by Anna Hard
He lifted his hand and pointed a finger. “Cheryl, right?”
His voice was deep and smooth and oddly familiar.
“Yep and this is Tracy.”
“Right, I remember. Good to see you. Just came in to get a coke. It was a long, hot ride.”
Tracy suddenly seemed to remember that they were working in a store. She pulled her rapt attention from Mr. Beautiful. “Are you ready to checkout?” she called to me.
“I am.” As I headed to the counter, he turned around. I don’t know which one of us had the more profound reaction. I froze as if someone had zapped me with a stun gun, and the easy, carefree set of his massive shoulders tensed up as if someone had smacked him in the chest. He still had those frosty green eyes that could look right through me and make me tongue tied and nervous and ridiculously giddy all at once. I’d assumed the giddiness had come from being sixteen, but I was apparently wrong. I was no longer a teenager, but I could feel that I was blushing like one.
He was the first to speak, although haltingly considering the smooth, deep voice I’d heard just seconds before, before he’d realized the customer behind him was his long lost stepsister.
“Ducky,” he said, using the nickname he’d given me based on the pair of pajama bottoms I always wore that had ducks printed on them. He was the only person in the world to call me Ducky, and hearing it from him after all these years made my eyes ache with tears. I blinked them back. I was already blushing like a damn schoolgirl. Breaking into sobs was the last thing I needed to do.
“Beck, you’re in town.”
He glanced around. “Seems that way. You seem surprised.”
“Yeah, no, well yeah.” Come on, Jessa, drop the damn silly teenager demeanor. I took a discrete calming breath, but my insides were churning like ice cream in a milkshake machine. “Hailey told me you might not be here.”
“Didn’t want to miss the big graduation.” His smile, the little turn of his lips that was never a full grin but that could make you smile back, appeared. He regained his composure much faster than me. Of course. He reached up to comb his hair back with his fingers, giving all of us another nice view of his incredible arms. I knew he’d gone into MMA fighting, but stupidly, I hadn’t thought about the transformation that kind of training would put him through. He had always been tall and big and intimidating, but now, he looked positively lethal. And, as we women held our breaths to watch him in the simple task of brushing back his hair, I remembered his other trait of being able to render people speechless just by walking into a room.
The blonde behind the counter spoke up. “That’s why you looked so familiar. You’re Beck’s stepsister.” He flinched at the word stepsister, assuring me that he was still not wanting to think of us as related in any way. He still hated me, I was sure of it. That ugly, stormy summer day had wiped away anything between us. He had been relieved to see me go.
The butterflies in my stomach suddenly had lead weights on their wings. It was all coming back to me in dark waves, like the waves I had nearly drowned in that awful day. He had flashed me that nice half smile, but his penetrating gaze was cold. I was the last person he wanted to see.
“I guess I’ll see you at the house,” I said as I sidled past him, almost making an absurdly wide path around him in the process. He didn’t say a word, but it was still there, even after seven years I could still sense it, remember it as if it had just been yesterday when we’d last met, that strangely warm and charged air that passed between us whenever we neared each other. He felt it too. I knew he felt it just as strongly as me.
I heard his loud footsteps behind me as his heavy motorcycle boots plodded to the refrigerator with sodas. I paid quickly and nearly ran out the door to my car.
Chapter 3
Beck
I heard Jessa’s car start in the parking lot and turned to watch her drive out. My muscles were still bound tightly. I hadn’t expected to run into her. I hadn’t expected to still have the same fucking reaction that I always had whenever I got near her. I’d tried to convince myself that those feelings had ended with the eighteen-year-old, cocksure asshole Beck. While most people would still be happy to refer to me as a cocksure asshole, I’d definitely grown out of my teen years. And so had Jessa. Fucking hell had she ever. At sixteen she’d been a sparkling piece of jailbait, who turned every male head she passed. Including my best friend, Jake. And that was when the summer had started to unravel, until it came to a horrible crashing end. Stupidly, I’d convinced myself that there was a chance the hot little teenage Jessa would grow into a less tempting woman. The opposite had happened. The grown up Jessa was even more of a heartbreaker. I grabbed a soda and headed to the counter.
