Page 24 of Just Another Meet Cute

In terms of car rides, this one had to be one of the absolute worst. Right up there with the time Linh got carsick on the way home from New Orleans. In the dead of summer with no AC.

It wasn’t anything that anyone said or did. It was just so excruciatingly quiet. Painfully silent. Ian even turned the music up louder, but it seemed to just bounce around the empty space and make the awkwardness even more apparent.

Maybe I should have risked the ride home with Dad after all.

I was so relieved when we finally pulled into their driveway that I didn’t even notice Ian and Ryan both getting out at the same time. And that they both opened the door for me on their side.

I froze.

Time slowed down as my head whipped back and forth between the two doors.

All I could really see were their lean torsos and legs as they waited for me.

It was like that iconic wrist-grab scene in all the K-dramas where the heroine was forced to make a decision that would impact everyone and set the course for the rest of the show.

Which was stupid because it was just a car door. This wasn’t a declaration of love. This was just the guys being polite. I wasn’t going to have to marry whoever opened the door for me. And technically, I was a bit closer to Ian’s side, so it would be easier for me to get out that way.

Just as I slid toward his door though, Ian suddenly coughed and shut the door. Pretty much in my face.

Okay, now that was just rude.

Glaring at the car door like it was Ian’s face, I slid back to the other side. Ryan watched Ian walk away with a slight frown. He shook his head and the frown slid into a smile when I came out. He didn’t talk as we walked up the walkway. Nor did he take my hand again.

Once inside, their house was a lot quieter than I expected. I mean, the TV was blaring in the other room, and I could hear voices upstairs. But considering that the last time I was here there were over twenty-five people hanging out in the kitchen, the house was practically empty now.

I was kind of glad that everyone was gone. Okay, really glad. I didn’t want an audience to know that I followed Ian and Ryan home like a lost puppy tonight.

Ian tossed the keys on the end table by the door. “Do you want something to eat?”

“I’m not that hungry.”

“I guess we could hang out and watch TV or something,” Ryan suggested as he ran his hand through his hair.

He absentmindedly tugged on the ends a bit, messing up his perfectly styled hair for once.

I couldn’t help noticing how much he looked like Ian when he did that.

“Hopefully Chloe and Ella haven’t already camped out in the living room.

If they are, then there’s no way we can pry the remote from their hands. Do you have anything to do, Ian?”

“Uh, I don’t know—”

Kathy came around the corner and let out a squeal when she saw me standing between Ian and Ryan. “I didn’t know that you were coming over, Nina,” she said, rushing over to our side.

“I didn’t plan to …”

Ian let out a reluctant snort. “Yeah, it was kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing.”

She gave us a curious look, but thankfully didn’t ask. “Well, you’re just in time, because I was going to start a game of Pictionary.”

At her words, they stared at her in horror like she announced she was going to eat a bucket of live frogs. And make a necklace out of their bones.

“You can’t—”

“I thought we got rid of that game!”

“I know the uncles did!”

With a wide grin, Kathy moved over to the hall closet. “I bought another set and smuggled it home. I’ve been waiting ages for a chance to play again.”

They both backed away when she pulled the box out and tucked it under her left arm. I half expected Ian to do the sign of the cross or something the closer she came to us. “C ? u Luke is going to kill us if he finds out.”

Ryan smacked Ian’s arm, making him grunt. “C ? u Luke? What about B á c Julie? She finally stopped glaring at us all the time.”

“Wait, I don’t get it.” My forehead creased in confusion. “What’s wrong with Pictionary?”

They all got so quiet that I thought I said something wrong. Which only added even more to my confusion. What the heck was going on?

Finally, Ryan cleared his throat and spoke up. “Pictionary is, uh, kind of banned in our family. Like forever.”

“Why?”

“Because it tests marriages, causes betrayal among siblings, and nearly broke our family apart a year ago,” Kathy said with a dramatic hand to her forehead as she stared up at the ceiling. “So our family decided to never play it again. It wasn’t worth the trouble and heartache.”

I laughed because I thought they were joking. It only took me a few seconds to realize that no one was laughing with me. “Wait, you’re serious?”

A grim look crossed Ian’s face. “It was like any other night. Our whole family came over for Nathan’s birthday, and we decided to play Pictionary. After dinner. Boys against girls—”

“Our first mistake,” Kathy added.

“And we set up the teams next to each other.”

“Our second mistake. A big-ass one.”

Ignoring her, Ian continued, “And the guys may have bent the rules a bit. There was a lot of finger-pointing and yelling. And both teams ended up getting really pissed at each other.”

