Right Time Wrong Brother Novel – I know exactly when it happened. When my heart shattered into a million pieces. When my best friend, the man I was secretly in love with, got down on one knee in the middle of the restaurant, surrounded by our friends and proposed—to a woman he’d been seeing for only a couple months. “I tell you, Joey.” Jake had mumbled three nights earlier, snuggled up on the couch, with me. “I think Phoebe might be the one.” Yeah? If she was the one, then where was she? Not there, with us, watching horror movies and eating trashy food, wrapped up under a blanket. Not falling asleep against Jake’s shoulder, being completely serene in his arms. So, if she wasn’t there, doing those things with him… why did she get to wake up next to Jake?
Why did she deserve the huge, almost 2-carat diamond ring his grandmother had given him? Why did she deserve to wear the beautiful ivory wedding dress, handed down through Jake’s family for the last seventy years? My lip had trembled as Phoebe, as fake as could be, had gushed and squealed, nodding as if her head was on a spring. Seeing Jake grin and stand, putting the ring on her finger; had made me realize I had never been an option for him. I’d had my heart set on being with Jake but obviously, I’d just taken too long in making my move and someone else had taken up the spot I had quietly and secretly reserved. I had been cordial to them; wishing them luck, telling Jake I was happy for him. I could see he didn’t believe me but didn’t say anything. I didn’t stay long after the proposal and the friendship between Jake and I pretty much died.
The wedding was set for only a month later. A month. Way to absolutely destroy my heart. Jake had all but avoided me for the first three weeks, claiming Phoebe had him running around like a chicken with its head cut off, chasing wedding supplies he could only get from certain places. I googled it… she was searching for, was cheap and could be bought on eBay for under a hundred dollars. I knew what she was up to. She had him running around, so he had less time with me, and I had less time to talk him out of it. It was no secret Jake was a high-paid businessman and had properties which bought in a tidy sum every month. But none of that had ever interested me. I only wanted Jake, because I was in love with him and had been, since we’d been ten. Now, only a week out from the wedding, I was sitting here, staring at the ugliest dress in the world, while Jake sat on the sofa opposite, staring at the floor, and Phoebe stood over me, tapping her foot on the ground impatiently.
“Obviously we’re going to have to get the straps reinforced to compensate for your larger—” I glared at Phoebe who in return frowned, biting her lip so she didn’t say anything snarky to me. “And it might be a good idea to watch what you eat for the next week. Maybe head to the gym? Sauna? You wouldn’t want something to happen to the dress and you pop a seam, because you—” “Phoebe, enough.” I blinked as I looked over at Jake, seeing the flush to his cheeks. He didn’t look at me, as he ran his hand through his hair, hair which had been cut shorter. No doubt Phoebe’s doing, and it only accentuated Jake’s larger than average forehead. Something he’d always been conscious of. Phoebe stomped her foot a little, as her tone changed from the snappy one, she’d just been speaking to me in, to a whine. “What Jakey? I told you; she just doesn’t fit into the bridal party. She is not the right size, or coloring. She’s too pale and to—” “Phoebe, Jolene is my best friend, she will be in the main party, or there will be no wedding.”
A glimmer of hope sparked in me, this might be the fight they needed, for Jake to realize he was making a mistake. Jake looked up at Phoebe, not even glancing in my direction. “But if you like, at the reception, we can sit her at the table with your aunt? Instead of up with us.” That little glimmer went poof! with his words. I closed my eyes, as Phoebe sighed. “Okay, I guess I can deal with that.” I put the lid on the box on my lap and slid it to the seat next to me and folded my hands in my lap, as Jake stood and hugged his fiancée, who giggled. I hated it when they smooched and hugged in front of me, it made me only more aware of the inadequacies I had as a partner for Jake and Phoebe loved to rub it in too. Giving me sideways glares as she smooched the man I had set my heart on. “Then that’s settled.” I looked up at Jake, who had his arm around Phoebe’s shoulders, grinning from ear to ear, as Phoebe melded against him. Just another blatant show he was off limits.
