Secrets of the World's Worst Matchmaker (The Baileys Book 7), стр. 15
She buries her head into my neck, her fingernails clawing at my shirt as if a black bear is ready to attack us. “They left me. How could they leave me?”
I hold her while her tears soak my shirt.
As the sun sets and the air gets cooler, Grandma Dori yells from the bottom of the tree. “Juno!”
Juno straightens her back, swipes her tears away, and puts on an act. “Yes, Grandma?”
“Come eat now, you’ve been up there long enough.”
“Coming.” She hurriedly puts her shoes back on, struggling with the small buckle until I finally take over and do it for her. “Friends forever, right?”
I nod and she smiles, tossing the ladder through the opening and climbing down from the treehouse.
Once she’s gone, I whisper, “But what if I like you more than a friend?”
Eight
Juno
On Saturday evening, I walk out of my room and find Kingston sitting on the couch, gaming. Since it’s spring and he works as a smoke jumper, in a few weeks, he’ll probably be gone more than he’s home.
He looks me up and down with raised eyebrows. “Where are you going?”
“I have a date.” I walk over to my purse and shove my lipstick into the clutch.
Brooklyn has the perfect crossbody purse to go with my outfit, but I didn’t call her to borrow it because I haven’t told anyone I’m going on a date. Mostly because they’ll look at me like Kingston is right now. That look that says, “What the hell are you doing, Juno?”
“Not with Colton?” He’s turned back to his game now, his thumbs pressing buttons a million times in a row. Obviously, from the shorts and shirt he’s wearing, he’s not planning on going out tonight.
“I assume Colton is going out with his soon-to-be wife.” I slide into the kitchen, needing to get rid of the nerves that won’t stop making me feel as though my salad from lunch wants to come back up. I haven’t been on an actual date in a long time. Trey wasn’t a date; he was a hook-up. A mistake, really, because I didn’t think I’d have to see him in Lake Starlight as much as I do.
I crack open a beer and come back into the room.
“You haven’t shut that down yet? I thought maybe you guys figured your shit out the night of the baby shower.” His eyes stay fixed on whatever war game he’s playing.
“I wouldn’t sleep with someone who’s getting married.” I act offended, but the truth is I would have, and I can’t get over what a horrible person I am for that.
He tosses the controller next to him on the couch. “Fuck. I’m dead.”
Standing, he disappears into the kitchen and, from the sound of it, gets himself a beer.
He sits back down and stares at me. “So who’s the new guy?”
That’s the Kingston we all know and love. He never digs too deep into any of our business. Just prods our shells gently in case we feel like opening up and talking. Sometimes I think he doesn’t push because he doesn’t want the questions poised back at him.
“A guy who came in to be matched,” I say.
“I thought rule number one was not to date the clients?” He tips back his beer, then grins.
“Well, I’m amending that rule for when you feel sorry for yourself and a guy seems pretty smitten with you. I need to move on with my life. I mean…” Sometimes Kingston is so easygoing, he makes it too comfortable to unload on him.
“I’m not quite sure you understand that you’re not hiding your feelings for Colton from anyone. Maybe they’re new to you, but all of us have always known.”
I throw the beer cap at him and he catches it flawlessly. Too bad he couldn’t have continued with baseball and gone pro like Austin wanted him to do instead of endangering his life every smoke jumping season as though he doesn’t care whether he lives or dies.
“What happened to my brother who doesn’t want to talk about shit? You just threw two axes my way. You trying to open me up?”
He chuckles and sets his beer on the table, lifting his phone from the table. “I like Colton and I think you’re making a huge mistake by letting him marry that French chick.”
“Her name is Brigette.”
“Her name should be stuck in the middle. She probably has no idea what she’s in the middle of between you two. It’s always been you and Colton. Hell, he taught me how to shave. Remember that?”
I laugh because I remember when Colton offered without me even asking. Austin was so busy raising all of us and the twins were causing trouble somewhere and Kingston was being made fun of about his barely-there mustache. “I do.”
“I still managed to cut myself five times.”
“Maybe he wasn’t that good of a teacher.”
“I think if you really dig deep, you’re going to figure out the date you should be on tonight is with Colton.”
“Are you attending psychology classes in your free time?”
He shakes his head and picks up his phone. “Nah, but I have a lot of time for self-examination in my job. I think I’m growing up even though you guys still think of me as some ten-year-old.”
I finish my beer as the buzzer of our door rings.
Kingston stands. “I got this.”
“You’re going to act like the overprotective brother?” I follow him to the door.
“For Colton’s sake. Yes.” He presses the buzzer with a, “What?”
I roll my eyes.
Kingston presses the button to let in my date. I forgot I had wanted to ask Kingston something else. I thought of a way to salvage my business since I’m now going on a date with my only potential client.
“Hey, I was thinking that to drum up some business, maybe I’d host