Clara and Xavier are childhood friends who spend a crapload of time together. Lots of the Greenes think they must have a secret friends-with-benefits arrangement because of all the time they spend together, but I’m not so sure.
I hug my sister while Cade shakes his brother’s hand, then we switch and I’m hugging Xavier and Cade’s saying hello to Clara.
“Goddamn it!” we hear Hank shout from the backyard.
The boys shake their heads, moving in the direction of his voice.
“Let’s go help Marla,” I suggest to Clara.
“It’s been three years and you don’t know yet she doesn’t want any help?” Clara laughs.
We stop in the laundry room to grab two Diet Cokes, then when we don’t spot Marla in the kitchen, we head into the family room.
“So what’s going on with you?” Clara asks, leaning against the back of the couch.
“Other than that I’m gaining weight and pretty soon I won’t fit in my wedding dress?”
My mom insisted I go to Boston to get my wedding dress. Even though I just want a small affair here in Sunrise Bay, she said we’re not skimping on the dress. I’ll admit it, going into the high-end shops in downtown Boston and trying on dress after dress did make me feel like a princess. Clara came with me. Although it was weird at first for my parents to host my sister, whom they didn’t know and looks almost identical to me, they’ve grown to love Clara like I do.
My dress is being made custom for me and I won’t have it until a month before the wedding, which means there will be hardly any time for alterations.
“Are you saying you’re…” Clara’s gaze dips to my belly.
My hand subconsciously flies to my stomach. “No!” I screech. “I’ve made Cade wear a condom just in case.”
She laughs. “Don’t you have an IUD?”
I nod. “But Lucy…” That’s all I have to say for Clara to nod.
“Good thinking on doubling up the protection.”
“I normally wouldn’t care if I got pregnant before the wedding—we’ve been engaged so long as it is—but the dress…” Her eyes glass over. “The dress,” she says in the same dreamy tone.
I can’t wait to walk down the aisle toward Cade while I’m wearing it. I’ve envisioned it ever since I shimmied my body into the sample and looked in the mirror. But I’ve been enjoying way too many cookies and stews and casseroles lately.
“Maybe Logan can help me figure out a fitness plan that will help.”
She nods as though that’s a possibility, then her eyes light up. “What about Xavier? He’s home for another two months before training camp starts. He’s already started his running routine.”
She’s got a point. Logan would teach me to box and get a guy down to the ground. I don’t want muscle, I want to shed pounds.
“Doesn’t hurt to ask,” I say.
“Ask? He’ll do it.” She waves me off.
Clara’s so certain he will—in the same way that a wife or girlfriend is when they volunteer their husband or boyfriend for something. I know Clara and Xavier have been best friends their entire lives, but lately I’ve been curious about the reality of their relationship, just like the rest of the Greene siblings.
I lean in a little closer to her and drop my voice. “Are you two really just friends?”
She looks quizzically at me. “Yeah. Why?”
Does she really not know what all the other Greenes say behind their backs?
“I’m just curious. You guys are close. Really close.”
She laughs. “You and I are close too.”
“I don’t spend every waking hour with you.”
If she understands what I’m suggesting, she’s not giving anything away. “We’ve been best friends forever.” Clara shrugs.
“But have you guys ever crossed the line? Or have you ever had feelings that are more than friendship for him?”
She shrugs, but a smile tugs at her lips.
“Clara,” I persist.
After a long pause, she says, “I’m not blind. I know the man he’s grown up to be. He’s not the scrawny boy who used to dig for worms with me.”
“Do you find him attractive?” I ask, knowing full well I’m pushing buttons.
She sips her Diet Coke and glances outside to where the boys are helping Hank. Currently, it appears that Cade is arguing with Hank about the placement of lights while Xavier is up on the ladder, doing all the work.
“Of course. I mean, he’s a quarterback in the NFL. He works out like crazy, easy on the eyes. Plus, he’d do just about anything for me.”
“Sounds like there could be wedding bells in your future.” My eyes widen as I realize something. “Then we’d have the same last name.”
She shakes her head and laughs. I was put up for adoption and have my adoptive parents’ last name, while she has our birth parents’ last name. Complicated situation.
Then, for some reason, we keep laughing and can’t control ourselves. Maybe from the absurdity of what we’ve been through already.
“Girls!” Marla comes in. “I heard the laughter.”
We both sober up and smile. “Hey, Marla,” we say in unison in practically the same voice.
“What are you two doing?” She sits down in a chair, so we take a seat on the couch across from her.
We share a look. “Just talking.”
She stares at us a moment, a soft smile creasing her lips.
The patio door opens and Cade and Xavier step through.
“Since when did he get so pigheaded?” Cade asks his brother.
“Since you all moved out and he does it all himself,” Marla answers.
“Hey, Xavier, Clara has offered to have you train me for a couple months before you leave for training camp.”
Xavier looks more like his deceased mother than Hank. He has ash-blond hair, whereas the rest of the Greene boys have their dad’s dark locks. His eyebrows shoot up to his hairline and he looks at Clara.
“What exactly did you volunteer me for?” But he isn’t upset. Now that I think of it, I rarely see Xavier mad. He’s pretty easygoing.
“Pres wants to work out before the wedding, shed a few pounds.” She nods toward me.
“I can work her out,” Cade says, sliding onto the couch behind me, his fingers running under the hem of my shirt in the back.
“She needs more than just stretching and being limber,” Clara says, then looks back at Xavier. “Come on, you know you can work her out good.”
“Whoa!” Cade holds up his hand. “Phrase that a helluva lot differently.”
Everyone laughs, then we hear the laundry door open.
“Uh huh, they’ll have to find another way to get it out. And you can forget going down there and taping the whole thing,” Nikki says before she walks in. She stops when she sees us all and Logan hits her back. “What’s going on?”
“I think we should ask you the same thing.” Marla turns toward her daughter.
“Oh, I’m remaining pregnant forever. If I do my Kegel exercises, I can do it.” Nikki flops down next to Clara, her hand falling to her belly that is nowhere near huge yet, and she lets out a long breath. “How did you do this five times?” she asks her mom.