Chapter 8
Bryson
“Here, sweetie, have more bacon. A big guy like you needs more protein. You’re so handsome, aren’t you? Maybe Caitlyn picked the wrong brother.”
She laughed, her voice a little raspy from years of smoking, and piled four slices of bacon on a plate already swimming in syrup from the stack of pancakes she’d doled out.
“Oh thanks, but I’m stuffed. You cook a good meal.”
She leaned down, cleavage on display. “Well, they say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.”
I raised my eyebrow at my brother. He jerked his gaze to his eggs, studiously not engaging in my wordless judgment.
“Mother,” Caitlyn said in an embarrassed tone.
“What?”
“Just…give Bryson some space, okay?”
“I’m not crowding him!” She looked down at me. “Am I crowding you?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Oh, none of that ma’am nonsense. Call me Molly.”
Caitlyn got up and grabbed her mom’s arm, tugging her toward the other side of the dining room, whispering frantically.
I looked over at my brother. “You didn’t tell me Mama Molly was hot for you.”
He nearly choked on the food he’d been shoving down his throat to avoid the awkwardness at the table. “She’s not. She was flirting with you. Which is weird enough without you going there.”
“Yeah, well, I’m a carbon copy of you, who’s soon to be her son-in-law.”
He narrowed his eyes at me. “Does that mean Silas is hot for me?”
My jaw tensed. “Low blow. Silas isn’t even talking to me.”
“Sorry, I thought that mess was all cleared up by now…”
I shook my head. “Nope. He still hasn’t returned any phone calls. I’m so sorry I’ve fucked up your wedding, man.”
“What do you mean? You didn’t—”
“What about the wedding?” Caitlyn asked as she breezed back into her seat with a smile.
Molly followed with the coffee pot and a sheepish smile. “Refills for anyone?”
I covered my cup before she could find another reason to lean in close. “I’m good.”
“Me too,” Branson said.
“We should get going for our wedding consult soon,” Caitlyn said. “Sit down, Mom. I’ll clean up as soon as Bryson finishes.”
“Oh, let him take his time,” her mother said. “You two can go meet Silas when you’re ready. I’ll take good care of Bryson.”
Caitlyn sighed.
I crammed more eggs into my mouth, suddenly in a hurry to finish eating lest I be left in Mama Molly’s clutches. But wait, what had she said about Silas?
I swallowed and turned to Caitlyn. “Are you meeting Silas? I thought he’d quit the wedding.”
“Oh, yeah. He called late last night and apologized for the misunderstanding. We’re having our meeting today.”
I dug out my phone and checked my notifications. No missed calls. No texts. Damn it.
“He hasn’t called me back…”
“Oh, no. Really? He said he was going to call you. Maybe he’s just letting the dust settle?”
“Maybe,” I said glumly.
“I’m sure he’ll call soon, bro,” Branson added.
But would he? He’d had the whole weekend if he wanted to reach out. How much time did he need to settle if he was already taking meetings with Branson and Caitlyn again?
My stomach sank. Shit. He didn’t want to call me, did he? He’d been a little reluctant about dating, and this had given him an excuse to forget all about me.
“What’s all this about?” Molly asked, clearly out of the loop on my dating life.
“Bryson dated our wedding planner,” Caitlyn volunteered. “Remember, I told you Silas quit the wedding and it was really sudden and unexpected?”
Her mother glanced between me and Branson, and the woman might be a tad lusty, but she wasn’t dumb. Her eyes widened. “Oh, crap.”
“Oh, crap, exactly,” I said morosely.
“Wait, so you’re gay?” She pointed a finger at me then slowly swung it toward my brother. “And you’re not?”
“Mom,” Caitlyn protested. “You don’t just ask people stuff like that!”
“But they’re identical, so shouldn’t they be the same?” she asked, a note of suspicion entering her voice.
“We’re mirror image twins, actually,” Branson pointed out mildly. He touched a freckle to the left of his eye. I pointed at the freckle to the right of mine. “But there’s plenty of twins who have different sexual preferences.”
“So you’re straight and Bryson is gay?” she asked.
It was tempting to let her believe that. It would probably shut down the uncomfortable flirting. But I never liked catering to the binary notions people had that things were all black or white; good or bad.
