Wrong Place, Right Time(85)
“How do you know what Dev wants?”
She shrugs, trying to act cool, but she doesn’t fool me for a second. “Oh, I don’t know. We chat sometimes, when we’re working out.”
“About me?”
She wiggles her eyebrows. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”
I grab her arm and squeeze it. “Yes! That’s why I’m asking you these questions! Please don’t make me beg. It’s embarrassing.” I pick up a muffin and pull the wrapper off very carefully. It allows me to focus on something other than my sister looking at me with what I assume will be pity in her eyes.
“It’s so cute. You both like each other, but neither one of you wants to be the one to say it first.”
I disregard my muffin and stare my sister down. “How do you know that, though? Did he say it?”
“He doesn’t need to. I can tell.”
I shake my head, disappointed. My sister is pretty smart, but that doesn’t mean she can see what’s going on in a guy’s mind. In my experience, men are too closed off to get an accurate read. “Well, I think he’s pretty cool, but I’m not sure he really likes me seriously. I think he’s attracted to me, sure, but not into me for a relationship. Not a serious one. He could be a player.”
“Why would you say that?”
“Because we were on the computer together looking at a dating site, and he was telling me how I should go find a guy and set up a date with him. It was the perfect situation for him to suggest himself, but he told me to go date someone else. I mean, that doesn’t sound like a guy who’s interested in me.”
May is frowning. “That is weird. He asked me lots of questions about you, even when we were talking about other things. He just brought it up randomly, several times. Why would he tell you to go out with other guys if he’s so interested in you, though?”
“Exactly.” I’m so sad right now. God, this sucks. I’m going to be single for the rest of my life.
“Maybe I read him wrong. Maybe I got the signals crossed or something.”
I nod. “He’s probably just being really friendly, asking you about me because you guys are coworkers and he likes you.”
May doesn’t look very convinced. “I don’t know. He seems to be interested in more than just a friendly way. But you never know with Dev. He plays it pretty close to the vest, I guess.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Well, his son, for one thing . . .”
“Jacob? What do you mean?” I take a big bite of my muffin to keep myself from talking for a while. I want to hear everything May has to say on this subject.
“I didn’t find out about Jacob until recently. I mean, I knew that Dev had a child, but I didn’t realize that he had a child with special needs, or that he was a single dad doing everything himself.”
“How could you not know everything about the situation? You’re dating his boss, and you see Dev every day.” Obviously my sister needs some training in how to be a proper busybody. I thought I’d taught her better than this . . .
She shrugs. “Ozzie isn’t somebody who’d share people’s personal details with me. If I ask about something specific, he’ll usually tell me, but he doesn’t elaborate and he doesn’t just volunteer stuff.” She shrugs. “I guess I never thought to ask about Dev’s family life.”
I shake my head. “Sometimes I’m not even sure we’re related.”
She pokes a finger at me and then herself. “You were always the psychoanalyst. I was always the patient, remember?”
“I guess so. I’m starting to think I should’ve let you be the doctor more often.”
May reaches over and puts her hand on mine, squeezing it gently. “I’m sorry that I haven’t been more concerned about your life. I should have asked you more questions about what was going on with Miles and the kids.”
I put my free hand on top of hers, making a tower of sisterly support. “Don’t say that. You haven’t done anything wrong. You’re the best sister in the world. Seriously. I didn’t want to talk to you today to make you feel guilty about anything, because you have nothing to feel guilty about.”
She sits back, apparently mollified. “So, what are you going to do about Dev?”
“Well, we’re going out to dinner tonight, so we’ll see. I guess I’ll just play it by ear.”
May’s expression brightens. “You’re going out for dinner? That’s awesome!” She takes a giant bite of her muffin, causing a pile of crumbs to fall and land in her lap. She brushes them onto the floor and then freezes when she realizes what she’s doing. “Oh cwab. Feev not here.”