“Well, since everyone’s here, I better get supper started.” My mom sprung to action and headed inside, humming a quiet, happy tune.
“If you don’t mind, I feel like taking a walk on the beach before we eat,” Wilder said, still looking directly at me. He scooted out from the table and headed down the deck and toward the path that led straight to the sandy beach.
“What’s that about?” Coco turned to me, and I shrugged.
“No clue,” I said.
“We brought some card games,” Vince said. He hadn’t removed the cheesy T.V. dad grin from his face since we’d arrived. “Thought maybe after dinner the five of us could sit out here and have some good, old-fashioned family fun?”
“Aw, family time,” Coco whispered just loud enough that I could hear her. I jabbed my elbow into her side when Vince turned away.
My gaze was still on Wilder, watching as he slowly trudged through the sand in his bare feet, his shoes in one hand and his beer in the other. He wore a pair of faded red shorts and an untucked, wrinkled baby blue button down. I’d never seen him dressed down before. He was always in a suit and tie, or at the very least a polo or cashmere sweater. His hair was a product-free mess, and judging by his little episode a second earlier, he was definitely not himself.
It was safe to say that Wilder Van Cleef had come undone.
“Aw, reverse! Back to Addi,” Wilder exclaimed during a game of Uno later that night. A fresh, frosty beer rested in his hand as he slapped a yellow reverse card down in the center pile. He’d insisted on sitting next to me when the game started, and he continued to reverse the order so he could strategically pick on me. Every time he’d pick a color he knew I didn’t have, he’d nudge me with his elbow or lean into me for a brief moment. “I don’t know about you guys, but I think I kind of love being a big brother.”
Coco and I exchanged looks before I said, “You certainly seem to be wearing the title well.”
He reached his arm around my shoulder, pulling me into him. “My whole life, all I wanted was a little sister. And now I finally got one. Two, actually.”
“Lucky you,” I mumbled.
Mom flashed a rosy-cheeked, happy-in-love look Vince’s way as he placed his hand over hers.
If they only knew…
“So, Wilder,” Vince said. “You’re turning the big two-eight tomorrow. Tammy Lynn would love to bake you a cake.”
She never baked us birthday cakes growing up.
“Aw, that’s too sweet of you, Tammy Lynn. You don’t have to do that for me.” He drew a card and jabbed an elbow into my side to tell me it was my turn.
“Oh, please. I want to. It means so much to me that you came out here to join us,” she said. “When Vince said you might not come, I was worried that maybe you didn’t want to accept us as your family. I’m glad you changed your mind.”
“So, buddy, you thinking about settling down anytime soon?” Vince took a sip of his drink as he slapped a red number three down and then reorganized the remaining cards in his hand. “You’re not getting any younger! When I was your age, I had you already.”
“You know, the girls have so many friends and connections in the city,” Mom gushed. “I’m sure they could introduce you to a nice, young woman.”
“Thank you, no.” Wilder said, turning my way. “My heart already belongs to someone.”
“You didn’t tell me you were dating anyone!” Vince leaned across the table and pounded his fist into Wilder’s shoulder. “You old dog, you. Tell us about her.”
My heart thudded hard in my chest, and the margarita from earlier sloshed around in my stomach as it threatened to rise up into my mouth. Had he moved on already? So soon?
“Let’s see…” Wilder leaned back in his seat as the corners of his lips curled upward. “She’s a little bit younger than me, but that’s okay because she acts way older.”
My eyes widened. I listened intently as I stared down at my hand of cards. My mind immediately pictured someone like Skylar: young, huge breasts, and beautiful. Wilder could easily get any girl he wanted just by snapping his fingers.
“I’ll spare you the details,” he said, his jaw hardening and his posture suddenly stiff. Wilder’s annoying big brother façade was fading fast. “She’s special. That’s all I’ll say. I knew it from the moment we met.”
Lightheadedness flooded me as my lungs gasped for air. I needed to go lie down. Imagining him with another woman, real or not, was too much to take.
“So, you think you met the one?” Vince asked, all smiles.
“Oh, I don’t think. I know.” Wilder slammed a card down in the stack and then nudged me. “Your turn, sis.”
“What are you waiting for, son? When do you think you’ll ask her?” Vince leaned forward, anxiously awaiting his answer. I supposed that to people of our parents’ generation, people who married young and sometimes repeatedly, the fact that Wilder was an unmarried twenty-eight year old was concerning.
“Never.” Wilder placed his hand of cards face down on the table and finished the last of his beer before turning to look directly at me. “She doesn’t love me.”
I practically choked on my spit. My hand flew to my mouth as I tried to control the coughing fit that followed. He’d been talking about me the entire time.
“What?” Vince scrunched his brows together. “Now that’s just ridiculous. How could anyone not love you back?”