“So, Beck,” Tracy said sweetly, jolting me out of my thoughts. “How long are you in town?”
“For as long as I can stand my dad. Or, I guess I should say, for as long as he can stand me.”
They both laughed. Somewhere during my notorious high school years, I’d dated both Cheryl and Tracy. Seeing them now together reminded me that I’d been seeing both of them at the same time.
“Remember Kiley?” Tracy asked.
“I do remember her.”
Tracy waved her hand. “That’s right, you two were a thing right after high school. Anyhow, she’s having a party on the beach tonight. You should come.”
Hanging around at home was the last thing I needed. Dad would no doubt grill me on everything from my social life to my financial life, and I would rather poke my eyes out with a fork than listen to his condescending opinion and advice. “Tell you what, if you girls will pick me up, I’ll go. I’m in the mood to get drunk.”
Tracy’s face lit up. “I’ll pick you up at nine.” She looked toward the lot where my bike was parked. Jessa’s little car was long gone, probably halfway to Grady’s Cove by now. “So, you’re riding a motorcycle, huh?”
“Looks that way,” I said.
Cheryl leaned forward resting her forearms on the counter. “Heard you were doing really well with the whole fight thing and all.”
“Yeah, me and the fight thing are doing okay.” I tossed my money on the counter and lifted my soda in a good-bye gesture. “See you at nine.” I downed the soda in one long gulp and dropped it in the recycling trash. I was in training and not supposed to be hitting the whiskey bottles or the tequila shots, but after seeing Jessa, I decided one night of getting plastered wasn’t going to throw me off my schedule too much. Hailey’s graduation was on Tuesday and then I’d be out of here. Four days. I needed to keep my wits about me for four days, then Jessa and I would be driving off in opposite directions again. I already knew I’d be thinking about her all over again, and she’d no doubt invade all of my dreams for months to come, but there would be that distance between us. That space helped me keep my sanity.
One thing was for damn sure, none of it had been my imagination or the result of raging teen hormones. None of it had been just a passing summer crush, a case of wanting something that I knew I could never have. It had all been too real, my total fucking obsession with Jessa had been real. And it was still just as strong as ever.
Chapter 4
Jessa
“Jessa!” Hailey screamed and ran down the wide marble steps to greet me. We hugged and jumped around in a circle several times before finally releasing each other. Unlike her dark and brooding brother, Hailey was the fair haired, happy-go-lucky kid of the family. She was one of those lucky girls who was naturally blonde. And she was as athletic as she was smart. The total package, but she never acted like it. She was very down to earth, something that I’d always loved about her. She hugged me again. “I’m so glad you came.”
“I wouldn’t have missed it for the world, Hailey. Graduating law school— jeeez you are something else.”
She waved off my comment. “Let me pass the bar exam first, then
you can shower me with praise.”
I reached into the backseat and pulled out my luggage and the plastic bag holding my dress.
“Can’t wait to see the dress you’re wearing,” she said as she grabbed my purse and swung it over her arm.
We walked toward the house. I stared up at the massive front doors and the elegant stone facade that spanned on forever in both directions. To a sixteen-year-old who had grown up in apartments and small one room houses, the Grady mansion was nothing short of a palace. My mom had joked that you could get lost for three days before anyone would find you.
“I’m sorry my mom couldn’t make it.” There I was making excuses for my flaky mom again. “She’d had that stupid trip to the Bahamas planned for a year.” And lying to people I cared about, another skill I’d had to perfect to explain my mom’s behavior. The truth was that as soon as we’d received the announcement about Hailey’s graduation, my mom had gone straight to the travel agent to book a trip for the same weekend. It was for the best. And something told me that her ex-husband was just as pleased that she wouldn’t be visiting. For me, it was one less thing to worry about.
