“When do I get to actually meet Charlotte?” I asked, before waving my hand dismissively. “I know that I’ve met Charlotte before, but I’ve never met her as your girlfriend. Fiancée! My soon-to-be sister-in-law!”
We’d been at school together and Charlotte was - had been, at least, since I realized I had no idea if she still was - Helena’s best friend.
Pat paused in dishing up the macaroni bake, chewing on his lower lip as if he hadn’t even thought about me and Charlotte meeting properly. “I dunno,” he muttered, the word half-swallowed. “I figure you’ll mostly be at the house with me. I told Charlotte to stay away from that side of town so she doesn’t accidentally see anything.”
It was impossible not to laugh. Lunengrove was a small place. There was no way on Earth that Charlotte didn’t already have a pretty good idea what her new house looked like. Maybe, if Pat was cunning, he could keep the inside a surprise.
“We’re having the engagement party at hers. If you offer to help set up, there’d only be the three of us around.”
“Yeah, of course, I’ll offer to help.” I nodded.
When I’d first found out that Pat was dating Charlotte, it had felt a little strange. I obviously knew how close she’d been with Helena and that seemed weird. But Pat and Charlotte had been together for five years now and Pat always sounded so happy when he talked about her. I could hardly think it weird when Charlotte made my baby brother beam widely whenever her name came up in conversation.
I knew that Pat worried about Charlotte’s connection to my ex-fiancée. Ten years ago, maybe even five years ago, it would have bothered me too. But I’d had enough time to accept the fact that this wedding was probably going to involve me seeing Helena again.
It felt weird to think that it had been ten years since we last saw each other. A lifetime, really.
Giving Pat a small grin, I promised him that I wouldn’t be weird about it. “She makes you happy and that’s all I care about.” It was certainly the truth.
There was that beam again, the one that came across in Pat’s voice even when we were talking on the phone. “Charlotte’s amazing,” he agreed happily. “And Helena’s been helping with, you know, flowers and centerpieces and God knows what else.” The look of absolute bewilderment on Pat’s face made me laugh.
“I mean, I guess Helena’s gotten used to the idea,” he went on to add. Living in our small hometown, Helena hadn’t had the same opportunity to keep out of Charlotte and Pat’s social lives. It made sense that she’d already be comfortable with the idea of them being together.
Setting a steaming plate of pasta down in front of me, Pat smiled. “It’s gonna be awesome to have you back for a whole summer, man.”
I waited for a pang in my chest at the mention of Helena’s name. When one didn’t come, it felt like a relief. It had been a long time since anyone even spoke about Helena around me. Maybe a decade was plenty to get over someone I’d thought of as the love of my life.
“You’re only saying that because I told you I’d help you build this house,” I teased. Pat wasn’t actually just after my manual labor skills. Giving him a slightly more genuine smile, I nodded. “It will be nice to spend more time with you, baby bro.” Pat rolled his eyes at being called that but didn’t object.
“This food looks amazing,” I commented. It was finally ready for eating and my stomach growled in response to how great it smelled.
Pat slouched into the chair opposite, kicking his long legs out under the table. Though we were the same height now, there was enough of a difference in our muscle mass for me to still feel like the bigger brother. Pat liked sports, but had never been as all-in about any of them as I was about hockey.
“You said a guy on your team builds houses for charity, right?” Pat asked. “Do you think if you asked nicely, he might come up to help? You always go on about how close you guys are, but they’ve never visited your home!”
“Chase? Yeah, I’m sure he’d be up for a weekend in Canada,” I nodded. “I’ll invite some other guys, too. lifting things will count for off-season exercise,” I added jokingly. That was another thing about staying here all summer - training. I’d arranged to train on my old high school ice. That was going to be weird, no doubt.
Digging into the food, I gave a surprised groan at just how good it tasted. “Fuck, Pat, when did you learn to cook like this?” I asked. I knew mom had done a good job at teaching Pat, but this was... well, this was better than the macaroni stuff mom made, not that I’d tell either of them that.
The grin that rounded Pat’s cheeks gave me my answer even before a single word left his lips. “Charlotte. This is one of her unhealthy recipes, but she’s taught me a few that are good for, you know, high-protein and low-sugar, whatever it was you said your new nutritionist was recommending.”
I remembered telling Pat about El’s suggestions for my diet. I hadn’t expected him to do anything with that information. The fact that he’d learned recipes especially for me warmed me even more than the cheese that was settling in my stomach.
“Not that I’m going to cook for you all summer,” Pat hastened to add. “But a couple of meals is the least I can do, with how hard I’m going to be working you.”
Even that was more than I expected; it made me smile. Pat was honestly excited about having
