NICHOLAS

Oh yeah? Then why are you the only one I’m thinking about…

My cousin Gabriel’s album kept us company as we drove to the new Italian restaurant I scoped out in Buckhead, Vittolli’s.

On the ride here I was talking too much, laughing too loudly.

Madison normally hides her natural beauty probably because she doesn’t know about it. But damn if tonight I can’t stop doing backflips trying to impress her.

With a distracted glance to the host, I inform him, “I have a reservation.”

“Name?”

Locked on Madison I answer, “Nicholas Cocker.”

“Cocker?” he exclaims, excited. We turn our heads as the guy beams at me. He’s somewhere in his early forties with a smattering of salt in his pepper. “Any relation to Jeremy and Meagan Cocker?”

“Those are my parents.”

“I was a waiter at Burn! This is my place! They inspired me to get this, to buy my own!”

My eyebrows go up because I don’t recognize him, and while I’m happy he knows my folks, the guy doesn’t look Italian, so now I’m wondering if the food is going to be any good here.

I shake his hand, “Nice to meet you.”

“Name’s Barry Silvers. I worked days so you were in school. Saw you running around once or twice, but you were much scrawnier then!”

Madison stifles a laugh, eyes darting to me.

With a sideways smile I warn him, “Okay, I’m on a date, Barry. Don’t make me look bad.”

He laughs, glancing to the list. “Ah, here you are! I didn’t take down the reservation or I would’ve recognized that name in a second. Your folks are great people. And boy, your mom can cook! I asked her to be my head chef but she said that evil word: retirement! What a waste! Right this way.”

We follow the enthusiastic guy—who did not name this place Silvers—into dark wood, low lighting, rows of red booths and blessed privacy. It’s perfect. Still not optimistic about the food but he got the ambiance right.

Madison slips into the booth, breasts jiggling above the top of her dress like crazy. Cocking an eyebrow I tell Barry. “Bring us your best red. Don’t worry about price.”

Impressed, his eyes gleam dollar signs as he practically taps his fingers with jubilation. “I’ve got the perfect thing!”

Laying down menus he hurries off.

I slide in, patting the leather cushion by my thigh. “Come a little closer.”

She eyes me. “I’ll stay where I am.”

“Afraid my hands might wander?”

“Yes.”

I chuckle and lay the napkin on my lap. “I was really just wanting you closer.”

“You can see me better from here.”

A grin flashes as I nod, reaching for the menu. “Make it difficult for me.”

“Oh, I plan to.”

We watch each other, her menu untouched. I set mine down and throw an arm over the back of the booth, twisting in it to face her. “You’re right. This is better.”

She blushes, a slight smile tugging at reluctant and very full, magenta lips. “Nicholas, you’re acting very…”

“Interested?”

Biting her lip she nods. “Yes.”

“You think it’s an act?”

“I’m not sure what it is.”

Staring at her a long moment, I confess, “Neither of us can figure the other one out. I just know that while you were gone, I looked for you.”

Madison’s eyelashes drop to her lap then slowly rise again, the wall cracked. “I wasn’t gone, I just wasn’t there.”

“Where were you?”

“Denise’s grandmother died the night of the fire.”

Frowning I straighten up. “Oh shit, I didn’t know that. I’m so sorry.”

“We were in Virginia when Billy had his first party.”

“You went for the funeral?”

Fiddling with her napkin she stares at it, then places it on her lap. “Yes. I’ve known Denise since we were three.” Maddie chews on her lip, eyes far away. “Weird when people leave forever. It’s hard to grasp.”

“I bet.”

“You haven’t lost anyone?”

“Not yet.”

Barry walks around the bend with a bottle in one hand and a red napkin over his arm. I motion for him to give us a minute. He glances to Maddie and backs out of sight.

“How’d she handle it?”

“She drank. I’m kidding. We both drank. Her mom did something really unexpected at the funeral, so it was a very emotional day. You don’t want to hear about that.”

“Try me.”

Madison stares at me a second, unsure if I deserve this private information. “Your family is very important to you.”

“More important than anything.”

“Would you share with me something like this?”

“I don’t know what it is, but if it wasn’t too private, and I liked you, then yeah.”

She smiles and glances away. “Maybe I don’t like you.”

“I meant as a friend. Because I don’t share this type of stuff with girls I…” The words lay in the air between us, unspoken and unneeded. “But we’re friends, aren’t we?”

Under her breath she laughs and rolls her eyes. “Well, I won’t share anything that Denise wouldn’t want me to. She and her mom had this big fight the night before the funeral. It was pretty bad. They got past it. Something broke, I think. Because when her mother was giving the eulogy, she said that it should be Denise up there talking, not her. And she gave up the mic. We were shocked.”

“Did Denise go up?”

“Mmhmm. In front of everyone, and Nana was very loved in the community so there were a couple hundred people present. Denise could hardly talk she was so choked up. She waved me up and I stood with her and held her hand while she told a roomful of mourning people how much Nana meant to her.” Madison clears her throat and looks away. “She wasn’t in the mood for parties after that for a while.”

“I can imagine,” I whisper, thinking about how I would have felt. “I’m very close with my family. My grandfather had a heart attack four years ago and that’s why Caden’s studying to be a doctor. He doesn’t want us out there in the waiting room ever again not knowing what’s going on when one of our own is in trouble.” I tap the table as I stare at the memory of Ethan running to tell us that crazy news about Uncle Jett and Grandpa Michael.

