Will nodded.
“You didn’t say anything for four days?” She crossed her arms over her chest and pressed her lips into a tight line.
He sighed and took another swig of his beer.Thiswas why he didn’t want to talk about it.
“Did you tell Corey?” she asked.
Corey Matthews had been Will’s best friend since they were ten, and he was closer to him than he was to any of his siblings, even his twin brother. People always assumed he’d go to Luke with shit, but his brother was never around.
Will shook his head.
“Luke?” she asked.
He shook his head again.
“Okay,” she said. “She just pushed Clarissa out of the top spot of people I hate the most in the world.”
Will smirked. Clarissa had left his brother Grant a few years earlier, but it turned out to be a good thing. Grant was now married to Trish, and she was awesome.
“Still,” his sister continued, “I’m kinda surprised you’re okay with it.”
He slumped back and huffed.
Andy ran into the kitchen at that moment and paused when he caught sight of Will. “Sorry?” The poor kid thought Will’s reaction was to him.
“You’re fine, dude. I was just telling my sister about Genni,” Will said.
Andy nodded. “She was never very nice.”
He was right. Genni had gone to a few swim meets, and she had always acted like the kids on the team were a communicable disease she might catch. Not to mention the way she’d acted the weekend of Andy’s mother’s funeral. She’d set an actual timer to make sure they didn’t stay at the wake for more than ten minutes. She’d only given Will enough time to give Andy a quick hug before he was forced to leave so they could do something she deemed more important. That was probably the beginning of the end of them when Will really thought about it.
Andy continued out the door to the pool.
“You toldhimabout your breakup?” Beth’s voice rose an octave as she cocked her head to the side.
Maybe it was weird, but the poor kid had been upset that his sister hadn’t shown up again. And then he was worried that he wasn’t welcome at the Demodas’.
Will shrugged and closed his eyes for a long second.
“Are you okay?” Beth rested her hand on his forearm. “Your girlfriend of five years just broke up with you because she got married, and you’re acting like it’s no big deal.”
Will hadn’t been completely in the dark about the other guy. After a friend’s wedding a few months ago, they had decided to see other people. And he honestly didn’t mind that Genni had moved on. They’d never had a great love story, and no matter how much she wanted it, they never would.
Genni was beautiful, smart, talented, and full of ambition. And when she wasn’t being a witch, she was fun. He wasn’t interested in marriage or living with someone, but he liked having a steady girl rather than random hookups, like some of his brothers preferred. And Genni had been perfect for that for a time.
But Will was self-aware enough to realize that two control freaks couldn’t make it long term. Most of their fights started because neither wanted to give in nor do things the other’s way.
“If I thought you guys wouldn’t make a huge stink about it, I’d probably be relieved. Our relationship was a headache. And although it was predictable—which I like—I realized this past year that we needed to be done.” Will liked the consistency of a steady relationship, but he made sure it wasn’t ever with anyone he’d get too serious about. Because he wasn’t willing to go down that road.
Beth stared hard at him and tapped her nails against the table. “Luke has always said you’d be different if it was the real deal. You were too chill about her. Maybe he was right.”
His twin brother, Luke, loved to meddle in the relationships of his siblings. Mostly so he didn’t have to deal with his own lack of one. He and his twin shared the fear of getting hurt. They’d watched their father grieve their mother until the day he died. Will was more open about his unwillingness for marriage. With Luke, it wasn’t allowed to be discussed.
“God forbid anyone tell Luke he’s wrong or to butt out,” Will replied, ready to be done with this conversation. “What were you going to talk to me about if not Genni?”
“Andy.” Beth gave him a pointed look. “Why is he with you tonight? Is there anything we can do to help?”
“Oh.” In hindsight, her concern was obvious. “His sister didn’t show, and he said he was supposed to find a ride home. I’ll drop him off at home in a bit. I plan to talk to her then so I can figure out what’s going on.”