With a scowl, Kathy tossed the box onto the couch and put both hands on her slim hips. “Cheated. The word is cheated .”

“Hey, we didn’t cheat,” Ian said, pointing at her face. “We guessed secret service before you guys did. So we won fair and square.”

She knocked his hand away. “Uh, you mean you guessed the word when B á c Noah only had two stick figures drawn, while we drew the entire White House and the president with people surrounding him. You copied our guesses!”

“But you still didn’t say it first.” Ryan shook his head and attempted to look innocent. “I mean, it’s not our fault that we heard your guesses. There are no rules about eavesdropping on the other team. Besides, if it’s anyone’s fault, then it’s yours for being so loud.”

“Oh, now you sound exactly like our uncles!”

“Thank you.”

Stepping in between them, Ian held up both hands like he was breaking up a fight.

Which made me think that this wasn’t the first—or even tenth time—this came up.

“Tr ? i o i, we all know what happened. And we know that this argument will go on forever.” He smiled wryly at me. “Now do you believe us?”

My eyes flickered between the three of them. “Yes. And to be honest, I’m a little scared now.”

Letting out a deep breath, Kathy shook her head. “We’ll be fine. We’re more mature now. And I think our uncles are the main troublemakers anyway. Without them, it should be a nice and fun game.”

Instead of answering, Ian gave her a skeptical look.

“We don’t have enough people to play right now anyway,” Ryan pointed out.

“Ollie said he’ll play with us. He’s not scared of his parents. And Megan—”

At her words, Ian’s head whipped up. “Megan’s here?”

Before Kathy could answer him, a tall girl came down the stairs with an excited smile.

Actually, it was almost like she glided down the stairs.

She was so leggy and graceful. Her hair was pulled off her face into a high bun like a ballerina.

When she got to the bottom step, she leaped forward and almost tackled Ian.

With a laugh, he easily caught her and wrapped his arms tightly around her waist. The tips of her toes barely brushed the ground as he squeezed her in a giant bear hug.

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you were already in town.” Her voice was muffled against his shoulder. “You’re such an asshole.”

“Sorry, I thought you were still in Florida visiting your aunt. I was going to text you later tonight though.”

“Sure, that’s what you say now. Kathy said you’ve already been here for nearly two weeks. Weeks!” The girl—who I assumed was the mysterious Megan—finally noticed me looking at her and pushed Ian away slightly. “Uh, hi.”

“Hello.”

The first thing I noticed was that Ian’s hand was still on Megan’s waist. Lightly, like he didn’t even realize that it was there. Like he’d done this a thousand times before. And I was annoyed with myself for even noticing that.

The second thing I noticed was that Megan was pretty.

Really pretty. Not supermodel gorgeous, but kind of in the normal-girl-next-door-who-everyone-loved way.

She had deep chocolate-brown eyes and shiny black hair with a touch of chestnut-brown highlights.

Her nose and chin were a bit pointy. She was so tall that the top of her head grazed Ian’s ear.

I had a feeling that I barely came up to her shoulders.

“Megan, this is Nina. She’s Ryan’s—” Ian broke off and looked over at his brother like he didn’t know how to continue.

“She’s my friend,” Ryan said smoothly as he leaned against my shoulder. His hand drifted down to play with my fingers. “And Nina, this is Megan Tran, soon to be Nguyen, as she’s Ian’s best friend and my future sister-in-law.”

My jaw dropped, and I stared between Ian and Megan. “What?”

She rolled her eyes. “Don’t believe him. He’s joking.”

“What? It’s only a matter of time before you two get together. Everyone knows it. Everyone. B á already calls you her cháu.”

“Sure, if by everyone you mean just you. And she calls everyone cháu.”

“You wanna bet?” With a mischievous glint, he cupped his hands together. “Ay, Ollie! Come down here for a second!”

A younger boy poked his head out from one of the rooms upstairs. “Yeah?”

Ryan waved the boy forward. “Let me ask you a question. Who’s Ian going to marry?”

“Megan,” Ollie said without hesitating as he came toward the stairs. He glanced around the entire room like he was searching for someone before shoving his wire-rimmed glasses farther up his nose. “Everyone knows that.”

“See?” Ryan smirked in a way I’ve never seen him smirk before. Now that I thought about it, I’ve never actually seen Ryan smirk. It was usually Ian smirking at me. “I told you.”

“Sorry, but I don’t believe that you and Ollie are considered everyone .”