“I’m bi, actually,” I said, “but I tend to be attracted to men more often.”
“Oh.” She tilted her head as if trying to make that compute. “So you do sleep with women sometimes?”
My lips quirked. “It’s been a while, but yes. I met my last girlfriend just after high school.”
Her eyes gleamed. “Well, maybe you just need to meet the right—”
“Don’t say it!” Caitlyn blurted. “Just don’t even say it. Bryson doesn’t need to meet anyone other than Silas, who is absolutely a treasure, by the way. I hope they get married too. I bet Silas would plan the most amazing wedding for y’all. We could buy houses next door to each other and—”
“Slow your roll, babe,” Branson said, running a hand down her back. “This isn’t Hallmark.”
She frowned and looked at me. “Too much?”
“For him? Definitely.” I gave a wry chuckle. “The man still won’t talk to me.”
Caitlyn’s eyes gleamed similarly to her mother’s, but for what I suspected was an entirely different reason. “Well, we can’t have that.”
“What can I do? I can’t stalk the guy.”
“Of course not,” she said. “But if you were to tag along to our meeting, as the best man who needs some advice about your role in the wedding, well… that would just be the responsible thing to do, right?”
I straightened in my chair. “Really?”
“Just play it cool, though,” Branson warned. “We don’t want him to quit us again.”
I nodded. “You’ll barely notice me. I just want a chance to look him in the eye and see if there’s any hope he’d give us another chance.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Caitlyn reminded me. “I’m sure he’ll want to talk to you.”
She was far more optimistic than me, but I couldn’t give up on Silas without at least talking to him face-to-face. If he didn’t want to date me again, I’d accept it. But it’d be nice to know why.
“Caitlyn, I could kiss you right now,” I said with a grin. “Thanks so much.”
“Don’t even think about it,” Branson grumbled, even though he knew I had no interest in his bride.
“Fine, you kiss the woman. Express my gratitude properly.” I pushed back my chair. “But be quick about it. We need to get to that meeting.”
Caitlyn laughed as Branson planted a big showy kiss on her lips.
“Okay,” she said, “let’s go get you the man of your dreams.”
“And the wedding of yours,” I added.
“Well, that’s a given,” she said playfully. “Silas is the best.”
“Yes, he is,” I said with a sigh.
Molly shook her head. “All the good men are taken or ga—er, bi.”
“Or way too young for you,” Caitlyn said, a sassy tone entering her voice. “Bryson is family now. Think of him as a bonus son.”
Molly smiled. “Oh, of course! I didn’t mean anything by it. It’s just something people say.”
We cleaned up our dishes and headed out the door.
“I’m sorry if my mom made you uncomfortable,” Caitlyn said. “She’s flirty, but I don’t think she means anything by it. Since her divorce, she’s been a little lost. I think she just wants some validation that she’s still attractive.”
“Oh, it’s okay. I can handle some flirting. As long as she knows it’s not going anywhere.”
Caitlyn linked arms with me as we went down the porch steps. “Well, don’t be so sure. Silas might not like it.”
“That’s assuming he ever gives me another chance,” I grumbled.
“Oh, he will,” Caitlyn said with a confidence I was lacking. “We’ve got a wedding to finish planning, and surely the best man will want to be involved.”
I chuckled. “You’re more devious than I realized.”
“How do you think I got Branson? The man gave new meaning to the word oblivious. I had to be persistent. For so long.”
Branson groaned. “Not this again.”
“You know, I spent the night at his place once because of a storm, and when I said the sofa might be a little chilly to sleep on, he gave me his bed and slept there instead.”
“I was being a gentleman!”
“Take a hint!” she cried. “A girl can’t come out and say ‘take me to bed, please’.”
I chuckled. “See? This is why I like dating men. They tell you exactly what they want.”
“You’ve got it easy, bro,” Branson said. “Caitlyn expects me to read her mind.”
“No, just listen to my words and think about what they mean, boys. You’re both brats.”
She skipped ahead of us as we laughed. She wasn’t wrong.
“You really slept on the couch?” I asked Branson, eyebrow raised.
He sighed. “I’ll never live that down.”
I grinned. “No, you sure as hell will not.”