Chapter 4
CARTER
While I wait for Theo, I scroll through real estate listings and try not to think about Miles having the same conversation he just had with me…with Theo.
What is Miles even thinking? Talking about this like he can choose a guy at random and harness him to his sister for a year.
He made it clear the plan included living with Sarah. And he has a whole list of guys he’s willing to ask? Not to mention the fact that he shouldn’t be asking at all. It should be Sarah’s choice. He shouldn’t even be having the conversation without her explicit consent.
I grumble and send my brother another text.
Carter
Are you close?
His reply pops up almost immediately.
Theo
Five minutes out.
I lean against the wall just inside the exit and flip back to real estate, and for a split second, it actually does distract me from my spiraling thoughts. A new listing just popped up, and I really like the look of it.
Big trees, a sweet pool in the backyard, and a long driveway that looks like it would provide a lot of privacy.
That’s at least one good thing about living in the city.
Our building has 24-hour security and a doorman who screens every single person who comes inside.
Everyone on staff knows Theo and me by name—even if they sometimes mix us up—and are very protective of our privacy.
Leaving that behind would mean having to consider things I’ve been able to take for granted thus far.
Still, if I want some autonomy from my brother, buying a house feels like a good way to get it.
My brother. Sarah. Miles. I groan in frustration.
I have got to be able to move on from this.
A minute later, Theo pulls up, shooting me a quick I’m here text.
I go outside and find him idling right in front of the door.
“Thanks for coming back,” I say as soon as I’m in my seat.
“No prob,” he says. “Say hi to Mom.”
“How lucky am I that I get to talk to you both for once!” she says, her voice playing through Theo’s speakers. He shoots me an apologetic look. Sorry, he mouths, but I wave away his concern.
It’s been a minute since I’ve talked to Mom.
I don’t love the timing—I’d much rather talk through the last forty-five minutes with Theo—but she’s already on the phone.
I can’t just tell her I’m not in the mood to talk.
That will only make her ask why, and the why behind my current frustration is something I definitely can’t discuss with her.
My mom is amazing, but she’s also a big talker. She likes to process verbally…with everyone. Neighbors, friends, people in the checkout line at the grocery store. The woman never meets a stranger. Which is great. Unless those strangers are hockey fans.
Ask me how I know, and I’ll point you to a Reddit thread in which the story of me wetting the bed at hockey camp when I was thirteen is described with a level of detail that could only have come from her.
According to the original poster, he sat next to Mom at a Jaguars game and got the inside scoop.
“How are you, Carter?” she asks. “I’ve already gotten an update from Theo. But what’s new with you?”
“Nothing new,” I say. “Working hard, having a good season. Life is good.”
“You sound like your brother. How’s your dating life? Have you met anyone special?”
I should have anticipated this question—it’s her favorite one to ask—but for some reason, tonight it catches me off guard. I clear my throat. “Maybe,” I say, and Theo’s eyes dart to mine.
Maybe? Why did I just say maybe?
Based on Theo’s expression, he’s wondering the same thing.
“What does ‘maybe’ mean?” Mom asks.
“Um, only that I’m not really talking about it yet, so…” I let my words trail off because what am I even doing?
I’m thinking about Sarah, but that doesn’t make any sense because I’m not dating Sarah, and if Miles has his way, she might wind up married to someone else in the very near future.
Unless she’s married to you.
The voice inside my head sounds an awful lot like my hockey captain, and I force it away.
“Oh, come on,” Mom says. “You aren’t going to tell me anything?”
“I promise you’ll be the first person I call when I have more to say,” I tell her.
“Wait, we aren’t talking about Veronica, are we?” Mom asks, and Theo chuckles.
“No, Mom. I’m not back together with Veronica.”
I haven’t seen or talked to my ex-girlfriend in almost eighteen months, but my mother seems to have an abiding fear that I am always about to get back together with her. Maybe that’s on me. I never have anyone else to tell her about.
Veronica wasn’t a bad girlfriend. She was super into hockey, at every game, cheering me on. But that was part of the problem. She was so into hockey, I could never quite tell if she was truly into me or just liked having access to the team.
Theo never trusted her, and eventually, I grew weary of her constantly asking to “go out with the guys” or “hang with the team.” It made me feel like hanging out with just me wasn’t good enough.
“Well, good,” Mom says. “You know I never trusted her.”
“I know, Mom,” I say because we’ve had this conversation at least twenty times.
I can tell she’s hesitant to let the subject go, but I also know she won’t push. She’s good like that, which I appreciate, since the minute this phone call is over, Theo is going to push me until I tell him everything.
“Okay,” Mom finally says. “Just remember my only wish is for you to be happy. That’s the only reason I ask.”
“I know,” I say. “And I don’t mind you asking.”
We chat for a few more minutes about things going on in her life. Her gardening club, her book club, the recent training she completed to be a precinct worker in the upcoming primary election.
We finally end the call when we reach our apartment building, mostly because as soon as Theo pulls into the garage, we’ll lose signal and the call will drop.
Theo doesn’t say anything until we’ve reached his parking spot. When he pulls in, I notice my truck parked in the space beside his, washed, waxed, and looking good as new. I didn’t expect the shop to deliver it until tomorrow, so it’s nice to see it’s back a day early.
Theo cuts the engine on his SUV and lets his hands fall from the steering wheel, but he doesn’t get out. “Dude, what was that?” he says, and I breathe out a sigh.
I lean back into my seat and look over at him. “I don’t even know what I was saying. After my conversation with Miles, I just…I don’t know. My brain is all messed up.”
