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twenty-three

Lane

“We come bearing gifts,” Cole says, gesturing to the trays of coffee he and Ari are carrying. Knox and Josh appear to be carrying bags of pastries from one of my favorite bakeries right near Knox’s place.

“Thanks,” I reply, taking a cup from the tray and removing the lid before taking a large gulp of the black coffee.

“I grabbed something for Sage, too,” Knox adds, grabbing the smallest cup from the tray. “Hot chocolate.”

I let out a light laugh. “And I think Uncle Knox just became her favorite person.” I look into the living room, where my daughter is perched on the sofa watching Bluey. I think I love the show as much as she does. “Lovebug, come here!”

Sage perks up and quickly pads out to the kitchen, and I scoop her into my arms.

“What, Daddy?”

“Uncle Knox brought you a hot chocolate, and I think the rest of your uncles brought some yummy breakfast. Why don’t you pick what you want, and I’ll set you back up on the sofa?”

She looks over at the guys excitedly, and they’re happy to help her pick some pastries with bright smiles on their faces. She settles on an apple turnover and a couple of purple macarons. They let me know they bought those specifically for my daughter since purple is her favorite color.

These four guys, as well as the girls, are all the proof you need that family doesn’t have to be blood. I don’t know where I’d be without them.

Before we go back to the living room, Sage hugs each of their legs and thanks them for breakfast. Ari then helps me get her set back up on the sofa, and then we meet the guys back in the kitchen.

“So, what’s the meeting about, Brooks?” Josh asks, sliding himself up onto the counter and dangling his legs over the side.

“I’m just… anxious, I guess,” I breathe. “I haven’t been on a date in years. What if I fuck up tonight somehow?”

“Well,” Cole says, “she doesn’t seem like the type to hold that against you.”

“She seemed incredibly sweet when I met her last weekend,” Knox adds. “My fiancée seems to love her.”

Ari laughs. “You’re gonna just casually drop fiancée into every conversation possible, aren’t you?”

“Hell yeah, I am,” he grins. “Harlow’s awesome, and she decided she doesn’t mind spending her life with me. I’m a happy motherfucker.”

“Which means you’re one step closer to being my brother-in-law,” Cole chuckles.

“Worst part of this entire arrangement, to be honest,” Knox smirks.

Cole rolls his eyes. “You’re a dick.”

“Moving on,” Josh says, taking a bite out of a croissant. “Why are you overthinking this? You’re probably the most calm and collected of us.”

“Because I’m nervous as hell,” I groan, throwing my head back. “I like Olive. A lot. Sage does, too. I don’t want to mess up my daughter’s relationship with her if things don’t go well tonight.”

“Lane,” Ari sighs. “I was there when you two met. She’s just as into you as you are into her. Take a breath and tell us what you have planned.”

I do as Ari suggests and take a deep breath and then another, settling my racing nerves. “We’re having dinner. I made us a reservation at a French restaurant in Midtown. Liv mentioned in passing that French food is her favorite.”

“Ew, are you going to eat snails?” Ari’s face turns up in disgust.

I laugh heartily. “I’ll try anything once.”

“What else do you have planned for tonight?” Cole asks.

“That’s, uh… everything.”

Ari stares at me. “You don’t have anything else planned?”

“I told you I haven’t been on a date in years,” I sigh. “What do you know about dates anyway, Mr. Never-Gonna-Settle-Down?”

“God, you guys need to just read a book sometime,” he chuckles. “Romance books tell you all you need to know. Bring her flowers. Tell her she’s beautiful. Look at the stars. Kiss her and sweep her off her feet. It doesn’t need to be extravagant. It’s the little things.”

Knox looks at Ari in disbelief. “What the fuck? You seriously know all that, and you don’t ever plan on settling down?”

“No,” he shrugs before the corners of his mouth turn down. “Love isn’t worth it to me.” Ari takes a deep breath to steady himself again. “But take some of that advice, man. Olive will love it.”

“Yeah, I hope so. There’s a florist nearby; I’ll grab her a bouquet. I think I’ll just play the rest by ear.”

“You’ve got this, Lane,” Josh assures me. “And Sage will be well taken care of. Ella can’t wait to have her over tonight.”

“Pierce isn’t watching her?” Ari questions.

“Nah,” Cole breathes. “Tomorrow is my wife’s birthday. We’re starting off by having breakfast with Paul.”

