thing and my sudden attack of feelings about inherently realizing that I can trust every single person in this room.

It’s weird. But good. No one here cares who my parents are. They don’t care how awkward I was in high school and before. They’re not angling for anything. And they have each other’s backs, and they’ve adopted me too.

“So Wyatt’s in no danger of losing Ellie to Davis?” I ask Levi.

“None of us are, and to Davis least of all. She used to babysit him.”

“She did not,” June says. “She was too young.” She turns to me. “Don’t listen to anything any of these guys tell you. They’re complete looneys. All of them.”