“Wait? He does?”
Kris waved him off and stepped away. “It’s nothing. My fault, really, when you think about it. I just can’t believe this.” Then her eyebrows drew together as if realizing something. “And what are you doing in here with me, by the way? You’ve never noticed when I got all moody before. Why aren’t you out there congratulating your buddy on his hot trophy wife?”
Mike hesitated. “Let’s just say I have my concerns as well.”
“Well, duh,” she snorted. “It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to spot the red flags.”
“No, it doesn’t,” he agreed, which seemed to make her a little bit happier.
“Do you think the others feel the same way?”
“Some of them,” Mike decided. “Mostly the women, I would think.”
“Totally,” Kris said, settling down. “Marrying Luke would be like marrying Peter Pan. He’s the poster boy for unmedicated ADHD. He can’t hold a job or focus on anything he doesn’t like for more than a few seconds. How does she plan on making that work in a marriage?”
Mike fought back the urge to ask his sister how she was planning on making that work with Luke. It wasn’t the right time, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to hear the answer anyway.
“Let’s talk about this later,” Mike suggested. “We stay away too much longer and we’re going to raise questions.”
“Hate to break it to you, bro, but we already have. Luke announces he’s engaged and we both disappear? I promise you everyone has noticed by now.”
She was right. Mike looked around nervously. “Then we need an alibi.”
Kris shook her head and finished dabbing the tears away from her eyes. “I’ll leave that to you. You’ve always been the smooth one. At this point, I really don’t care.”
He grabbed his sister by the shoulders, forcing her to look into his eyes. “Kris, you’ve held it together for years, watching Luke and other women without any of us having a clue you felt anything.” Yes, he’d suspected, but she’d always denied. “Hold it together for the night until we can get a feel for this girl, okay? Drama is not going to help anyone, so let’s save confessionals for a time and place where there won’t be audience participation.”
“Yeah,” she said, nodding. “You’re right. Might as well find out what she has that I don’t, right?”
“Exactly,” he said, although he wasn’t really listening at that point. He was looking for glasses, and all he cared was that her tears were wiped away and Kris looked composed. “Now do we have any cups we’re not already using outside?”
Chapter 9
Technically there were only eighteen people surrounding Rori and Luke, but she felt like she was standing in the middle of an arena. In usual Cannon fashion, everyone was talking at once. The difference was that Luke seemed to be able to understand the individual words.
“I’ll tell you the story,” he called out, motioning for everyone to hush. They did, smiling and sharing excited looks, until Shelly broke form. She was looking for something and her smile faded when she didn’t find it. After one more quick glance around the yard, she replaced her smile and looked back at Luke.
Curious as to what had Shelly concerned, Rori took a look around as Luke started the story.
“It’s really simple, actually,” he said, reaching for her hand and smiling. “I was in Bangkok, trying to visit the Wat Pho and my cab driver took me to the wrong place—something they apparently do to all the tourists. He was telling me I owed him fifty bucks to get some place I hadn’t remotely asked to be. Rori saw what was going on, took pity, and stepped in.”
“Aw, your princess in shining armor,” Shelly teased.
“Something like that,” he said, pulling her in and looking to down to her in an unspoken cue for a quick, demonstrative kiss. Rori obliged, hearing a chorus of ‘aw’s before eyes they broke apart to see how Luke’s best friend and impossibly cute younger sister were taking the news.
Only then did Rori realize that Mike wasn’t in the group. There were only seventee—no, sixteen people in a semi-circle around them. Kris, the perky blonde—or “the affair waiting to happen,” as Rori had begun to think of her— was gone too and within seconds Rori knew that everyone in the group was distinctly aware of the fact. All except for Luke, who seemed oblivious.
“From there we just played tourist together. I just didn’t want to leave Rori, even to come home. And then all of a sudden I was proposing. When I saw her boarding her flight to Turkey, I just knew I couldn’t let Rori walk out of my life. I wanted her with me. Forever.”