“Should be fun now that he doesn’t hate you,” I tease.

“He hated me for like a day,” Cole chides. “We’re well beyond that now.”

“Come on,” Josh says, sliding off the counter. “Let’s finish off these pastries so we can let Lane get ready for his date.”

Josh ends up taking Sage with him when the guys leave this morning.

That leaves me to myself to make sure I have everything ready for tonight.

I buy Olive a lovely bouquet of pink roses from that local florist. I clean out all of the crumbs from my car.

I jam to Taylor Swift. I’m relaxed and ready for this evening.

I’m picking Olive up around six to ensure we have enough time to get to Midtown in all the Friday evening traffic. It’s about time for me to leave to get her, so I look myself over in my full-length mirror.

Black ankle-length slacks, a black suit jacket, a black button-down with the top buttons undone, and a pair of black dress loafers. I look good, and I feel good.

I run a hand through my hair, laying it out exactly how I like, before I grab the bouquet and the keys and step onto the elevator.

Olive is at her brother’s right now, so I’m heading to Gramercy Park instead of Greenwich Village. His place isn’t terribly far, so it’s not long before I pull into Harvey’s underground garage.

Liv’s sister Violet, her wife Luna, and Harvey’s girlfriend Michelle are all helping her get ready. I’m not sure why it takes three people to get one person ready for a date, but I won’t question it.

Harvey buzzes me up, and I travel up to the twenty-third floor, looking for apartment four. I find it at the end of the hall, and the door swings open right after I knock.

“Hey, Lane,” Harvey says, trying to disguise his smile with nonchalance. It’s not working because he’s already clearly told me I’m his favorite player. I certainly don’t mind that ego boost.

“Hi, Harvey,” I say, stepping through the doorway. “Liv still getting ready?”

“Yeah. She’s with Chelle, Vi, and Lu in the guest bedroom. She should be out in a minute, though.”

“She’s coming out now,” a woman says as she steps into the living room. Based on how much she looks like Olive, I think it’s safe to assume that this must be Violet.

My attention now turns to the clacking of heels I hear against hardwood flooring as they pad down the hallway. Olive appears a moment later, and my God.

She’s breathtaking , absolutely breathtaking.

She’s in a black dress fitted to her body.

It has off-shoulder sleeves and a bit of a flare starting at her knees, hitting her mid-shin.

She completed the look with a pair of black heels, pearl jewelry, and a pearl hairpin, pushing one side of her hair behind her shoulder.

Olive’s look is all old-school glamor and classical elegance.

And this woman agreed to go on a date with me.

I must stand there staring longer than I realized because everyone around us laughs, and Olive blushes, tinging her cheeks with a lovely shade of pink.

“I told you he’d be speechless,” Michelle jokes, bumping her hip into Olive’s.

I shake my head to compose myself. “Yeah. I mean… wow, Olive. You’re beautiful.”

“Thank you,” she replies softly as I cross the room and plant a kiss atop her head.

“You know Harvey and Michelle, but you don’t know these two.

” She points to the woman with brown hair.

“This is my sister, Violet, and this”— She gestures now to the woman with bright teal hair. —“is her wife, Luna.”

“It’s so nice to meet you both,” I state, reaching out a hand for each of them to shake. “Liv has spoken highly of you. All four of you, really.

Violet laughs. “You wouldn’t be saying that if she told you the joke I made when I first heard about you.”

I look at her curiously. “What does that mean?”

“No!” Olive shouts. “God, please, no.”

Violet rears her head back in hysterical laughter. “I’ll be sure not to embarrass you before your first date.”

“Good,” Luna chuckles. “We didn’t spend the last two hours dolling her up for you to chase her date away before they even leave.”

“You didn’t need to ‘doll her up’ for our first date.” I look right into Olive’s eyes. “She always takes my breath away.”

A pleased smile lifts Liv’s rosy cheeks. “Not just our first date, Lane. My first date. Ever.”

How the hell am I the first man to ever take this perfect woman on a date? Their loss is my gain, though.

“Then I’ll make sure you have the best night, Olive.” I finally hand her the bouquet I’ve been holding. “These are for you. I figured pink was safe since you seem to love pink.”

“Yeah,” she grins. “It’s my favorite color. Blush pink specifically.”

I reach my hand out to take hers and bring her closer to me. “Ready to get out of here, Ballerina?”