Chapter Nine
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“Did you apologize to Dizzy?” Carter asked Easton as the Anderson men cleared the table and loaded the dishwasher. It was the tradition that if the women cooked, the men always cleaned up afterward.
“I did,” Easton replied, rinsing a dirty pan in the sink. “She graciously accepted. I think we’re friends again.”
“You should be more than friends with a woman like that,” Carter declared, slapping down a stack of dirty plates. “Dizzy’s the real deal. The kind of woman that will always be interesting and fun. I don’t even know how you stay awake on your dates with Melanie. She’s attractive and nice but not exactly scintillating in the conversation department.”
This was normally where Easton protested that Dizzy was like a little sister but he couldn’t do that anymore. Lately he’d been thinking about things that weren’t sisterly in the least.
Most recently when they were upstairs in his childhood bedroom. When he was a teenager he would have given his left nut to have a beautiful woman like Dizzy in his room. A real live female that smelled and looked amazing. Now that he was pushing forty-one he shouldn’t have the same reaction but damned if he didn’t. He’d been aware of everything about her. The slim fit of her jeans, the way her breasts swelled underneath her pink blouse, and especially how soft her skin was when he’d touched her. Something he should never do again unless she was drowning in the lake or was choking on a bite of food.
Right. Just in emergency situations. He couldn’t let her die because she didn’t chew her steak sufficiently.
“Hey, Melanie is a lovely woman, so don’t say anything against her.” Easton elbowed his younger brother out of the way so he could wipe his hands on a dishtowel. “We did end things last night.”
His older twin by seven minutes, Noah entered the kitchen juggling a stack of bowls and a couple of glasses. “Who did what to whom last night?”
Waggling his brows, Carter snorted. “East didn’t do or get a damn thing. He broke up with his latest girlfriend last night. Again.”
Easton didn’t need this shit from his younger brother. Or anyone else, for that matter. He had his life firmly in control. For the most part. At least more than Carter had. He’d never spent more than a night or two with any female so he had no room to talk.
“She’s a lovely woman. It just didn’t work out, that’s all. Leave it alone.”
But Carter was just getting started.
“Leann and I both think that Easton should ask out Dizzy. What do you think?”
“It doesn’t matter what Noah thinks,” Easton growled impatiently, nudging his twin aside to place the plates in the dishwasher. He was the only one doing anything to clean up while his brothers stood around with their thumbs up their asses. “My romantic life is not a democracy.”
Noah placed the dishes he was carrying on the counter next to the sink. While Easton was the intense and analytical twin, his brother was easygoing and charming, relaxed in a way that Easton actually envied at times.
“Dizzy’s a nice girl. You could do worse.” Noah laughed and grinned, leaning down to load a stack of silverware into the dishwasher. “As a matter of fact, you have done worse. Remember that–”
“We don’t need a trip down memory lane,” Easton cut in. “Unless you want to go back and review some of your old girlfriends. There were some real winners in that not-so-exclusive group.”
“You’re right. But Dizzy is the kind of girl you fall in love with and marry. Why are we discussing this anyway? Has she shown interest in you?”
Not in the least. She probably loathed him at the moment.
Carter, however, was all about this matchmaking nonsense. “There’s tension. Major tension when they’re in a room together.”
“That’s because I piss her off,” Easton replied heavily, closing the dishwasher door. Anything that didn’t fit had to be hand washed and right now he was thinking Shane ought to do it because he hadn’t helped at all so far. “It’s not because she wants to go out with me.”
“But you want to go out with her?” Noah asked, his brow furrowed.
“No, I don’t–”
“He doesn’t know what he wants,” interjected Carter. “His taste in women is questionable at best. He needs to find someone that can’t be described as suitable.”
Dizzy certainly would fit in that category. He doubted she’d enjoy one of the dead boring business events he had to attend on occasion.
Easton was going to kick Shane’s ass. They’d not seen hide nor hair of him since the pie had been devoured. Now they were going to get stuck elbow-deep in sudsy water.
“So I should date a witch?”
Noah laughed heartily as he filled the sink. “She’s not a witch. She simply has some New Age ideas about the spirit and the body. Remember when I busted my arm last year? She brought over some of those healing crystals and what she called a candle of intent. I was supposed to light it every day for a few minutes and picture my arm healed. I figured it couldn’t hurt so I did it in the morning when I brushed my teeth and the doctor said I healed faster than anyone he’d ever seen. Said it was, and I quote, miraculous. So who are we to question it? Could be real or it might not but she’s not hurting anyone.”