“Are you saying there’s a connection between your conversation with Miles and you telling Mom you’ve met someone? Am I making the right leap here?”
I lift my hands in a gesture of surrender, and Theo’s eyebrows lift. “Maybe start at the beginning?”
I huff out a laugh. “You won’t believe me if I do.”
“Try me.”
It takes about ten minutes to summarize the entire conversation, and Theo sits with his mouth hanging open almost the entire time. It’s validating to know his reaction is the same as mine, so I’m surprised when he asks, “So, are you going to do it?”
I scoff. “Of course I’m not going to do it. Did you think I might?”
“I mean, not really. But you did seem to like her at the team dinner last week.”
“Sure, I liked her. Enough to ask her out on a date, not to marry her.”
“And you did just tell our mother that you met someone,” Theo presses. “I’m guessing you were thinking of her?”
“I said I maybe met someone. That I wasn’t sure what it was yet.”
Theo rolls his eyes. “Which means you must be thinking about saying yes. Somewhere in the back of your brain, you’re preparing Mom for the moment when you call her and say, Surprise! I’m getting married.”
I’m not sure I was consciously making the choice, but Theo’s words don’t sound entirely off base.
“Yeah, maybe,” I say. “But that was impulsive. If I think logically for two seconds, it’s clear I can’t actually do it. I’m not going to commit fraud.”
He studies me closely. “Because you don’t break the rules.”
I shoot him a look. “You broke enough for the both of us.”
He grins. He knows better than to deny what we both know is true. “Maybe. But do you remember the one time you did break a rule?”
I lift an eyebrow, knowing he’ll answer without more encouragement than that.
“When you pretended to be me and took my chemistry final senior year.”
I did take his chemistry final, but only because he had to pass if he wanted to graduate, and he had to graduate if he wanted to play hockey.
“That was different,” I say. “You were in no position to take that test, but that wasn’t your fault. It was less about breaking the rules and more about helping you.”
He gives me a pointed look. “But you can’t help Sarah because that would be fraud?”
I open my mouth to argue, but the words lodge in my throat.
“Honestly, I don’t blame Miles,” Theo continues. “His family has been through a lot. I’d probably try the same thing if I were in his shoes. And it’s not like you’d be giving up some wildly active dating life. I can’t even remember the last time you took someone out.”
He’s not wrong, but it’s still not the reaction I expected from Theo. For the first time, he has me considering—truly considering—what it might look like if I actually said yes.
Nine months to a year isn’t a very long time. But no. Marriage is a big deal. And immigration fraud is a felony.
“It’s not the same thing,” I say. “I’d be putting my career on the line.”
“Only if you get caught. And come on. I saw the two of you together. It wouldn’t be a struggle to pretend you’re in love.”
Heat spreads behind my ribs at the thought, but feeling a spark of attraction is not the same thing as pretending to be in love. No matter what my subconscious brain made me admit to Mom, this is a much bigger deal than Theo is making it seem.
I look over at my brother. “Miles said he had a few other people he was going to ask. He mentioned you. Asked me if I thought you would say yes.”
Theo studies me carefully. “I think I know better than to even consider it.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means you obviously like her, and I would never make you watch her pretend to love me.”
I unbuckle my seatbelt and climb out of the car, grabbing my bag and tossing it over my shoulder before heading toward the elevator.
Theo quickly follows, jogging to catch up before falling in step beside me. “You mentioned other guys,” he says. “Did he mention who? Other guys from the team, probably.”
I flex my fingers at the thought, and Theo must see the gesture because he starts to chuckle.
“Dude. Come on. You’re gonna have to just do it.”
“I can’t believe you would even suggest it,” I say. “We shouldn’t be having this conversation.”
He presses the button for the elevator, and the doors slide open. “Then stand here and tell me you don’t want to punch something when you think about her with Fly or Isakov or Watson.”
“Watson’s barely twenty. No one would believe they’re actually in love.”
“But they would believe you’re in love,” Theo says. “A lot of people probably already do. You did follow her into the pantry at the team dinner.”
My eyes widen the slightest bit. “You saw that?”
“Everybody saw that.”
Outside the elevator on the top floor, there’s a small alcove with two doors. The one on the left is his apartment, the one on the right is mine.
Theo moves to my door, leaning against the wall while I pull out my keys.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
He shrugs. “We aren’t done talking.”
I sigh and push open my door. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore.”
“Not about that,” he says, following me inside. “Though if you want my final answer, I think you should do it.”
“I don’t want your final answer.” I collapse onto my couch and drop my phone onto the coffee table, feeling more annoyed than I should.
This is exactly what I wanted to do when I climbed into Theo’s truck.
I just didn’t expect him to challenge me.
To make me think my decision to say no might not be the right one.
My cat, Gordie, jumps onto my lap, his tail brushing across my chin as he meows a hello.
Theo sits down on the chair perpendicular to me, and Gordie eyes him warily. If anyone can tell the two of us apart, it’s Gordie. He loathes Theo as much as he loves me.
“Here,” Theo says, looking into his phone. “I’m sending you something.”
My phone buzzes from the table, but I don’t reach for it. “What is it?”
“It’s the contact info for a real estate agent I dated last year. Her name is Shelby. And she’s good.”
I freeze. “Why would I need a real estate agent?”
He rolls his eyes and reaches for my phone, using his own face to unlock it.
I lunge for my phone. “Dude. We have a rule about doing that.”
He lifts his arms, holding my phone just out of reach while he clicks and scrolls, then finally tosses it onto the couch cushion beside me.
I look down to see the real estate listing I had pulled up right before he picked me up.
“Any reason you didn’t want to tell me you’re thinking about buying a house?”