Page 60 of Unravel Me

“Well, that is true.” His mom laughs. “But if that’s something to eat in there, this will also be the first time Rhett ever showed up with food.”

I hand her the cookies, following them to the backyard where Jessie and Jenna hang off Rhett like a tree. His grin is ear-to-ear, and my heart unexpectedly flutters. Not sure what to make of that. Or any of this, really.

“They might be their uncle's biggest fan.” Desi saddles up next to me at the long table on the back patio. Renee is at the grill, which is full of vegetables, presumably from her garden.

“As if his ego wasn’t already through the roof.”

Desi laughs, her smile the same as her brother’s. Charming and coy. “Oh, I like you. Let me get you a drink. Red or white wine?”

“Red, please!”

As soon as the glass is in my hand, Desi turns to me again.

“So, tell me about yourself. We only just found out my brother had a girlfriend this week.” She creases her eyebrows. “I’m sorry. Is that the label y’all prefer?”

“Oh, it’s fine. It’s all really new,” I reassure her, adjusting my gold necklace. I tell Desi the polite stuff; what I do for work, where I'm from, where I live.

“Dinner is ready! Come on girls!” Renee calls out, and everyone joins Desi and I at the table.

Rhett wasn’t kidding. The meal looks incredible, and I have to stop myself from complementing every single dish as it makes its way around the table.

“So, did you finish the bookshelves yet?” Desi asks her brother as everyone dives into the food.

Rhett shakes his head. “I finished cutting the trim today, but I have to put it all together. End of the week it should be done.”

“Have you seen Rhett’s work? He calls himself a carpenter, but he is really talented with small details and millwork.”

“Damn Desi, who paid you to be nice to me?” Rhett taunts and his niece’s eyebrows spring up.

“You cussed, Uncle Rhett! You owe us a dollar!” they say in unison.

He narrows his eyes at his sister who shrugs before pulling out his wallet and handing a dollar over to the enamored six-year-olds.

“He did show me the custom front door he was working on this weekend...but I haven’t seen his finished work,” I added.

“He has a new client in Forest Hills, you know that neighborhood with the multi-million-dollar homes?” his sister adds, and my hands freeze midair, but I nod, heat pooling in my neck. Forest Hills, where I owned a house I hated, one Rhett didn’t even know about. “Rhett recently did stunning custom work in one of the luxury apartment buildings downtown, too, the historic one. Uhm…Brecken Building I think it’s called…and the owner didn’t even thank him, write a review or anything. I know the money is good, but those people suck—”

“Desi.” Rhett’s deep voice cuts his sister off.

“Sorry. I get carried away.” Desi flashes a smile at me, and I swallow a sip of wine, my throat still tight. Rhett’s fork hovers over his plate and I press my leg into him by accident.

“You know, you two never said how you met,” Renee chimes in.

I open my mouth, but Rhett beats me to the answer.

“Audrey lived in a building I was doing work on. The Brecken Building.” He pointedly says to his sister, and now I do shove my leg into his on purpose.

Desi stops chewing, looking up at me, her cheeks pink.

“Oh, my god. I am so sorry, Audrey. I didn’t mean anything by that. I’m just protective of my brother. Really, I’m sorry.”

Rhett clears his throat, and I dramatically shake my head. “Don’t even worry about it. The thing is, you’re not entirely wrong about the people in that building…” I take another sip of wine, desperately needing a refill. “I actually moved out of there recently.”

“Oh!” Renee gestures her fork between Rhett and I. “Are you two moving in together?”

Again, I vigorously shook my head.

“Oh no! No. I moved in with my best friend. I’m still downtown.”