“What if she’d told you that you didn’t need a cast or pain killers?” Easton challenged.
“I’m open-minded, not crazy,” Noah laughed. “Jesus, will you just relax? You’re wound tighter than an eight-day clock, as Mom always says. This is why you can’t keep a girlfriend. Your taste in women isn’t the problem, it’s you. You’re so much damn work it’s exhausting.”
Easton wanted to protest, but if there was one person in the world that knew him better than himself it was Noah. They’d grown up together and spent almost every minute of their childhood together. His twin wouldn’t lie to him.
“I’m not that bad,” Easton muttered, abandoning the dishes and sliding the condiments back into the refrigerator. He was definitely going to kick Shane’s ass.
“Dizzy would be a good match for you.” Noah began dunking the remaining dishes into the sink to soak. “You’re uptight and she’s relaxed and peaceful. She could teach you to meditate or some shit like that. And Mom and Dad would be thrilled. They love her like a daughter already.”
Carter nodded as he wiped down the counters. “She’d deal with all the Anderson family bullshit well too. She already does so much for the community. She’s always volunteering her time for one thing or another and she’s deeply involved in the politics of Tremont, understanding the issues. She’s passionate about this town as well. After all, she could have stayed in New York City after she graduated from art school but she came home. Add in that she’s smart, talented, funny, and beautiful and she’s a winner. Hell, if you don’t ask her out, I will.”
“The hell you will.” The words came out before Easton could censure them. “Dizzy is too nice a girl for a playboy like you. Leave her be.”
Grinning cockily, Carter just laughed. “I can’t imagine how you would have reacted if you were actually attracted to her. Thank goodness she’s just a little sister to you.”
It was then that Shane decided to join them, the kitchen door swinging open and almost smacking Carter in the face.
“Sorry, I’m late. I got to talking with Mom. What have I missed?”
Easton picked up a dishtowel and tossed it at his younger brother. “Nothing. Now get to work. We saved the hand washing for you.”
Eyes widening, Shane easily caught the rectangle of cloth. “Okay, what’s eating you?”
“He broke up with Melanie last night,” Carter piped up. “We think he should ask Dizzy out but now I’m thinking I will instead.”
“I guess I missed quite a bit,” Shane said slowly, his gaze darting between brothers. “And I think I’ll keep it that way. Unless East wanted my opinion.”
“I don’t,” Easton said curtly. “And don’t call me that.”
Easton’s mother and West’s mother had thought it would be hilarious to have sons named Easton and Westin, born only months apart. It wasn’t funny at all.
“Whatever,” Shane laughed. “You know you’re the only one that is bothered by that name. Everyone else couldn’t give a shit. Now Carter, where are you going to take Dizzy?”
“Nowhere. He’s taking her nowhere.”
Shane’s brows flew up and Carter and Noah snickered, not bothering to hide their amusement.
“I think I hit a sore spot. I’ll just stay quiet and scrub this pot.”
Easton had had it with his siblings. Only Shane was married and the others didn’t know anything more about women than Easton did. Hell, probably a lot less.
“I’ve done my share. Last one out of the kitchen turns on the dishwasher.”
Easton turned and exited the kitchen, striding out of the back door and outside to get a lungful of fresh air. He’d apologized, eaten dinner, cleaned up, and now it might be time to go home. Everywhere he turned he couldn’t get away from well-meaning family. He knew that Carter wasn’t going to ask Dizzy out but he’d taken the bait. He also knew that his brothers and Leann were just wanting to see him happy. They cared about him and it wasn’t done to make him crazy, even if that was the actual result. But it also meant that a few awkward conversations were to be had. That’s when a terrible thought occurred to him.
If they’d been bugging Easton about Dizzy, had they been talking to her about him? Did she think that he liked her and wanted to ask her out? How did she feel about him and that prospect?
This was worse than fifth grade. Leann might as well pass Dizzy a note asking if she liked Easton. Check yes or no. This was why he was a workaholic. He simply didn’t get all of this romance stuff. Numbers were safe and predictable. Emotions? They were much more dangerous.