Mrs. Cannon dabbed her eyes. “That’s beautiful, Luke.”
“Yeah,” Shelly muttered. “Didn’t know he had it in him.”
“You’re going to have to propose again,” Mike’s dad said. “And with a ring.”
“A ring Rori gets to pick out,” Shelly added.
“No, really,” Rori said, uncomfortable with the push for romance. “Once was enough. I promise. My answer’s not going to change.”
Shelly laughed. “Clearly you’ve never been engaged before. You’re going to want to string him up in the trees.”
All the women laughed at that, while the men stayed silent.
“I think this deserves a toast!” Mike’s voice called out as he stepped out of the patio door carrying several stemmed glasses filled with a clear, bubbling liquid. Kris stepped out behind Mike, carrying more glasses, and Rori watched an actual sag of relief ripple through the group as the two of them reappeared.
“All we could find is Sprite, but I think it fits the mood,” Mike said. “Kids, your cups are inside. Go grab them.”
Sprite? The Cannons toasted an engagement with soda? Rori definitely wasn’t in Europe anymore.
“I’ll get you one,” Luke said, leaving her standing where she was and joining the throng for glasses. Moments later, children came back out with cups of Sprite and called out a “congratulations” to her before they chugged their drinks and headed back to the tramp. Trailing behind them, Luke returned to her side.
“M’lady,” he said passing off the drink, just as Mike raised his glass.
“To Luke and Rori,” he said loudly. “May they both find the love they’ve longed for.”
Love? Oh, Rori had found love, all right. Years ago. She’d also watched it flit away without looking back, leaving her broken. No way she was going back there, but she raised her glass with everyone else, chimed glasses with Luke and took a sip of Sprite as Kris moved in to stand next her.
“Good luck,” Kris said, her assessing gaze anything but casual. “Trust me, you’re going to want advice, so feel free to ask us anything, anytime.”
“Sure,” Rori replied, though she didn’t really mean it. She and Luke could handle things on their own. But still, Rori was very interested in the dynamics of Luke and this girl with the quintessential all-American good looks that westerners were so partial to. She watched as Kris stepped over to congratulate Luke, interested to see if Luke would try to hug her again. Kris didn’t even offer him a chance to make a move before offering her fist for a bump.
“Congrats, bro,” she said, her tone completely casual. Rori narrowed her eyes, trying to tell if it was too casual.
“Thanks. She’s awesome, right?” Luke said with his usual Luke smile as he squeezed Rori against him.
“Well, maybe if you’d get out of here so we can talk to her then I would know.” Kris bobbed her head toward the children. “Hit the tramp, Luke. We women are hijacking your fiancée.” When Luke didn’t immediately split, Kris turned to Mike. “Help him out, will you, brother?”
Mike smiled, as Rori watched something invisible pass between Mike and Kris. Some secret that had the quick nod Mike gave his sister turn solemn for the barest moments before he slapped Luke on the shoulder and looked at Rori.
“You’re way out of his league,” Mike told her with a wink. “But a total keeper. We’ll keep you for as long as you want to stay around.” He then turned to L
uke. “Now let’s give the women some privacy to plan the rest of your life, shall we?”
“But—”
Any objection was futile. It was like the Cannons had planned for the announcement. All the men were now hovering over the barbecue while the woman circled the chairs and sat, clearly waiting for Rori and Kris to join them. Rori didn’t know whether to be charmed or a little scared.
“We don’t bite,” Kris said with a friendly smile. “We just want to make sure you know what you’re getting into. Come on over.”
With no other real option, Rori took her place with the females on the porch.
Chapter 10
Mike angled himself on the tramp so he could see the women on the porch. While his nieces and nephews squealed with joy, he watched his sister for cues as to how the conversation was going.
Unfortunately, it looked like it was going very well. Mike could read his mom and sisters-in-law pretty well, and all of them seemed quite smitten with Rori. Whatever she was saying to them clearly had them impressed.