“That’s all right. The important thing is that you’re here.” We walked up the steps and went inside.
I looked at her. “Do I smell bacon?”
Hailey grinned from ear to ear, showing off her perfectly whitened teeth. “In the mood for a BLT sandwich?”
“Heck yeah, I am. With butter, right?”
“Of course. And avocado just like that summer.” She motioned for me to follow her up the long winding staircase to the bedrooms. The house was just as opulent as the last time I’d visited. Only some of the art had changed, and the chandelier hanging in the center of the entry was even bigger and more glittery than the last. “Didn’t we call it the BLT sisterhood summer for awhile?” Hailey asked. “God, we were so hooked on those darn sandwiches. I thought it would be fun to catch up over some now.”
“Sounds wonderful.” Even with the rough start of running into Beck in the store, I was pleased to be there with Hailey. Hailey had left early that summer to go to summer classes on a college campus. She wasn’t around when the accident happened. I was glad she’d missed the ordeal. I only wished I had too. In fact, it occurred to me that the gloriously fun days had ended as soon as Hailey left.
We got to the room that I always stayed in, that I’d stayed in that summer. Hailey’s room was just two doors away, and Beck’s was at the end of the long hallway. I rolled my luggage inside the room. “Guess who I met when I stopped for a coffee?”
“Who?”
“Your brother.”
She twisted her mouth, which meant she’d planned to tell me but had chickened out. “Didn’t I tell you he decided to come?”
“No, no you didn’t. Last I heard, you weren’t too sure.”
“Well,” she said airily, knowing full well that she’d kept it from me on purpose, “he’s coming. But you know Beck, he’ll be out and about. I’m sure he’ll treat us just like always— two annoying, pesky sisters who talk and laugh far too much to stand.” Hailey knew there were complicated layers in my relationship with Beck. Layers that were there but that no one discussed or acknowledged. My relationship with Hailey had been sweet, simple and straightforward. We’d both waited our entire lives for a sister to confide in, and we’d found that in each other. But with Beck, there was no sister, brother bond. Whatever it had been between us, it was far from simple, sweet or straightforward.
I hung my dress bag up in the closet. Hailey walked over to it and looked questioningly at me.
“Go ahead and look,” I said. “It’s not all that special. My work has cut down on my hours because they’re struggling. I was low on cash, but I found it online in one of those great bargain stores.”
“Please, you’re so gorgeous, you could step out in a pillowcase and turn heads.” She unzipped the bag. “I looove it. This bright blue is the perfect color for your golden complexion. And it works with your auburn hair.”
“That’s what I love about you, Hailey. Nerdy, law student one second and total fashion diva the next. But the dress shows a lot of skin, so I’ll have to work on getting rid of this pasty white office pallor. Being stuck in a cubicle hunched over a computer really puts a damper on that whole radiant thing.” I’d gotten a degree in English Literature from a respectable college and then walked out with my very expensive diploma having no idea what exactly to do with it. I didn’t want to teach, and jobs were scarce. After four years of toiling over and interpreting difficult literature, I ended up as a data processor for a financial company. It was a dreadful job, but, living on my own, I couldn’t be choosy.
I followed Hailey out of the bedroom and down the stairs. “There are still a few hours of decent sun out on the beach,” Hailey said. “We’ll eat, run to town to pick up my new shoes and then you can head out to the sand. Unfortunately, I’ve got to help firm up the details for the after graduation party.” She rolled her eyes. “Dad is making such a big thing about this.”
“He should. I think it’s cute that he’s so proud.” We entered the gleaming kitchen, a maze of granite and stainless steel shrouded by the distinctive and mouth-watering aroma of bacon. “Where is your dad?”
“He’ll be home later. I know he’s anxious to see you again.”
Together, just like we had that long, strange summer, we formed a perfect assembly line for making the sandwiches. I slathered butter and dressing on the bread, then Hailey topped it with bacon, lettuce, tomato and our secret ingredient, avocado. We pulled up two stools at the long granite counter and nibbled away.