“Joey, we’ll keep the dress with us, until Saturday. You’re going to look great in it.” Phoebe scooped up the dress, as if it was a baby and flicked her hair, looking at Jake. “Baby, I’ll go wait in the car. Don’t take too long. We have that dinner reservation at eight.” Jake nodded, smooching Phoebe again and as she turned to my front door, she glared at me. All I wanted, was to jump to my feet, crash tackle her and break something squishy. Preferably her nose. Let’s see her be the beautiful bride then… “Joey.” I turned my head, looking at Jake, as he crouched in front of me. “Are you okay?” No… no I’m not. I’m in love— I didn’t voice my emotions to Jake, instead I lowered my gaze from his and nodded. “Yeah, just tired. I’ve been doing back-to-back shifts at the hospital, to get time off for my vacation.” The moment Jake and Phoebe announced their wedding would only be a month after their engagement, I had booked a week off, to go to Hawaii. I’d always wanted to go and had one day hoped to go with Jake. I’d been squirreling money away for it since I had started working at the hospital.
I had enough for me to go for a week. So that’s where I was going, in the hopes of forgetting what had happened. “Oh, you got time booked off?” “Yeah, I’m going to go and spend a week in Hawaii.” I grinned and Jake’s face reddened. “Oh… well, we might see you there.” I blinked and the smile fell from my lips. “Are you kidding me?” His face reddened further, and he turned his head away. “Phoebe has always wanted to go to Hawaii…” “Well, enjoy.” I spat, sinking back into the sofa, folding my arms over my chest. “Now, you better go, before she starts beeping the horn like an impatient dog.” Jake’s gaze snapped to mine, and I caught the first glimpse of anger aimed at me in the thirteen years we’d been friends. It left quickly and he stood, leaving my tiny bungalow, slamming the door behind him. “God.” I lifted my hands and buried my face in them, trying to hold off the sobbing, until I heard Jake’s car leave. The sound of the vehicle pulling out of my driveway had my stomach dropping to the floor and I cried until my chest hurt. Of all the places they had to pick for a honeymoon, it had to be Hawaii.
My dream destination. I’d only ever dreamed of going there and now I could afford to; the experience was about to be ruined, because they would be there too. Reaching to the side, I picked up my phone and bought up the airline’s number. Dialing it, I waited for it to connect. Once the woman had said her hellos, I bunkered down for what I knew would be a marathon in trying to get my money back. Chapter 2 – Alex Of all the people I knew, who I thought would get married… my little brother Jake, was at the bottom of the list. The whiny, self-absorbed little twat was under do not answer on my contact list and the last time I’d spoken to him, I walked away with blood on my hands. Now, staring at the gaudy wedding invitation sitting on my desk, I wondered if he’d sent it, or if this was what my mom had been talking about when she said she wanted us to talk again.
I glanced again at the name scrawled in fancy lettering alongside my brother’s. “Phoebe Fitzgerald?” Why did that name sound so familiar? I leaned back in my chair, wracking my brain. Phoebe…Phoebe… “No way…” Leaning forward, I opened my laptop and opened Facebook, scrolling through my brother’s friends list until I found her. “Phoebe Fitzgerald… Fee Fee. The hoe of the school. Well, I hope you know what you’re doing, little bro, because that girl is nasty…” “Who’s nasty?” Standing six-foot-three with change, and taking up most of the doorway, was my right-hand man and best friend, Oliver. “You remember Fee Fee?” “Phoebe Fitzgerald? The one you didn’t want to go anywhere near. Fee Fee Forget it if you want to keep your pecker clean? Didn’t she sleep with half the football team?” “Yep, that one.” I chuckled, putting down the lid of my laptop. I picked up the invitation and held it out to the big man. “Looks like we’re about to become related.” “You’re lying me.” Oliver crossed the room and plucked the invitation out of my hand, peering at it. “Little boy is getting hitched, and to someone older than him too… Good luck there, buddy.” Oliver and Jake had never really gotten along.
Not since Jake had slept with Oliver’s kid sister, after prom in high school and broken her heart. He had a string of broken girls tagging behind him and my mind suddenly went to Joey. “What?” Ollie asked, tossing the invite back to the desk. “Joey.” “Jake’s best friend?” I nodded. I could only imagine what the wedding would be doing to her brain. She’d always been in love with Jake. Everyone could see it… bar him. Now, with Jake marrying someone else, Joey would be heartbroken to say the least. She had never been Jake’s type… I didn’t even think she’d be anyone’s type. Chubby would have been a nice word to use. The kid—and I hadn’t seen her since she was thirteen— had been almost seventy pounds heavier than she should have been and sported the worst acne I had ever seen on someone in my life. Coupled with braces and brown hair, she was not a popular kid. “You think she’ll be, okay?” I shrugged, leaning back in my chair. “Doubt it, but what can I do? She’s Jake’s best friend, and I am in his eyes, public enemy number one. So, I can’t do that.” Letting my anger wash over me, I finally opened my eyes and looked at Ollie. He was peering at me, jaw twitching. It made a vein at the side of his head pulse, and I raised an eyebrow at the kid I’d grown up with, the man who had gone with me, when I’d left Miami.