This impression was confirmed when Kris sent him a look of resignation that said, I haven’t found a chink in her armor yet, but I’ll keep looking.
Not good.
Rori was passing inspection, which meant everyone would approve of her marrying Luke.
Before this day, Mike would have never believed that he and Luke could have ever fallen for the same woman. In the ten years since the two of them had started dating, Mike had never even looked twice at a girl Luke liked. They hadn’t even been in the same zip code as Mike’s type.
Until today. Until Rori.
It was a fact Mike needed to get over, and get over quickly. Luke had a fiancée. Mike thought she was hot. Big whoop. Hot girls were everywhere, and Mike was currently in a self-imposed moratorium until he got his student loans paid off. He wasn’t even in the market.
At least, that’s what he could tell himself when he wasn’t looking at Rori. As soon as he caught sight of her again, a chemical reaction in his brain stripped him of logic and left him in a different head space entirely.
“Do you think Kris likes her?” Luke asked from across the tramp as Mike’s youngest niece flew above their heads squealing. In his distraction Mike had allowed her to get bounced way too high.
“Looks that way,” Mike said, trying to keep his voice neutral as he caught his niece on her way down.
“Again! Again!” she cried, squirming away from him. He let her down.
“I knew you guys would love her!” Luke beamed. “Seriously, Mike, she’s perfect. Like, crazy perfect.”
“Bounce me now!” Mike’s nephew pouted at their feet.
Mike shared a look with Luke and a moment later the kid was flying up like a rocket. This time Mike didn’t catch the kid, but kept his eyes on Luke.
“Do you love her?”
Luke laughed. “Seriously? Only you would ask that.”
“Someone has to,” Mike challenged.
“Not in this case,” Luke said, timing his next bounce just right to bounce Mike’s oldest nephew, Alex, above their heads. The kid flew up between them, flapping his arms like a struggling bird. “She’s not into that. She cares about common goals and physical attraction. Rori thinks love is something that you grow into in a marriage, not a prerequisite.”
Mike stopped bouncing and stared his friend, his vision momentarily blocked as Alex plummeted back to the tramp.
“You’re kidding me,” Mike said, his chest suddenly feeling quite hollow.
“Nope,” Luke grinned. “Perfect, right?”
No. Not perfect at all. In fact, quite the opposite. To fall in love at first sight with a woman who didn’t believe in love?
“You’ll see, dude,” Luke said when Mike hesitated. “She’s perfect. You’ll love her.”
And that, Mike thought, is the problem.
Chapter 11
When the guests said their goodbyes, and disappeared into the minivans, Rori was surprised to have her fiancé bid her good night as well.
“I’m so ready to pass out,” Luke said through a yawn. Then he dropped a quick kiss on her. “See you tomorrow?”
Rori searched his eyes to see if he actually meant it. She understood staying in separate rooms for the sake of propriety, but was he seriously planning on just walking two houses down the road without availing himself to his fiancée?
When Luke walked away without so much as a backwards glance, Rori had to assume that yes, he was. She observed that Luke suddenly didn’t look so tired when he caught up to Mike and the two guys started home. Suddenly Luke was animated again.
“You’ll learn to speak his code,” Kris said from behind Rori. “Ready to ‘pass out’ means he’s one bag of Twizzlers away from playing Xbox all night.” Then, before Rori could reply, Kris motioned up the stairs. “I’ll show you your room.”
“Thank you,” Rori muttered, a bit dumbfounded for more reasons than one.
Who were these people? Was she seriously going to spend the night in the same house as a woman she was pretty sure wanted Luke for herself? And speaking of Luke, what had happened to the guy who had stayed up all night talking with her in Thailand? Was he seriously going to go home and play Xbox with his roommate all night?
Not knowing what to say, Rori followed Kris up the stairs and was led to the first door on the right.
“Here’s the spare room,” Kris said, opening the door and flipping on the light to reveal a blue and white room. “Sorry it’s not much on the eyes. If I weren’t still staying here we’d put you in my room, but I guess you’re stuck with Mike’s old room.”
