Page 87 of The Best I Never Had

“Hey, hot stuff,” I whisper when I get close.

Owen’s throat bobs, but he doesn’t look my way. “Hey, Thea.”

Well … that’s strange. Owen’s always the one watching me, sending me secret smiles and covert winks. Now, he won’t even look at me, and my stomach twists into knots.

“You okay?” I ask.

“Yeah, I’m good.” He says, eyes still on the chairs. “Tommy, can you come unload these? I need to roll in some more tables.”

“You got it,” Tommy calls out, jogging over to the cart.

Owen claps him on the shoulder, then walks out of the ballroom.

And he still hasn’t looked at me.

What the fuck?

This is what I asked for. I told him we needed to keep everything between us quiet, that we couldn’t risk getting caught when we’re so close to making it through. I’m sure that’s all this is. How can I get upset at him for respecting my wishes?

Still, I can’t get my nervous system to listen to my very logical reasoning. I’m jumpy, and I need to find something else to focus on, or I’ll spend the entire afternoon fixating on nothing. Camila’s across the room, set up with a clipboard and ordering people around, the only thing that will keep her pregnant ass stuck to the chair Mira pulled over for her. Addy’s looking over the list with her.

“Where’s Diana?” I ask as I pull another chair next to them.

Camila winces. “She’s in bed with a migraine.”

The way she says the word “migraine” makes it clear she doesn’t believe it.

“She does this sometimes,” Camila continues. “Adrian—that’s my oldest brother who you probably haven’t met yet—said he overheard Aunt Diana yelling at Owen about something in the kitchen this morning. Whenever she gets upset, she needs time to ‘convalesce,’ which is code, in my opinion, for guilting Owen into doing whatever she wants.”

Owen’s across the ballroom, and I clock the tightness of his shoulders and the straight line of his mouth. I hate that I can’t go up to him, take his hand between mine, and ask what happened.

Gabriel pops up beside me, breaking my focus on Owen and bobbing his eyebrows. “We’ve got everything set up for that sound check and rehearsal.”

I groan, dropping my head back even as a warmth blooms inside me. A part of me thought he’d forget, that it was part of his ploy to mess with Owen by flirting with me. It’s shocking that there’s a place on the stage for me even after he’s pulled back on all that.

He quirks that adorable smile, his blue-green eyes twinkling. “It’s always been my dream to sing with my wife.”

Okay, so mostly pulled back on the flirting.

Addy looks between us, her brows knitted together. “I thought you decided not to sing with them?”

“I thought it was okay,” I say in response, and Addy pastes on that fake smile. I hate the number of times I’ve been on the receiving end of it this week.

“Of course it’s okay. Have fun.”

She walks away to tick off one of the two thousand items on her to-do list without another word, and suddenly the ballroom is too cold. I have to make this better.

“Hey, Gabe,” I say, pulling him to a stop on his way to the stage.

“Yes, darling.”

I roll my eyes, but can’t stop my smile. “I’ll still sing with you, but I have a condition.”

I fill him in on the idea while we walk over to the stage. The band and I chatted about their set list earlier, but this is our first time singing together. We dive into a few of the songs I know well. There are some hiccups, but once we get into the swing of it, I have the time of my life. The cousins stop setting up to watch us, even as Camila yells from her perch about the schedule. I have no illusions about the quality of our music. It’s passable. We won’t be signing any recording contracts, but it’s fun. We’re playing off each other, and I feel like I’m wanted and appreciated as Gabriel compliments me for the fortieth time.

My eyes track Owen in the crowd—the only cousin who keeps working. The temptation to jump off the stage and grab him, to force him to stop being so responsible all the time, is almost too much.

“How’re we doing, Ellises?” I call into the mic, and they cheer. “We have a treat for you, but to make it happen, we need your help. I’m sure you’ve all been dreaming about my much more talented sister’s voice since the bar. She’s been busy with wedding stuff, but she deserves some fun, too. Can y’all help me get her up here?”