Deal Makers (Dealing with Love 3)

ore. He’s never looked at me with so much disgust.”

“What did you say to him?”

“I didn’t get a chance to say anything. He stormed out of my apartment and he won’t return my texts or calls. I reached out to Rainey and she told me he’s furious. Even she can’t calm him down. He said he has no desire to talk to me until I’ve made my decision.”

“What are you going to do?” she whispers.

I cradle her face and rest my forehead against hers. “It’s not going to come to that. It’s been less than twenty-four hours—he’ll come around.”

She pulls back with a sigh. “Drew, I don’t want to be the Yoko of the bunch.”

I shake my head. “Don’t say that. That’s not what this is.”

“The hell it’s not,” she argues. “If you choose me, it will break up the group. I know my brother and he can hold a grudge like nobody I’ve ever met. At least if you choose him, I can still see Rainey or Devyn separately. My absence won’t affect your group dynamic. Let’s face it; I’m the newcomer. They’ll probably barely even notice I’m gone.”

“That’s bullshit.”

“It’s not,” she insists. “The last thing I want to do is walk away from...” she flicks her wrist between us, “this. But I know how important Brody is to you. And how important you are to him. You guys have been friends for ten years, Drew. We’ve known each other for ten months. I couldn’t live with myself if I’m the reason your friendship ends.”

I wrap my arm around her and pull her into me so we can lie down again. “We’ll figure something out. I don’t know how, but there has to be a way.”

She squeezes me around the waist. “I hope so, Drew. God, I hope so.”

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

DREW

“Unca’ Drew!” says my nephew, Nathan, as I step into the house. He saw me through the side window so his mom must’ve let him open the door.

I pull him into my arms. “Hey, buddy! Did you have fun with Grandma and Grandpa?”

He nods. “Yep! We played Legos and dinosaurs and Hot Wheels and got to swim in a pool and eat lots and lots of sugar!”

Riley’s parents moved up to the Seattle area shortly after discovering they had a grandchild. Riley is an only child and they’re retired, so according to Rye, it was an easy decision for them to make. I love the fact that Nate can grow up with at least one set of grandparents since he never had a chance to meet the other.

“That does sound like fun!” I squeeze him as tight as I can without crushing him. “I missed you, little man. Two weeks is too long to wait to get my Nathan fix. Your mommy and daddy are never allowed to go on a honeymoon again.”

He giggles as he wraps his little arms around my neck. “You wanna play with me?”

“Of course, I want to play with you.” I set him down. “Just let me talk to your mom for a few minutes first, okay?”

“‘Kay.” With that, he runs across the room to play with his cars.

Devyn smiles fondly. “Hey, Drew.”

I pull her in for a hug. “Hey. You look great. How was Hawaii?”

She motions for me to join her in the kitchen so she can continue making dinner. My sister’s house has an open floor plan so we can easily see Nate from anywhere in the main living area.

“Hawaii was amazing. I was ready to get home to Nate though. Besides Vegas, which was only overnight, I’ve never been away from him before. Riley and I Facetimed him every day but it wasn’t the same.”

“I get it. I missed him like crazy and I’m just the uncle.”

She dumps some chopped onions into a pan. “You’ve never been just the uncle, Drew. He loves you just as much as he loves me and Riley. I don’t know what we would’ve done without you those first four years.”

I smile. “I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”

Devyn stirs the onions a bit and sets the spatula off to the side. “I know you would.”