Chapter 24: Brotherly Talk

THEO

Things were going great.

Nadia had been the happiest I’d seen her since I met her, and that made me happy. I knew it was cheesy, but it was true.

“So, how long have you known this girl?” Wren asked.

Wren was visiting town for the weekend. He invited himself over when he found out I bought a house.

“That doesn’t matter,” I said. “What matters is that I love her.”

“And the answer to that is to buy an engagement ring?”

“I’m ready for that step. We are already practically living together, and I want to spend the rest of my life with her.”

Wren sighed. “I’m glad you have shit figured out.”

“Things are still going poorly with Cora?”

“She’s giving me whiplash. I don’t know where I stand with her.”

“Give her time and treat her right; she’ll come around. What do you think about this ring?” I asked.

“From what you have told me, Nadia is a simple girl, so go with a single solitaire diamond ring.”

“Good idea. You’ll get to meet her and Nathan at dinner tonight.”

“Can’t wait to meet the girl that got you to settle down.”

We all ate at a local pizza place. It was informal, and none of us had to cook.

I stood up to greet Nadia with a kiss and Nathan with a fist bump.

“Nadia, Nathan, this is my brother Wren.”

“It’s finally nice to meet the girl he’s been talking about,” Wren said.

Nadia’s face flushed, and I couldn’t help but smile at her.

“Is he as cool as you?” Nathan asked.

“He’s cool but not as cool as me,” I said.

Wren scoffed. “I’m actually cooler.”

Nathan found our playful bickering entertaining.

“How long are you staying?” Nadia asked Wren.

“Just for the weekend. Once I heard Theo was settling down, I had to see it with my own eyes.”

Nadia laughed but also glanced at me, and I could tell the comment bothered her. She changed the subject.

“What do you do for a living, Wren?”

“I’m a data analyst. I study data for trends and patterns for a brokerage firm, and Theo tells me you’re a writer too.”

“It’s how we met. I prefer to write blogs, and I’m currently thinking about writing a book.”

“I think the writing comes second to travel for Theo.”

I kicked Wren under the table, hoping he would get the hint, but he didn’t.

“He hates staying in one place for too long, and it amazes me he bought a house.”

Once the food arrived, the discussion died, but I could tell that Nadia wasn’t happy.

I had finally convinced her to trust me, that I was staying, and Wren was going to undo that, and I’d be back at square one.

“Nadia seems like a keeper,” Wren said.

“Why did you keep talking about how I wasn’t the one to settle down?” I asked.

“Because it’s the truth,” he replied.

“Not anymore, and now Nadia will not trust me to stay,” I said.

“She will if you propose soon,” Wren said.

“No. I’m not using that to get her to stay with me,” I said.

“Then why did you buy the ring?” he asked.

“Because I love her. I want to spend my life with her,” I said.

“I think you’re overreacting; she’s fine,” Wren said.

I let out a sigh and walked away. I was not spending this weekend arguing with my brother.

The rest of Wren’s visit went well. We put the dinner incident behind us, and I told myself I would deal with it after he left, which was why I was waiting for Nadia to answer her door.

I would normally let myself in, but the door was locked.

The back and forth was getting a bit old, but I knew that eventually everything would work out and I just had to work through the trust issues Nadia had.

Nathan was the one to answer the door instead of Nadia.

“Is your sister here?” I asked.

“She is, but she’s in a mood,” Nathan said.

I figured as much. She was probably second-guessing everything.

As Nathan let me in, Nadia walked out of the hall with a wet head, which was probably why Nathan answered the door.

“Hey,” I said.

“I didn’t know you were coming over,” Nadia said.

“Why wouldn’t I come over?” I asked.

She shrugged her shoulders.

“Are you mad at the things my brother said?” I asked.

“It made me feel foolish for expecting you to stay,” she said.

“I’m not doing this anymore, Nadia. Start trusting me. Have I given you any doubt since we got back together?” I asked.

She shook her head no.

“Then don’t judge me on what Wren said. It’s different now, I’m different now, and it hurts me every time you assume the worst about me. I’m not a bad guy,” I said.

“I know, but I had this fear of ending up like my mother.”

“I will not leave you, and if you still don’t believe me, then this will not work out.”

“I’m sorry, I really am. The fear just crept in, and it was hard to stop. I was trying, and I’m sure I’d slip up again.”

“If you did, you needed to talk to me. I didn’t want you running away and hiding from me.”

“Okay.”

I walked up to her and pulled her into me. She stood there and let me hold her.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled into my chest.

“You can stop apologizing,” I said.

Nadia started laughing and pulled away. “I was going to apologize again.”

“We’d work on that.”