The Best Thing Read Online Free Page A

mean.”
    He laughed and tugged on one of her curls. “They can be sometimes. This is a good place to unwind though. Great margaritas.”
    Calliope grinned. “I had four.”
    “Awesome.” He looked over at Tori, who surprisingly wasn’t ignoring him, just studying him. “How about you?”
    “I figured I’d have to drive the lush home, so it was iced tea for me tonight.”
    “Hey. Not a lush. I was sober enough to give you love advice, wasn’t I?”
    Tori glared at Calliope. Brody gave her a quizzical look. “Love advice?”
    “Drunk talk. You ready to go? Calliope picked me up, so I can drive her car home and I’ll bring it back to her house tomorrow.”
    “It’s okay. Just follow me to her place and we’ll drop her car. Then I’ll drive you home. Save you a trip back over there tomorrow.”
    “It’s not a problem.”
    “I need my car early, Tori,” Calliope said. “I have a meeting.”
    She hesitated then nodded at Brody. “Okay, fine. I’ll meet you at Wyatt and Calliope’s house.”
    Brody scooped Calliope out of her chair and led her to the parking lot.
    “Calliope, do you want to ride with me in your car?” Tori asked.
    “Oh. No, I’ll ride with Brody. See you at the house.” Calliope gave Tori a wave.
    Tori gave them a worried look, then said, “Uh, okay. See you there.” She headed over to Calliope’s car and Brody put Calliope in his truck. She started to sing and he rolled his eyes. Wyatt owed him for this one. It was a good thing he adored his sister-in-law, because he’d left a warm house and a football game on TV for this.
    “You need to talk to Tori,” Calliope said as they made the turn down the highway toward Wyatt’s house.
    “Huh?”
    “Just...well, I can’t say more than that, other than you need to talk to her.”
    “Is this about the Christmas party again?”
    “Sort of, but it’s about a lot of things, Brody. Open your eyes.”
    “My eyes are wide open, Calliope.”
    While they sat at a stoplight, she looked over at him, her glasses askew on her face. She slid them up her nose and gave him a stern look. “Men’s eyes are very rarely wide open. You only see what you want to see, not what’s really there.”
    “What the hell are you talking about? See, this is the problem with women. You talk in metaphors instead of straight talk, then we’re supposed to figure out what the fuck that all means.”
    She laughed. “I know. But Tori’s my friend and I can’t say any more than that. But trust me, you want to talk to her.”
    “I’ve already talked to her. She won’t give me the goddamn time of day.”
    Calliope looked out the window. “Try again. She might know the time now.”
    “There you go again. Fucking metaphors.”
    They pulled into the driveway and he helped Calliope slide out of his truck. Brody walked her to the door and helped her find her keys in her purse. She giggled—a lot.
    “You really did have a good time tonight, didn’t you?”
    She tilted her head back. “Have I mentioned I had a shitty day today?”
    “Yup.”
    “Then yes. I had a good time tonight.”
    “Sounds like you needed it.”
    Her head bobbed up and down. “You have no idea.”
    He opened the door and turned on the lights, then made sure she got safely inside. By then Tori had pulled Calliope’s car into the garage, so she met them in the kitchen.
    “Thanks for picking me up,” Calliope said, giving Brody a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “You’re the best brother-in-law ever.”
    “Anytime. You know that.”
    Calliope threw her arms around Tori and hugged her, then whispered in her ear. Tori shifted her gaze to Brody, her eyes widening.
    “Okay. I’m done for. I’m going to bed. Love you both and lock the door on your way out.”
    Brody shook his head as he watched Calliope’s weaving form disappear down the hall. “Night, Calliope.”
    Tori gave him a look. “Give me just a second. I’m going to run upstairs and make sure she’s okay. If you don’t