Mike’s room. Mike’s bed… again. It was like a conspiracy.
“It’s fine,” Rori said, walking in. Except for the blue carpet, it didn’t look like a guy’s room at all. Just a regular guest room. “Trust me, this is like a penthouse compared to a lot of the places I’m used to staying.”
“I’ll bet,” Kris said, although Rori sensed sarcasm. She felt Kris’s turquoise eyes giving her a slow once over. “Sounds like you’ve seen the world.”
Rori shrugged, ignoring Kris’s scrutiny even as she was struck by those vivid blue Cannon eyes. If Rori, as a woman, was struck by the other woman’s eyes, how could Luke not be? “My parents are big on traveling.”
“Luke is too,” Kris said, leaning against the door frame with the posture of a dancer, her long legs crossing at the ankles. “What does your dad do?”
“He creates and sells patents.”
A single eyebrow shot up on Kris. “He must be a very smart guy.”
“Oh, just a genius,” Rori said, keeping it light.
Kris hesitated, thinking about that. “Is that why you like Luke? Because he’s not a thinker and you’ve got daddy issues?”
Rori blinked in surprise, not expecting such a personal and uncomfortably accurate question. “I hadn’t thought about that.”
“I just…” Kris said, then stopped.
“Yes?” Rori prompted.
Kris shook her head. “No, it’s not my place to pry. I’m bad with that. Sorry. Do you get cold at night? I could get you another blanket.”
“No,” Rori said, stepping closer to Kris. “I’m fine. Although we’re both tiptoeing around something here, aren’t we?”
Rori watched as Kris hesitated, a dozen emotions flashing through the other woman’s eyes before she stepped all the way into the room and lightly shut the door behind her.
“I’m going to be straight up with you,” Kris said softly. “For as long as I’ve been alive, my family has assumed that Luke and I would end up together. I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve been teased about it.”
Honesty. Rori hadn’t been expecting that.
“I thought as much,” Rori confessed. “And when everyone teased you, did you secretly hope they were right? Woman to woman, am I walking into a mess here? Do you love Luke?”
Kris wouldn’t meet her eyes. “Right now I think he’s an ass, and that’s the
truth. There are times when I think there isn’t a more thoughtless or daft person on the planet. He’s undisciplined and always takes the easy road. What’s worse is that taking the easy path almost always works out for him. It drives me insane.”
Rori didn’t see a need to mention that being insane and being in love were close cousins. Kris seemed smart enough to have picked up on that.
“Being with Luke can be like babysitting a really big two year old,” Kris added. “But he’s also the most charming, optimistic, and openhearted guy I know. When you’re with him everything seems like it will be okay, and that’s his charm. Whenever you slip too far into the mire of life, Luke can pull you out as easy as breathing. It’s the bonus flip side of him being thoughtless 99% of the time. It’s a weird balance.”
“Clearly,” Rori said, watching the woman very carefully. “May I ask one more personal question?”
Kris shrugged. “Why not? We’re on a roll, it seems.”
“Do you plan on bringing your feelings to Luke’s attention and making him choose between the two of us?” The way Rori saw it, that wouldn’t be such a bad thing. But still, she needed to know.
Kris looked at her then, her expression solemn. “The way I see it, Rori, he already has. So no, I won’t be creating any dramatic situations. I’ve got a boyfriend. I’m good.”
Rori wasn’t quite so sure, but she let it go. She had her answer, and Kris seemed happy enough to close the door on the discussion.
“You should have room for your clothes in the closet,” Kris said opening the closet door. “There’s still some stuff in there for storage, but feel free to unpack. This is your home until you and Luke tie the knot. Settle in however you like, and sleep tight.”
“Thank you,” Rori said, as Kris opened the door again. “Especially for the honesty.”
For a split second Kris actually looked self conscious. “It wouldn’t be fair to have you walking around in the dark while everyone shares covert looks. It’s gotta be hard enough as it is.”
Mr Imperfect Page 5