“You’re going, aren’t you?” “Huh?” “To that little prick’s wedding. You’re going, aren’t you?” My gaze moved to the wall behind Ollie, and he groaned. “For god’s sake. You know that is the stupidest idea in the world, right? You broke his nose, last time you saw him.” “That was ten years ago, Oliver.” “Time doesn’t heal all wounds, Alexander.” Ollie spat back, crossing his eyes as he said my name. “I know even if I was invited, which I ain’t, I wouldn’t go, because of what he did to my sister. You shouldn’t be going, because of what happened with Joey.” The man in front of me was turning an interesting shade of red and I had to calm him down, before he had a heart attack and his wife, Jade, came after me. “Relax, Ollie, I’m not going there to make up with him. I am going there to see my parents.” Oliver raised an eyebrow. “So, when is it again?” Ollie picked up the invitation and frowned. “Wow… next weekend. So, I take it our fishing trip is out of the question.” “Is that the same weekend?” I grinned and Ollie flicked the invitation at me, hitting me in the chest with it.
“You right know it is, wanker. We’ve been planning it for months. I finally got away from Jade and the baby for two days, and you’re going to flake on me to attend the wedding of the brother you can’t stand.” “I told you; I’m doing this for the olds. I haven’t seen them in almost three years.” “And whose fault is that? Huh? You’re so snowed under with these business proposals and keeping up the tough guy image in the clan, you haven’t had time to think of the people who are the most important to you. Your parents.” “They’re fine.” I muttered, knowing Ollie had a point. “I’ve been sending them money.” “Uh huh… money that’s probably paying for that.” I had thought of that. If Mom and Dad didn’t need money, most of it would have been funneled into Jake’s pockets, as an allowance. But I had done what any respecting oldest child had done and made sure his parents were taken care of. “Does Yuka know you’re going?” My mind snapped back to the room I was sitting in, and I frowned, lifting my gaze to the picture on the wall, above the small bar in my office.
Yuka Takada had been like a father to me. He’d taken Ollie and I in, when we’d left Miami. Giving us a chance in his business to earn some good coin, and a reputation which followed us, no matter where we went. We moved all the way to New York to work for him and he’d been nothing but supportive. “No, I wasn’t going to tell him, until I got back.” “Think that’s wise? You’ll be in Yamota’s territory, and you know you need permission to be there. If one of his clan saw you, the next time we saw you, you’d be in a body bag.” Oliver grimaced, as he leaned back in the chair., “Look, I love you man. Like a brother. But… If Yuka found out you went there without permission, even if it’s for your kid brother’s wedding, even I couldn’t keep you safe from him; and I’m his son-in-law. And that’s if you made it out of Miami alive…” Oliver had a point. Even with his marriage to Yuka’s only daughter, Jade, he’d never have a say about what would happen to me.
If Yuka found out I went against clan protocol and entered a territory which we didn’t control, without his permission… I shuddered with the thought. “Fine. I’ll clear it with him.” “The sooner the better. He needs a chance to ring Yamoto and let him know what’s going to happen. That it’s not a takeover attempt, or a scouting mission. That you’re just there for that big day and then you’ll high tail it back to New York.” I nodded and Ollie stood, adjusting the jacket which hid his huge frame. “Are you coming to the club tonight?” “Nah, not tonight.” I leaned back, watching Ollie fidget with the watch on his wrist, something he did, when he was stressed. “I’ll ring Yuka and see if he’s free for a meeting.” “This late at night?” Ollie looked down at his watch. “You might be lucky. Mama Takada will have headed to her Mahjong game. Yuka should be in his office for at least another hour. But you should already know that.” “Thanks, man.” Ollie nodded and left my office, closing the door behind him as he did. I picked up the invitation off my lap, where it had fallen and dropped it back to the desk.
