Page 40 of The Best I Never Had

When I shake my head, he pops up, unfazed by my rejection. “If you won’t marry me, at least say you’ll sing with us again.”

I slip my arm through Addy’s. “The Pappas Sisters were a one-time engagement.”

Gabriel clasps his hands together. “Oh come on, pleeeeease?”

I look over at Addy to find her eyes shining. This is what she’s always wanted, a giant family filled with love and enthusiasm.

“I wish we could,” she says, “but I’ll be so busy with wedding stuff.”

Gabriel lifts his hand. “You can’t, but we’re asking Thea.”

The muscles of Addy’s arm go rigid under my hand, and for the first time since this little golden retriever came back into my life, I don’t find that eager energy cute. “What the fuck, Gabriel?”

“What?” he asks, looking around the group. “What’d I do wrong?”

Camila’s rubbing a hand down her face while Addy looks anywhere but me and Gabriel. I hate seeing Addy like this, the way she makes herself smaller so she doesn’t cause any problems. I wish the family saw the way she was at Sliding Rock, her delighted laugh drawing stares and smiles from everyone around her. She should be admired.

Ire drips from my tone. “Walk through everything you said. If you don’t see where you went wrong by the end, you’re just a dick.”

Gabriel’s eyes go a bit hazy as he walks through the conversation in his head, then a silent oh shapes his lips. He takes both of Addy’s hands between his.

“That wasn’t how I meant it. Your voice is beautiful. Better than Thea’s, even.” Camila coughs, and when Gabriel glances over at her, she shakes her head. “Or, not better than Thea’s”—another cough—“or as good as Thea’s because we’re not comparing?” He looks at his big sister again, who nods. “I just know you won’t want to perform at your own wedding, right?”

Addy’s smile is more genuine than she usually gives new people. “I get it.”

“We’re good?” he asks, all puppy-dog eyes and pouty lips.

“We’re good,” she answers.

He throws his arm around her shoulders, releasing a whooshing sound. “Good! I can’t have my future sister-in-law hating me! Now, future wife, is that a yes or no?”

Addy steps out from under Gabriel’s arm. “You can. If you want to. You had so much fun up there.”

I nudge her. “Nah, I’m here for you.”

“So? That doesn’t mean you can’t perform with us. We’re the wedding band. It’ll help with your sister’s wedding stuff!”

His eagerness is sweet, but it’s not going to happen. “Sorry, I’m booked.”

He pouts, kicking his feet as he walks away from me. It’s silly, but it feels good to be wanted. Most of the cousins’ attention is driven by my past—or perceived past—with Owen, but every one of them seems genuinely interested in learning more. For someone who has always either flown under the radar or been considered a problem child, it’s a strange but thrilling change.

It isn’t until we’re all stumbling out of the bar that I realize none of them yelled at me for snapping. Camila backed me up. Gabriel apologized. It lights something up in me, a warm ember of contentment.

But that warmth is nothing compared to the fire under my skin when we head back to the bus, Owen leaning against the side of the door while everyone files in. When it’s my turn, Owen takes my hand, helping me step up.

I look over my shoulder at him, but his expression is composed, like touching me doesn’t turn him into a human flame like it does me.

“Thank you,” I say quietly.

“You’re welcome.”

His smile is cordial, all the fire from earlier wiped away. Maybe I imagined it. A hallucination fueled by my unfulfilled sex drive and Owen’s tempting face. But then I glance back—one last look before I turn down the aisle because I can’t seem to help myself—just in time to see Owen’s hand flex.

And I spend the thirty-minute drive back up the mountain thinking about nothing but that hand.

An hour later, I’ve changed out of my tight jeans into my comfortable sleep shorts and hoodie. I almost crawl into bed and pray for a dreamless sleep, but I promised myself I’d keep an eye on job listings while I was here. The catering jobs work for now, but I don’t want to do that forever.

The service is so bad in my room I can’t get the employment website to load. Instead of taking that as a sign that I should go to bed and deal with it tomorrow, I go out into the hallway, sitting with my back against the door and holding my phone up until the website gets enough juice to load.