“So, whatever happened to Joshua, the surfer slash computer nerd you were dating? His pictures were incredible.” Hailey took another bite.
I picked a piece of bacon off the end of the sandwich. “He was incredible to look at. But— I don’t know. There just wasn’t enough spark. We broke up a few months ago, and I haven’t gone out at all since. I abhor the idea of stepping back into the dating scene.” I pushed the bacon between my lips. “Hmm, bacon, the food of the gods.”
“I believe that chocolate holds that title.”
“Yes, Miss Bookworm. Chocolate does deserve the title, and they say it’s not all that bad for you. Until it shows up on your hips, I guess. Then it’s definitely bad.”
Hailey covered her mouthful of food to avoid spitting it out with laughter. She made a big show of swallowing. “I forgot how much fun you are.”
“Rib splitting fun,” we both said simultaneously. We’d termed the days we spent together as rib splitting fun because we’d spent so much time laughing our ribs ached from it.
Hailey took hold of my hand. “I’m so glad you came, Jessa.”
“Me too.”
Chapter 5
Beck
I’d hoped to get upstairs, change for a run on the beach and get out of the house before running into anyone, and by anyone I meant Dad. I’d taken the long way home after I stopped for the can of coke. I needed to cool my head some before facing people. The housekeeper told me that Hailey and Jessa had gone into town to buy some shoes. I was relieved that I could spend some more time alone. I loved Hailey, and graduation from law school was a big deal, but I still couldn’t help feeling that I should just have spent the entire weekend fucking Tansy raw. She loved sex and it always came without any baggage. Just a good time and done. It was always easier when I spent my free time doing something mindless. This weekend was going to be far from that.
I could see Dad’s silver Bentley parked in front of the steps as I came down the stairs. I tread lightly on the marble floor like a kid trying to sneak out for the night unnoticed. I turned down the hallway that took me past the entry to the library. From there, I could sneak out onto the veranda and then down to the beach. There was a five mile loop from the private beach t
o the city pier and back. I needed it.
I’d successfully made it to the library unseen, only to open the door directly into Dad.
His gray eyes rounded behind his glasses. “Beckett, I was just coming up to see you.” He gave me the usual cursory pat on the shoulder. We hadn’t seen each other in well over six months, but a brief man hug was out of the question. My dad didn’t do hugs. At least not with me. He looked disapprovingly at my shirtless attire. “Where are you headed?”
I glanced down at my bare chest, running shorts and shoes. “Going to work out.”
His lips thinned in disapproval.
“What? I need to run. I’ve been on the bike for four hours. I’ve got a fight next week.”
“Yes, a fight. How has that been going?” He motioned me inside the library, and it seemed that I wasn’t going to get out to the beach anytime soon.
“It’s going well, Dad. I’m making a lot of money, and, as you know, that’s the key to all happiness.”
“Beckett, don’t already start this conversation off with snide remarks. My money kept you plenty happy growing up.”
I leaned a hip up on the ladder that slid along the tall bookshelves. “Yes it did, but now I’m making it on my own.”
He sat on the giant plush chair adjacent to the shelves and the ladder and rested his arms imperially on the upholstered arms. “I’m glad of that, Beck. I truly am.”
“But?” I could see there was more behind his pathetic attempt at praise.
“I worry about you, son. It’s not a safe way to make a living.”
The ladder rattled as I stood. “You mean it’s not on your list of appropriate ways to make a living.”
He shook his head. The muscle in his jaw clenched. My dad was practiced at keeping his cool. It had made him successful in the business world, but I knew him well enough to know that the tiny twitch in his jaw meant he was pissed. “Damn it, Beck. You’re putting words in my mouth again.” He waved his hand as if to erase the start of our conversation. “This is Hailey’s weekend. I don’t want to get into with it you or do anything to spoil these next few days.”
