by Jami Wagner
“It’s about a twenty-, thirty-minute ride. Nothing too intense,” she answers, placing the car in gear and pulling away from the curb. “And what you can do in my car this time is tell me all about your afternoon with Conner yesterday.”
“I’d rather not.”
“Oh, come on, it couldn’t have been that bad.”
“It wasn’t that bad, but I still don’t want to talk about it.”
“Hmm, did he hit on you?”
“Beth,” I say with a warning tone. Although it clearly wasn’t intimidating enough because she goes on as if I didn’t say anything at all.
“He did, didn’t he?” Her fingers tap on the steering wheel. “I can’t believe he did it. I have to give the guy some credit though. Impressive.”
What does she mean, impressive? There is nothing impressive about a guy who is willing and openly showing that he would cheat on his girlfriend or whatever they are.
“You might be into that sort of behavior, but I am definitely not. It’s repulsive and completely disrespectful.”
With my feet on the dashboard, I cross my arms and look out the window. I like Beth and she’s the only person I know in this town besides Skylar, so I’ll probably let this topic go, but it still sucks that she is pro cheaters.
“Whoa, okay, first, although I am a fan of the feet dashboard position, it’s totally unsafe.” She stares at me until my flip-flops are safely back on the mat. “And second, are you telling me you didn’t enjoy Conner hitting on you?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
“Sooo, does this mean you’re into women? Because it’s totally cool if you are.”
“What are you talking about?” By the yikes frown she has on her face, I’m going to assume that whatever look I have going on right now is giving her the answer.
“Okay, whoops, my bad. I must have missed something. What’s so wrong with him flirting with you?’
I take a moment before I answer her. There is a reason she is so interested in whether I’m attracted to Conner. Maybe Jake’s mother is a bad egg. Still, nothing is a good enough reason to cheat.
“Nothing about being the other woman excites me, therefore his flirting is fully repulsive.”
When Beth doesn’t respond right away, I’m relieved that the conversation is over. But no, I was premature with that assumption. She erupts into laughter.
I don’t join her. What sort of friendship have I’ve gotten myself into? Beth really is a different person.
“What’s so funny?” I finally ask.
“Well, to start, Jake’s mother is not in the picture. They are sharing custody right now. Conner only gets every other weekend and occasionally during the week when Heather lets him.”
Conner is single.
“By the lusty look you have going on again right now, I’d say I’ve just made your day.”
“I don’t feel bad about ogling him anymore, is all. Still, I told you the other night, I’m not in that place right now.” Pretending to not be ready for a relationship is a much safer route than saying I came here for another guy, my brother to be exact, who hasn’t seen or heard from me in more than fifteen years.
“You might not think it’s the right time, but the world may have another plan for you,”
I laugh at this both because I really enjoy the way she speaks her mind and also because what was a serious conversation turned into a pretty good one. One thing is for sure: I owe Conner an apology for the way I acted yesterday. If I thought he had no manners, I must look ten times worse.
“I was kind of rude to Conner yesterday,” I admit.
“That’s okay. He probably thought it was hot.”
“What?”
“I’m joking. Just say sorry and explain what happened. Conner is one of the most understanding people I know. He has to be, what with the cards life has dealt him.”
“What do you mean?”
Her car starts to slow down as we turn, passing a sign welcoming us to the lake. We wind around turns and go up and down a few hills until a beautiful lake surrounded by the red hills and sandy beaches comes into view. We pass a marina, a boat club, and many lake houses. Now, I’ve seen the ocean and been on a boat, but a lake is new for me. I watch as a neon green boat jets across the open water before I realize Beth is speaking.
“I think I’ve told you enough about Conner. You should get to know him and let him answer these questions for himself. I only know what Sara has told me, and being the best friend’s wife doesn’t exactly mean she knows the facts to a T.”
Sara? My sister-in-law’s name is Sara.
“Sara who?” I ask, all thoughts of Conner and me gone.
“Sara Parker. She owns the bar Conner and I work at with her husband,” Beth says as she parks the car. It takes me a moment for me to look away. She knows my brother. Conner knows my brother. She said they were best friends. I could run into Logan by hanging out with these people. I should go. I need to go.
“Hey, are you okay? You look a little pale.”
“I’m fine,” I answer quickly, opening the door. Fresh air should help. I can’t ask her to take me back home now—that would lead to too many questions.
I stumble out, grabbing my bag and swinging it over my shoulder. Cool air hits my face and I shiver. Is this the type of weather they go to the lake in?
“Are you going to be okay walking to boat on your own? I need to grab my cooler.”
I nod.
I can feel her eyes watching me. “We going right over there, to the boat Conner is next to.”
What?
Sure enough, Conner is squatting beside a boat in all his sexy glory. He’s got on a pair of swim trunks that fall to his knees and a cut-off blue shirt that reads HYPERLITE across the chest. He looks up then, as if he knows I am watching him, and waves.
With my head held high and pretending I didn’t just learn a lot of new facts to overwhelm me, enough to fear that I could be meeting my brother today I head in Conner’s direction, completely unprepared for whatever this day decides to bring at me.