I would need at least four days’ leave. Because of clan meetings and setting up security for while I was gone, I wouldn’t be able to get to Miami until Thursday. The wedding was Saturday, and I would have to be back on a plane Sunday morning, because of time-sensitive meetings on Monday. Sighing, I reached out and picked up the office phone and dialed 1, before leaning back in the chair and waited for my boss to answer. Chapter 3 – Joey It’d taken me almost an hour to get through to a person to get a refund. Then another hour of trying to convince them I couldn’t make it to Hawaii. I had to incur late cancelation charges, but in the end, I had managed to get my money back. Now, I sat on the sofa of my tiny apartment, on the verge of tears. I had cried so much in the last couple months, I knew if I kept trying to, eventually I’d cry blood. Jake and I had known each other since we were kids. Almost fifteen years. I’d been by his side the whole time, and he’d been my rock. He’d protected me and made my schooling life easier, and for him to just move on like he had… I just struggled to understand what I had done wrong. My phone buzzed across the coffee table, and I leaned forward, picking it up, smiling at the happy face flashing on the screen. Holding the device to my ear, I held back tears.
“Hey, papa bear.” “Hey, there’s my Roo.” Roo… it had been my father’s nickname for me since I was five and had seen a kangaroo at a zoo and refused to move around the world without jumping like one for weeks. “Where are you?” “Cyprus.” My father had decided after my mom had passed a few years ago, to travel. He was still reasonably young, and I was happy for him. But at moments like this, I missed him. “I’ve sent you another package.” “Papa, you don’t have to keep sending me things.” “Yes, I do. I want to make you happy. Especially at the moment.” there was a pause. Dad had been furious when he found out Jake was marrying someone else. He’d all but expected Jake and I to get together, since we’d been friends for so long. “How are you doing?” “Terrible. I just had to cancel my trip to Hawaii.” “What? Why?” Dad asked. “You’ve been saving for that trip for years.” “Yeah, tell me about it. One guess on where they’re going for their honeymoon… at the same time as me…” “Oh, Roo.” I could hear my dad’s heart breaking all the way from the Mediterranean. “That is unfair.” “Oh, and I got shown my bridesmaid dress today. It’s pale, milky snot green.” “You know how hard it is for me not to get on a flight back and sock the pair of them? Seriously. That boy has rocks in his head. He always has.”
I giggled and leaned back on the sofa. “Yeah, he’s not the brightest star in the sky.” “You’ll find someone who is the brightest star, and he’s going to outshine the dim light that boy is giving off.” I whole belly laughed this time. I gave my dad one thing; he knew how to make me laugh. “Papa, jeez. I thought you liked Jake.” “I did. Until he broke my Roo’s heart. Now if I see him, I’d probably run him over.” “Stop.” I cackled and sighed, wiping the tears from my eyes. “One good thing I guess, at least I won’t have to stress too much about impressing him anymore.” I’d been doing that for so long, I was actually scared about the thought of having a life without Jake. He’d been such a big part of my world, I was worried what my world was going to look like now, without him in it. “You’re going to be fine, Jolene. You’re strong, like your momma was. You’re going to shine so bright; he’s going to wonder why he decided to go for someone like Phoebe.” “I’d like to hope so, Papa.” I leaned my head back on the sofa and stared at the glow in the dark stars on my ceiling.
“Enough talking about Jake, where are you off to next?” As my dad rambled about his adventures and where he was headed to in the next leg of his trip, I got up and pottered around the apartment, making sure my daily chores were done, before I headed to bed. “Anyway, I better let you go, Roo, it’s getting late there, and I don’t want to keep you up any longer.” “Ok Papa. I love you.” “Love you too. night Roo.” my dad hung up and I held the phone to my lips for a minute, before placing it on the coffee table. Turning away, I headed toward the bathroom, when it buzzed again. Sighing, I went back to it and picked it up. Jake’s face was on the screen, and I frowned, tempted not to answer it. but in the end, I did. “Hey, Jake.” “Hey, Thursday night, Phoebe and her friends are heading out for her hen’s night. I managed to convince her to take you.”
Oh eww… I didn’t want to go out with Phoebe and her fake friends. “Really? I was hoping for a quiet night.” “Well, I want you to go. It’ll be good for you guys to hang out and smooth things over.” There was not a single sliver of compassion in his voice. It was an ultimatum and I felt like telling him to shove it up his hip. But in the end, I sighed and closed my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose. “Fine. What time?” “They will pick you up at seven.” “Uh huh.” “This is going to be good, Joey. You and Phoebe are going to become great friends. I’ll chat to you later.” The phone clicked and I almost threw it across the room in anger. This was not going to be a good thing; this was going to be a disaster waiting to happen.