“Why are you smiling, Nicholas?”

“Just remembering something that happened that day. Sometimes good can come out of bad, you know?” Holding her eyes with meaning I add, “Like Billy’s house catching fire.”

“His parties have sure grown. He seems happier.”

“I meant us.”

Madison frowns, voice lowering, “If you’re messing with me for fun, it’s really not nice.”

“I’m not.”

“Nicholas? What the hell are you doing here?”

Madison and I look over. “Ethan, hey! I was just thinking about you!” To Madison I mutter, “Family-interruptions again. Hold that thought.”

A billionaire stay-at-home dad, my cousin Ethan is forever in graphic t-shirts and jeans, no matter how nice the restaurant. Standing with him is his redheaded CEO wife, Charlie, their daughter Kaya staring from her hip.

Ethan grins, “Look at you stealing my thunder. Beat me to the restaurant I’d specifically chosen because it’s new and no Cockers have been here before! Now how am I going to brag about it, huh? How?”

“You can’t,” I smirk. “So fuck off.”

He guffaws, chestnut eyes shining under a mop of sandy-brown hair. “From here on out, I call shotgun since I’m older than you.”

“On every new place that opens in Atlanta?”

“Yes!”

“Why don’t you just buy them out and guard them like a troll with his bridge?”

“I might do that.”

Laughing I wave him off. “Get outta here, I’m busy.”

“Screw that, I haven’t seen you in ages. And we didn’t make a reservation. My bad.” He glances to his wife, “Princess, slide in.” He calls out, “Oh, Barry, good! Is that wine for us? I’m parched! Bring it over. See, we had a place saved for us after all, buddy, what d’ya say to that?”

Sitting back in my seat, I stare as Charlie sits down and asks Barry, “Could you bring us a booster seat, too, please?”

Ethan cocks an eyebrow as he tastes my wine like he fucking ordered it.

“Mmm. Good year. Nice legs on it. Meaty.” To Barry he nods, “It’ll do. Oh, and put the tab on me.”

“No!”

“Don’t listen to Nicholas. He’s got bank, but I’m way richer, so please…on me.”

I glance to Madison who is highly entertained by us. She makes a face like what-can-we-do?

I sigh and get comfortable. “You know, Ethan, you’re not supposed to boast about your billions, you big-headed dork.”

His head rocks back on his neck, face confused—all an act. “Then what’s the point of having ‘em? Why do I work so hard if I can’t interrupt my cousin’s dates and make him look cheap? I mean, really? What’s the point in living if I can’t do that?”

Charlotte Cocker passes their daughter to her husband, “Ethan, stop it.” Kaya touches his face and he pretends to bite her hand. “I’m Charlie by the way, and this little one is Kaya.”

“I’m Maddie. She’s so sweet!”

“My husband’s not an asshole, he just pretends to be one, I swear.”

Maddie laughs, relieved they’re so easy going. “I nanny for a living so I can tell a good father when I see one. A good father is a good man.”

“You’re a nanny?”

Ethan eyes his wife, “Don’t even start, Princess. I’m raising Kaya. We don’t need help.”

She rolls her eyes. “You know how to dish it out but you sure can’t discern when it’s being dished out to you. And besides I was going to suggest she might want to work with Tanner and Emma at their orphanage!” To me she asks with sarcasm, “Nicholas, are you going to be this involved when you’re a father?”

I nearly choke on the wine glass and break it. Wiping my lips I announce, “Hey everyone, this is a first date.”

“Your date’s a nanny.”

Madison touches my arm, “Who leaves her work at work.”

My hand slides onto her thigh. “Thank you.” The hem of the dress was pretty short to begin with, but now it’s almost too high. Instantly I’m impatient, wishing this had gone a totally different way. As they pick up the menus I lock eyes with her and whisper, “My family, bunch of cock-blockers.”

She covers a laugh but it shines from her eyes.

Ethan corrects him, “Cocker blockers. If you’re gonna say the joke, go hard or stay home.” He grins and flicks a glance to my menu, which he stole.

I give Madison a quick kiss and whisper in her ear, “You’re beautiful.” Her eyes go wide as I turn to ask Charlie, “You not having any wine?”

“Can’t. I’m pregnant.”

My mouth drops, but Ethan nonchalantly pretends to read about risotto as he asks, “Yo, Nicholas, what’s this I hear about Nathan becoming a firefighter?”

“Shut up! You guys are having another kid?”

He sets the menu down as Charlie nods, leaning over to kiss her, his hand on Kaya’s forehead. “Who’s coming to stay with us, honey?”

Her squeaky voice says, “Brother!”

“That’s right!”

Elated for them I gasp, “You’re having a boy!?”

Ethan bites his lip on a grin. “Yep. Due in about five months. Guess you thought Charlie had been eating too much hummus.”

She hits him, “Ethan!”

He kisses her again, and Kaya watches them.

Our conversation for the remainder of dinner is light-hearted and never for a minute awkward.

But the entire time my mind is now on family.

It might have been the right thing for Ethan to settle down. And for Gabriel, Emma, Hannah, Eric…jeezus, the list of all the cousins who’ve bit the wedding-ring dust! Sofia Sol is even getting married soon. Max moved in with Natalie right before Christmas and he hasn’t proposed yet, but it’s only the end of March now. I’m waiting for the phone vine to let us know he bent the knee, too.

But that’s them.

Not me.

I might be the oldest of my siblings, but I’ll be the last of us to get married.

That I know for fucking sure.