Conner
I can’t for the life of me figure out what—other than breaking a picture frame—I did to piss Alex off so much. The way she acted when Lucas and I ran into her and her friend on our run yesterday made it clear she doesn’t like me. I lost too much sleep over it, and when I woke this morning I made the decision to just let it go. So she didn’t like me. Who cares? I have the people I need and want in my life, and they are the people I need to give my focus to.
But I didn’t prepare myself to see her again so soon, so everything I decided is now shattered. I’m attracted to her, damn it, no matter how snippy she can get with me.
The way her eyes are frozen to mine and they don’t move with each step she takes makes my heart race. I swallow as I tear my gaze away to check her out. She has those same cut-off jean shorts on, a pink t-shirt with the word LOVE written across it in big silver letters, and a simple pair of black flip-flops. Her hair curls over her shoulders and down her back. The sun shines off her hair, providing a glow, and beautiful doesn’t even begin to describe her. I lick my lips, bringing moisture back to my dry mouth and I look away. Whatever this tingling feeling she’s causing in me, I need to be rid of it because she can see it.
“Hey, Conner,” she says, stopping in front of me. I continue tying the knot I’ve been tying for at least two minutes thanks to her distraction, and I finally secure the boat against the dock until the others get here.
“Hey,” I say.
“I didn’t know you had a boat,” she says with a half smile.
“It’s my parents’. Beth asked the other night before you all left the BA if we could take it out.”
“Well, that was nice of you.”
Our already awkward conversation comes to a halt. It’s not that I don’t want to talk to her, but she’s made it very clear I’m not her favorite person. I’m not going to act like everything is fine just because she decides she
wants to talk now.
I hop into the boat, leaving her standing on the dock. Without making it obvious as I pull out some lifejackets to have handy, I sneak a few glances her way. Her hands are curling and uncurling as she looks all around her. Then she steps onto the boat.
“Look, Conner, I’m sorry about the way I acted yesterday. I know I didn’t make a good impression, but I have a very good reason.” Her voice has perked up and sparked my curiosity.
“Go on,” I say when it’s clear she’s waiting for a response.
“See, I thought after I met you that … well, I assumed that you …”
“You assumed what?” I ask, not understanding what she’s trying to tell me but finding myself curious as to what could make her this nervous.
“I just thought you were involved with someone was all, but Beth set me straight and I’m sorry.”
I grin. “And you were upset you thought I was taken?”
“No.” She looks away. I catch the spark of smile before she’s looking fully in the other direction. “You dropped a box of my things and broke something special to me, so for that I was upset. My behavior yesterday was purely because I assumed the worst in you when it came to your family, and that was wrong of me.”
Her head drops to her chin as she plays with the bottom of her t-shirt. The emotion she just displayed toward family grabs at my chest. Then she looks at me with her eyes sparkling, and I’m at a loss for words. I find them though, because I can’t pass up the moment.
“Maybe if you take me up on my dinner invite, we can get to know each other a little better and you can learn firsthand that I’m not that kind of guy.”
“And what kind of guy are you?” she asks. She is damn cute when she flirts. I take a step toward her.
“Come over for dinner tonight and find out.”
Her gaze flutters over my body, sending another tingle throughout every inch. The urge to lean forward and press my lips to hers takes over. The second her eyes are on my mouth, she touches her lips. My mind doesn’t have time to process what I’m about to do. I step toward her and dip my head. My timing, however, couldn’t be worse.
“We’re here!” Ethan says loudly, clearing his throat right before my lips have a chance to touch Alex’s. She jumps at the sudden interruption, allowing her body to fall closer to mine. As if I’ve done it a million times before, my hand reaches out to steady her at the small of her back. She blushes and looks away.
A squeal and tiny feet running along the dock catch my attention. I lunge forward, swooping my niece right off her feet as I pull her into the boat. She screams and laughs at the same time. I’ve still got ahold of her, and because she already has her pink Minnie Mouse life vest on, I’m about to fake dip her into the water when my sister walks up.
“Conner Davis Brian, don’t you even think about it! The water is too cold for her to be in it.” Her mom voice is spot on today. Clara looks up at me, her little chin ducking into her vest as I set her on the floor of the boat.
“Alex, this is one of my good friends, Ethan, and his wife, also known as my sister, Kelsey. Kelsey and Ethan, this is Alex. She just moved into the apartment across from mine.” I hold out a hand to help my sister on the boat while Ethan starts to spray sunscreen on Clara.
“Older sister, smarter sister, I’m one in the same.” Kelsey shakes her hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“It’s nice to meet you, too,” Alex says, and I can’t help but enjoy the smile on her face. Ethan extends his hand as well. They, too, shake but Ethan doesn’t let go.
“Have I met you before?” he asks.
“No, I don’t think so.”
“Are you sure? You look really familiar.”
“She just moved here from …” I pause because I don’t know the answer to what I was saying.
“North Carolina,” she finishes for me and a little bit of her accent comes out.
“Huh, that’s just crazy. You seriously look like someone I know.”
