She fanned herself with both hands, like she was trying to stave off tears.
“Are either of your brothers single?” she asked. “And are they at least half as romantic as you are? Because that would probably be enough for me.”
Jamie reached for his pilsner glass, and Annie grabbed his hand before he could take a sip.
“You’re going to tell her now, right? About Liz and the feelings and the loving her for a decade?”
She let his hand go, and he avoided immediately answering with a long, slow sip.
“She was straddling another guy—in my chair, Annie. She doesn’t want to hear about my feelings, and I sure as hell don’t want to play runner-up.”
Annie crossed her arms. She craned her neck to peer around the corner where Brynn, Holly, and Jeremy huddled in a booth nursing coffees and talking animatedly. Well, Holly and Jeremy were engrossed in conversation. Brynn just sat with her hands clasped around her mug.
“If she knew, she’d pick you,” Annie said.
Jamie thought about this. She hadn’t picked him before, not until he kissed her, and even then it was only because Spencer wasn’t there. Yes, Brynn felt something in that kiss, too, but it never would have happened if she’d made it to the party. He wasn’t going to be second choice again, or the person she chose because of proximity.
“What if I want her to pick me without knowing first?” he asked. “What if I want her to be sure who she wants before picking me?”
Annie narrowed her eyes at him and stood, grabbing the pitcher Jamie still hadn’t delivered to the group.
“So you want her to go to California?” she asked, and his eyes widened. “That’s right, loverboy. Spencer Matthews invited her to his book launch in L.A. two weeks from now, and she’s already checking flights to see if she can afford it. If you are so sure about this picking you thing, then you’ll be fine if she heads out to Cali to spend a weekend with the guy she almost kissed twice in ten years.”
Jamie’s jaw clenched. The thought was enough for him to grind his own teeth to dust. But as much as Annie was baiting him, she was also right. If Brynn wanted to see this thing with Spencer through, he had to let her go. He had to let her decide on her own who she wanted without him forcing the issue. As much as he hated this idea, it was out of his hands. Brynn had free will, and if there was anything still there on her end, she had to realize it on her own.
He drained the rest of his glass, the hot sauce blazing down his throat. His eyes widened, not from the heat but from either the most brilliant or absolute worst idea he’d ever had.
“Annie—” he started, knowing once he said it out loud he’d have to follow through if Brynn agreed. “Not only do I want her to go to L.A., but I’m gonna take her there.”
She opened her mouth to respond, but Jamie was already making his way toward the end of the bar. He was done hiding. He could still make his grand gesture even if Brynn had no idea he was doing it.
This would be it, the trip that would fix them. All she had to do was choose Jamie before they got to L.A.—or else break them for good.
Chapter Six
Brynn jumped at the sound of Jamie pounding on the door, but her contact landed safely over her iris before she threw her hands up in exasperation.
“Holly! Can you let him in?”
Her sister popped out of her bedroom and poked her head in the bathroom door. “Will the extra thirty seconds make you not late?”
Brynn responded to her sister with a one-finger salute, which only made Holly laugh.
“Remember,” Holly said. “Glass half full. This is going to be an epic trip no matter how it ends.”
Brynn pouted on the way to her room, but Holly was already halfway to the door. She used to be the glass-half-full type, but it had been a long time since she’d seen the world that way.
Thirty seconds later, Jamie leaned in her bedroom doorway while she hopped on top of her suitcase, urging the zipper to do the impossible.
“I’m heading to work, you two.” Holly ducked past Jamie and into the room to give her sister a quick hug. “Text me every day. Send pictures. And if you find anyone about six feet tall, dark brown hair, and built like a pro soccer player, feel free to bring him back with you. Bonus points if he looks just as good in Armani as he does in L.L.Bean.”
Brynn laughed and watched her sister poke Jamie in the abs and then leave, her eyes falling on his after Holly was gone.
Jamie stared back at her from under the bill of his worn White Sox baseball hat. He looked cozy in his gray hoodie, his dark jeans slung low on his hips—quite the opposite of how Brynn felt right now, which was nothing short of anxious. He raised a brow as she bounced on the suitcase, forcing the zipper the rest of the way.
“You got this, Sleepy Jean?” Though he didn’t move to help her.