I expected to walk into a dated home.
Instead, there were dark, hardwood floors and a large, wooden staircase off to the side. I could see through to the back of the house and noticed French doors leading to a grassy yard. Everything was new and like something I’d seen in a home design magazine.
“This place is nice.” I gazed around and peeked into the snug living room with a large blue couch filled with people.
“Thanks to Rock.” Laura smiled up at him. “Once he found out my sister was pregnant, he made sure everything in this home was up to date and babyproof.”
“Now that you will be my wife, I have to take care of my future sister-in-law.” Rock lowered his head and kissed the tip of Laura’s nose.
It was sweet but sickening at the same time.
“Wife? Did you propose?” How had I not heard of this?
Laura’s arm shot out, and I stared at my mother’s ring. The same ring Rock told me he never had. And once I found out he did, he said he only carried it for good luck, not because he planned to propose to Laura.
I nodded and tried not to frown. I was happy for my brother, but the way he went about this didn’t sit well with me. He lied about the ring. He lied about proposing. What else was he lying about?
“It’s beautiful. I see you used Ma’s ring.” I narrowed my eyes at Rock.
He knew I wouldn’t make a scene. That was James’s job. And that was probably why he only wanted me here and not James. But I wasn’t going to forget about this.
I’d let him know how I felt when we were alone.
He visibly swallowed and said, “I wanted to keep it in the family. Anyway, enough about us. It’s little Nathan’s birthday. Presents go on the dining table in the kitchen.” Rock pointed down the hall, past the stairs.
I nodded and made my way toward the kitchen, needing a break from my brother. I loved him with all my heart, but the proposal bothered me. We were family. He could tell me anything, but he didn’t with one of the most important decisions of his life.
Stepping into the kitchen, it too appeared brand-new. Everything was white—the cabinets, the backsplash by the oven, the marble counters. The only bit of color was the small, dark blue island in the center with a wooden countertop.
In front of the French doors was a round, wooden table that had a few presents on top. A woman who looked like a younger version of Laura stood by the table with a chicken in her arm. She was letting the chicken peck at the ribbon on one gift.
“I like your chicken,” I said and placed my package on the table.
“He’s a rooster. His name is Nancy,” she said, not taking her eyes away from the window.
I glanced out to the backyard. There was no one out there, just some plastic lawn furniture and a gray birdbath.
“I thought Nancy was a girl’s name?”
She shrugged. “What’s in a name?”
I smiled. “That which we call a rose would smell as a sweet.”
She glanced over at me, and her brow pinched. “We’re not talking about roses. We’re talking about names.” Her dark-rimmed glasses slid down the bridge of her nose.
“I was just quoting Shakespeare because I thought—”
“I know the playwright William Shakespeare. I know that you were quoting Romeo and Juliet. What I’m confused about was that we were discussing my cock’s name, and you brought up a tragedy.” She pushed her glasses back up her nose.
I had a feeling we were having two very different conversations.
“Let’s start again. Hi, I’m Monty, Rock’s brother.” I reached out my hand to shake hers.
She glanced at my hand and nodded, then turned toward the windowed doors.
“I’m Jami, Laura’s and Julia’s sister. This is our home. You are in our home.” She rubbed her thumb over the rooster.
There was something intriguing about her, not like Laura at all. It was becoming clear she didn’t want me here, but I wanted to stay and get to know her.
The voices in the other room grew louder. Someone important must have arrived as everyone was standing from the couch.
“It’s Julia. She came downstairs,” Jami said and looked straight into my eyes for the first time since I met her. “It’s important that you see her.”
“Yes.” Her sudden attention flustered me. “I’ll go in there. You coming?”
“No. I already met my sister twenty-one years ago.” She turned back to stare out into the yard.
I chuckled. “I guess you’re right. Well, it was nice to meet you.”
She didn’t respond, but at this point, I hadn’t expected her to. I moved into the room where most of the party gathered. I felt a little overdressed in a jacket and button-up shirt. It seemed this was a jeans and tank top sort of affair.
The only one wearing a dress was Laura, who was speaking to a woman with shoulder-length blond hair. I couldn’t see her face as she had her back to me, but I figured that might be her sister.
Julia. That was her name.
My cock twitched as thoughts of a very different Julia popped into my head. I regretted not going back to find her at the Jingle Balls Ball, but James said that Rock insisted we come back to The Blue Spot to meet with a potential investor.
The way James made it out to be, you’d think Rock wound up in the hospital. I missed out on the woman of my dreams for an investor for someone else’s company.
As much as I thought about the mysterious Julia from December, I knew I’d never see her again. I should have taken James’s advice and date, get my mind off her. It was a one-night stand over nine months ago. And it concerned me that I couldn’t get her out of my head.
Rock strolled up to me and slapped me on my back. “Have you met Laura’s sister?”
I threw my thumb over my shoulder. “I met Jami.”
“Ahh, Jami . . . yes. She’s interesting. Speaks plainly. I like that.”
I nodded. “Yeah. Very matter of fact. Is that rooster a pet?”
“It’s one of those assistance pets. I think she has anxiety or something. I’m not sure.”
That’s why she was rubbing it with her thumb. I had been reading about that lately, mainly children with special needs and disabilities. Some children with neurological and developmental issues soothe themselves with repetitive movement. I had been researching that because I wanted to create Virtual Reality, or VR, glasses, something to help children with special needs navigate and learn from the world around them.
“I haven’t met Julia yet.” It was as if she heard me.
Right at that moment, Julia turned from Laura and stared right at me.
My heart seized for a second, and I sucked in a breath. Sweat broke out on my brow. It was her. The Julia. The one from the Jingle Balls Ball. I had found her.
She gave me a small smile and then turned back to her sister. No recognition on her face. The grin was pleasant, welcoming, but never told me she knew who I was.
I blinked. Had she not recognized me?
I slapped my forehead. No, she hadn’t. Julia never saw what I looked like.
I was just another guy at her son’s birthday party.
“Are you all right, Monty? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
In a way, I had. But that wasn’t the part where I felt I was about to kiss the floor with my face.