"I didn't expect to see you at my father's funeral, so you're free not to worry," I tell him, getting irritated that we must discuss this matter at all.
"In all seriousness," he says, walking closer. "I'm so sorry to hear about your dad. I know you were all very close."
I sweep my hair behind my ear and do my best to look everywhere, but at Brody, who has a sincere look in his eyes. "Thanks," I tell him.
I unlock my Jeep by the key fob I'm clenching in my hand. "I didn't mean to be so crass," he continues, taking another step toward me.
"Parker, why don't you get into the Jeep. I'll be right there," I tell her.
She runs up to Brody and gives him a quick hug. "I'll see you tomorrow. Love you," she tells him.
"Later, Park. Love you too, sweetie."
I hate that their short interaction made my heart swell—just a little. Even grizzly bears can be nice for a minute, I suppose.
Parker climbs into the, and I remain standing still with my arms crossed over my chest. "My sister and your brother are dating or whatever," I tell him.
"Who would have thought that would actually happen," he says, chuckling. "The two nerds never had the guts to say boo to each other. Now their head over heels in wonderland, finally."
"I think they're good together," I tell him, narrowing my eyes. Maybe he's jealous of them.
"I figured if anyone in our family were going to hook up, it would have been us after that one time," he says, jiggling his brows.
I huff out a lungful of exhaustion. "Please. We were like stupid teenagers," I tell him. "I hardly remember any of that."
"Seven minutes in heaven that last for ten," he reminds me. "I don't know. I kind of recollect some of those minutes."
I drop my hands by my side, wishing he didn't bring any of this up. No one knows what happened that night, and I'll be damned if anyone finds out. "Anyway, it was wonderful running into you," I tell him, the sarcasm spilling out with each word.
"It was nice to see you again, Journey … Milan. You know, it's weird, my parents talk about your family so much and yet, never mentioned that you had gotten married at any one point."
I smirk. "It was a bad trip to Vegas on my twenty-first birthday. We'll leave it at that. Sound good?"
"Wow, that's quite a story," he says.
"Isn't it?" I rebut.
"Was the guy still around in the morning, or are you like still married to a stranger?"
"Think whatever you want to think, Brody."
"I can do that," he says, smirking.
I roll my eyes and toss my head back. "Can we avoid bringing any of this up if or when we see each other at a family event?" I'm not sure we'll run into each other again, but seeing how close Melody and Brett are getting, I can only imagine what's coming down the road for our two families.
"I'm surprised I haven't run into you since Brett has been working at your dad's shop and all."
The guilt. It's always there, and this is just a reminder. "I've had a hard time going into the shop," I tell him. I am giving him way more information than he deserves to hear from me.
"I can't imagine," he says, sounding sympathetic.
"Anyway, our encounter didn't happen," I tell him.
"So, my brother knows I'm here tonight, and he knows you were here tonight. I'm not sure we can pretend like we didn't see each other at a small school event. Why does it matter, anyway?"
I guess it doesn't matter. "I suppose," I tell him.
"It's nice to see you again," he says, his words are gentler than he's been sounding most of the night.