Sweet Distraction ✔︎

[6] 𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒕 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔

She was the answer. The thought of going out with Isabelle, of her, eased the tension in Evan’s shoulders. Their encounter at the auction had obliterated his concern about his medical condition that night. Spending more time with her would keep the darkness at bay.

He still hadn’t told his family about his need for another valve replacement surgery—in fact, he’d shoved it so far to the back of his mind that he had no intention of dragging it out for months.

Then there was the irrational but undeniable hope for a miracle. Somehow his heart would magically repair itself, and he wouldn’t need the surgery anymore. Stupid how after thirty-one years he held onto that childhood wish even though he knew it would never come true.

“Hey, man, you go on your date yet?” Adam asked.

He was sitting on the sofa in their father’s living room, balancing a bowl of tortilla chips on his stomach. Across the room, the big-screen TV displayed the 49ers football game.

“Not yet,” Evan said.

“Really?” Their youngest brother Tyler, slouched in a chair with his tablet, lifted his eyebrows. “The way you and that girl were playing tonsil hockey, I thought you’d be hitting that Saturday night.”

Evan didn’t bother responding.

“I was surprised she kissed you back, though,” Tyler continued.

“What does that mean?”

“Nothing, don’t get me wrong.” Tyler shrugged, flipping his overlong hair away from his forehead. “She’s hot if you like that type.”

“What type is that?” Adam cracked open a beer.

“Kind of a wallflower.”

Evan glared at his brother. “A wallflower?”

“Yeah.” Tyler swiped at the screen of his tablet. “You should’ve seen her when the spotlight hit her. Looked like she was about to faint. I mean, don’t get me wrong, bro. She’s pretty and all. Just seemed a little dull, you know? She’d be perfect for Spence, not that he’d know what to do with her.”

He shot a mischievous look at their other brother, one of the twins who preferred spending time in the laboratories at Candy King than he did on the social scene. Not even Aunt Julia could have wrangled Spencer into participating in the Cream of the Crop auction.

“That’s the best you can do?” Spencer asked dryly.

“How do you keep a major nerd in suspense for twenty-four hours?” A sly grin crossed Tyler’s face. “I’ll tell you tomorrow.”

Spencer sighed. “As Dr. Who once said, you are a classic example of the inverse ratio between the size of the mouth and the size of the brain. And I’ll give you a hundred dollars if you can explain inverse ratio.”

“I’m pretty sure it has something to do with the way your dick shrinks in direct proportion to a woman’s fuckability.”

“Boys.” Aunt Julia walked into the living room, dressed in a well-fitted 49ers jersey and jeans so artfully ripped in various places that they probably cost a fortune. “I will not tolerate that kind of talk about women. Tyler.”

“You know I love women wildly.” He turned his engaging grin on her. “By the way, I saw you chatting up that IT guy at the auction. Reeling in some cougar bait, Aunt Julia?”