“Ethan, stop freaking her out,” my sister says. “What is taking Beth so long?”
Ethan finally lets go of Alex’s hand and takes a seat next to Kelsey at the back of the boat. He leans over, whispering something in her ear, and my sister’s eyes quickly dart up to Alex. I’ll have to ask him about this later.
“Should you be in the boat?” I ask my sister, changing the subject.
“I asked the same thing,” Ethan answers for her. “Yes, she can, so let’s just leave it at that.”
“I wasn’t that mean.”
Ethan’s brows rise.
“I wasn’t.” My sister laughs.
I shake my head, laughing silently with my sister, when I catch Alex’s movement to my left. She’s sitting down now, leaned forward, digging in her bag. Her shirt inches up in the back, revealing the top of her bright yellow bikini. Now I can’t wait to see what she looks like in a bathing suit. Come on sun, warm up.
Beth finally joins us, pulling her cooler behind her by the handle. Ethan helps her load it, and everyone takes their seats as I untie the boat and pull away.
We spend the morning cruising around the lake, showing Alex the local beaches.
Once lunch comes around, we take the boat into the canyon and let it sit idle while we eat the sandwiches my sister brought.
“So what brings you to Wind Valley?” my sister asks the moment the engine is off.
“Just something new,” Alex answers.
“Yeah, this must be quite the change up. Are you working anywhere?”
“I applied at the gym, near the east side of town as I heard someone call it.”
“Oh, Conner works out there,” Ethan says.
“Can you make enough money working there?” Kelsey shoots off another question, and I have to grind my teeth together to keep myself from looking like the rudest guy on earth by snapping at my sister. Mom and Dad never taught us to be this nosy.
“Okay, that’s enough of the twenty questions for Alex,” I interrupt, taking a more mature route and reaching for a can of Pringles, offering them to Alex. She mouths “thank you” and takes one. I know she wasn’t thanking me for the chips.
“I’m sorry. I just wanted to know more about the girl who’s dating my brother, is all.”
“Oh, we’re not dating,” Alex replies right away.
The word “yet” is on the tip of my tongue, and the idea sinks my stomach. I’m supposed to be trying with Heather, and yet one good interaction with Alex has my mind in a jam.
“Oh, from what I saw earlier, I just assumed,” Kelsey adds.
“Why couldn’t Sara and Logan make it again?” Beth finally speaks up. She’s been glued to her phone all afternoon. It usually bothers me when people are more focused on their phone than spending time with their friends, but right now, I’m thankful she wasn’t paying attention and successfully changed the subject without it coming off as too obvious.
“Sara had an appointment today, and Logan, as usual, went with her.”
“I still can’t believe both my best friends are having kids. Thank goodness I met you when I did, Alex.”
Because I haven’t been able to stop since she admitted why she was acting so standoffish before today, I smile at Alex. I expect her to be happy about Beth’s comment. Well, I guess I expected anything other than watery eyes.
“Are you okay?” I ask, getting up to kneel in front of her. I grab her hand as she waves the other in front of her eyes.
“I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me.” She looks at Beth. “So your friend Sara, the one you mentioned earlier who owns the bar, she’s having a baby?”
“Yep.”
“Wow.” Alex sounds a bit choked up. “That’s awesome.” As if it’s an afterthought, she congratulates my sister, too. Kelsey thanks her but is now watching Alex with an odd expression. The same odd one Ethan had earlier. It’s a mixture of shock and happiness with a little bit of unease that does nothing but leave me worried that my family and friends are g
oing to scare away the first girl I feel something for other than just wanting to get her into bed.
Luckily for me, Alex doesn’t notice, and we manage to go another hour on the boat without my sister or Ethan asking her something personal. When she gets in Beth’s car and they drive away, I feel like I’m in high school all over again, counting down the hours till our first date.
Chapter Four
Alexis
I’m starving, and since I’ve been keeping busy with making new friends, I still have no food in my apartment. I know that Conner invited me over for dinner, but today was mentally exhausting. So much information was loaded on me that I have to keep repeating it to make sure I have it all straight. Conner is my neighbor, and somewhere between despising him for forty-eight hours then spending the day on the water with him, I’ve already developed a crush on him, despite the fact he also happens to be best friends with my brother, Logan. Logan and Sara own the bar that Conner and Beth work at. And I’m going to be an aunt.
My eyes immediately tear up. Logan went through all the same things I did and yet, here he is, creating the family we never had. If he can overcome the way we were raised, then I can too. I just don’t know how. Logan would be the perfect person to ask, but now he’s moving on. What will happen if I just come barging back into his life bringing up the past that he’s possibly happily forgotten by now?
I slide on a pair of slippers as I pass the last two boxes that I should be unpacking instead of reading another book. I open the fridge and stare. How, of all things, have I not made time to go to the store? As much as I’m thrilled over the dinner invitation, especially knowing I’m not coming between anyone, I’m almost too worn from the day to be good company. I should tell him I can’t make it and go pick something up from the store, but that smell of garlic bread starting to waft across the hall has me craving spaghetti.
