“Why? Because I know all of his secrets? He should be scared, and since he’s not here right now, what do you want to know?”
Ren glances around before leaning in. “How about a candle for some intel? Is that a deal?”
“You don’t even have to get me the candle. I’ll tell you whatever you want.”
“But then I would feel guilty. Come on, tit for tat.”
I raise an eyebrow. “If Griffin knew you were offering me your tit for my tat, I’m pretty sure he’d lose his mind.”
She shoves my shoulder. “You know what I mean.” She holds out her hand. “Is it a deal?”
I’m not a stupid man, and I want a nice candle, so I shake her hand, ready to throw my brother under the bus. Hey, I’ll do whatever it takes to impress a girl. I mean, Eve did say that I was adulting, and she noticed my matching dish towels, so imagine her reaction if she sees a candle burning the next time she comes over.
“Deal.” I rub my hands together. “Candle first, though. I want something that smells fresh and clean, maybe a little manly . . . nothing flowery.”
“I got just the one.” She reaches for a candle and holds it out. “Mahogany Teakwood. Trust me, it’s perfect for you.”
“Yeah?” I open the lid and breathe in the candle. “Smells like an expensive cologne.”
“Exactly. It’s perfect. If, you know, you have a girl over”—Ren raises her eyebrows—“she’ll love it. And I happen to know one girl in particular who really likes this scent.”
Jesus Christ. Could she be any less subtle?
“Griffin told you,” I deadpan.
A grin spreads across her face, and she clasps my hands in hers, practically gushing with glee. “Oh my gosh, he made me swear I wouldn’t say anything, but gah! Reid, I am so excited. You two are so cute together.”
“Shhh.” I look around, thankful no one is paying attention. “For the love of God, don’t go spreading it around. Eve is already pissed I told the boys and Jen. I can’t have anyone else finding out.”
“Oh, don’t worry,” she says. “I haven’t told anyone, but just so you know, Harper knows as well. Seems like your brothers aren’t good at keeping secrets from their significant others.”
“Figures.” I drag my hand over my face. “Okay, just don’t say anything to anyone, okay? Especially not to Eve. Just pretend like you know nothing. Do you think you can handle that?”
“Of course.”
I definitely don’t believe her, but there’s only so much I can do. I never should have told Brig in the first place—that was mistake number one. Then again, who else could I have told? Griffin and Rogan both are connected to Harper and Ren, who are Eve’s friends. Jen is also Eve’s friend, so that left Brig. It’s really not my fault. It’s actually Eve’s fault—for being friends with everyone.
“But can I just say, you two are adorable. Oh my God, I just keep picturing what your babies would look like.”
For fuck’s sake.
“You need to stay away from Brig—he’s getting to you. Let me guess, you also think the curse is broken.”
“Oh no.” She waves her hand, dismissing the notion. “I’ve never believed in that stupid thing. From the moment I heard about it, I knew it wasn’t true. But why do you ask? Do you believe in it?”
I shrug and stare down at the candle. “So teakwood, huh?”
“Oh my God, Reid Knightly, you do not believe in it, do you?” I shrug, and she continues, “So you’re telling me that even though you were drunk at the time, you can one hundred percent verify every detail about that story—the yellow eyes, the wind, and everything else?”
I point at her. “You weren’t there; you don’t get an opinion.”
Chuckling, she shakes her head and reaches for another candle. “You Knightlys are deranged.” She hands me the candle. “Bergamot Waters should be your second one.”
I smell the candle when she removes the lid, and I have to admit that one is just as good. “Damn, that smells amazing.”
She takes both candles and puts them in her basket.
“The deal was one candle.”
“And the sale calls for two. Since I invaded your love life, we’ll call that one.”
“Well, if you’re offering . . .” I pull a second set down of the same scents and hand them over. “For someone special.”
Ren lights up but keeps her mouth shut as she sets them in her basket.
“Now for my payment,” she says, getting back to business. “Why does Griffin refuse to eat anything with eggplant in it? He just says he doesn’t like it, but I swear there’s something he’s not telling me. Am I right?”
My lips turn up as I nod. “Oh yeah, there’s a story.”
“I knew it.” She steps closer. “Tell me.”
“Well . . .” I draw out the moment, savoring the anticipation on her face. “It was his senior year in high school. He went out with Rogan, Harper, and Claire to some Italian restaurant where he had the best eggplant parm of his life—at least that’s what he said at the time.”
“Oh no. Food poisoning?”
“Nope.” I chuckle. “After dinner they went to the carnival up in Pottsmouth.”
“Oh no, did he get on one of those scrambler rides?”
“Nope.” I shake my head. “He went on the Ferris wheel and got stuck up at the very top. It was windy; he got nauseous and threw up all over the place.”
Ren covers her mouth and shakes her head. “Oh, poor Griffin.”
“That’s not even the worst part. He wasn’t good at deciding where to throw up, so he wound up getting the mayor right down the back. It was in the newspaper for at least a week.”
“Oh no.” She laughs some more. “He threw up on the mayor? That’s horrible.”
“Yeah, and the mayor at the time was a real dickhead and made Griff’s life hell. And as you know, to this day, he won’t have anything to do with eggplants.”
“Well.” Ren grips my shoulder. “This was a very wonderful and educational bump-in. Thank you.”
“Anytime.”
“Now let’s go pay for these candles so you can impress that lady of yours.”
I roll my eyes. “You sound like an eighty-year-old woman.”
“I’m okay with that.” She loops her arm in mine and leans her head on my shoulder. It feels good, like family, and that’s exactly what she is.
Griffin: You fucking told her?????
Rogan: Ooo, told who what?
Brig: Must be bad if Griffin used five question marks. Don’t you know, dude, one is sufficient. Text messaging has truly butchered the English language.
Reid: I’m not even sorry.
Griffin: You sold me out for CANDLES. What the fuck, man?
Rogan: **Leans in**
Brig: **Salivates**
Jen: Oh damn **cups ear**
Brig: Tell us, tell us what you did.
Griffin: He told Ren about the eggplant story in exchange for candles.
Reid: For the record, her idea, not mine.
Rogan: Oh damn.