1
“To the happy couple!”
Kyle lifted his glass of champagne along with everyone else and smiled at the happy couple. His brother Hunter and his fiancée Violet beamed as everyone toasted their new engagement. And as much as he usually made fun of people who opted to tie themselves to another person for the rest of their lives, he had to admit he was happy for them.
Hey, just because he didn’t want to take the plunge, didn’t mean others couldn’t.
“There he is, the last Jones standing.”
Looking over his shoulder, Kyle smiled as his oldest brother Dean walked over and clapped him on the shoulder. “Yup. That’s me!”
They stood shoulder to shoulder as Hunter and Vi shared a kiss. “Nice of you to fix yourself up.”
“What? What’s wrong with the way I look?”
Dean reached over and ruffled his hair. “You couldn’t bother getting a haircut?”
Groaning, he raked a hand through his hair. “For an engagement party? Not necessary. I’ve always worn my hair long and no one has a problem with it.” Then he paused. “Wait…do they?”
Chuckling, Dean shook his head. “Sometimes you make it too easy.”
“Ass.”
“Look at him,” Dean said after a moment. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Hunter look so happy.”
“I agree. And honestly, he deserves it.” Nodding, Kyle took another sip of his champagne.
“What about you, bro? When are you going to give up your wild ways and settle down?”
It wasn’t the first time someone had mentioned how it was time for him to give up his partying lifestyle and it certainly wouldn’t be the last. Honestly, it didn’t even bother him.
“Never,” he said mildly.
Beside him, Dean chuckled. “Seriously?”
Another nod. “Not everyone wants to settle down. Me? I enjoy dating. I enjoy dating different women.” Then he chuckled. “And many different women enjoy dating me.”
Rolling his eyes, Dean shook his head. “It’s going to get old eventually. And so are you. And then where will you be?”
“That is a long way off and I’m not worried about it. You weren’t in any rush to settle down.”
“And yet I did. I just had to find the perfect woman.”
That made him laugh. “Yeah, and she’d been right under your nose for most of your life. You were a little slow on the uptake there.”
But his brother didn’t even seem mildly offended by the ribbing. “Yup, but once I realized that Court was it for me, I didn’t waste any time.”
True, he had married her six months after he proposed.
Whatever.
He was about to comment on it when Dean’s wife walked over and snagged her husband to go and dance. He raised a glass to them and told them to have fun, but now he wished he had someone to dance with. Glancing around the room, there were plenty of women he knew, but they all were here with dates. Hell, he could have brought a date too, but taking someone to your brother’s engagement party implied a level of commitment that he just wasn’t interested in.
No thank you.
There was a time when he thought it was, but…that was a whole other lifetime ago.
His father walked over and took the spot his brother had just vacated.
“You know what I wish?” Domenic Jones asked.
“What’s that, Dad?”
“That I had someone to dance with.”
Wow…color me surprised.
Turning his head, he looked curiously at his father who had been widowed for close to thirty years. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Why don’t you date?”
Shrugging, his father said, “I guess I just sort of…forgot how.” He laughed softly. “For so many years after your mother died, I was focused on trying to keep it together and raise you kids. Then I was so set in my routine that I didn’t even think about it. But now? Now I’d like to think about it, but I don’t know how.” Sliding his hands into his trouser pockets, he glanced at Kyle. “You know any single women my age?”
Kyle almost choked on his champagne. “Ugh…you are not asking me to set you up with anyone. Just…no.”
“Why not? It’s not a big deal. You have a very active social life; surely you’ve met older women who might be looking to go out with someone like me.”
“Someone like…? What is happening right now?”
“What? What’s the matter?”
He knew his eyes were pretty much bugging out, and Kyle looked around frantically for someone to save him from this conversation. But no one was paying any attention to them, and if they weren’t at a formal event, he seriously would have considered throwing something at either Dean or Hunter to get their attention.
Letting out a long breath, Kyle said, “I thought you’d gone out for coffee a few times with…with…” Damn, what was her name? “Rose! Yeah, I thought you’d gone out with Rose a few times. What happened there?”
“Happened? Um…nothing. We went out a few times for coffee, but…I don’t think she’s interested in me.”
“Why? Did you ever ask her out on a real date? Like dinner or something?”
“No, but…I thought she was just being friendly. You know…like a friend.”
“Well, wouldn’t you like to find out if she’s interested? She’s here tonight. Maybe go ask her to dance.”
“Oh,” Domenic said, “I don’t know. I just thought…”
“Look, I think it’s great that you want to start dating again. If you ask me, you should have done it a long time ago. But maybe your friends—you know, people your own age—can fix you up with someone.”
His father made a non-committal sound before asking, “What about one of those apps? You know, the kind where you swipe or something.”
Now he really needed someone over here to help him out because there was no way he was going to have the talk about what swiping on a dating app meant. Scanning the room again, he spotted his boss, Jake, talking to Pastor Steve. The only one to catch his eye, however, was the pastor.
And if that’s not an answer to a prayer, nothing is.
Waving, he was relieved when they both began walking toward them. Kyle took a long drink of his champagne and waited. They all shook hands as they said hello.
“Well, Domenic, Kyle, how are you both doing?” Steve asked with a friendly smile. “It’s been a big year for your family, hasn’t it?”
“That it has,” his father replied.
“You must be very proud. Your family is growing and everyone looks so happy.”
Nodding, Domenic said, “I am and they are. It does my heart good to see them all settling down and starting families.”
“Well,” Steve said, grinning at Kyle. “Not all of them.”
Ugh…why did I think this was a better idea?
With a bit of a forced smile, Kyle said, “So how about you, Pastor Steve? What’s new and exciting with you?”
Luckily, he took the change of subject in style. “Well, let’s see…oh, Shelby and Sam are expecting a baby!”