Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 73462 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 367(@200wpm)___ 294(@250wpm)___ 245(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73462 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 367(@200wpm)___ 294(@250wpm)___ 245(@300wpm)
I glare at her. “That’s what this is about? You’re jealous you didn’t get the twist ending this time?”
June smiles, all sugar and arsenic. “Oh, honey. I am the twist.”
Jake rubs his temples. “Can the two of you talk to each other without veiled insults?”
“I don’t see anything ‘veiled’ about any of it,” I say dryly.
June glances at him with wide eyes. “Of course, sweetheart. But if someone wants to start throwing real grenades, she should be ready to catch one.”
Before I can fire back, there’s a knock at the door.
One sharp knock.
Then two more.
Jake’s shoulders tense. My stomach knots.
I can’t stay here in my suite forever. I’m already beginning to feel better. Sooner or later, I’m going to have to tell everyone about my relationship to Jake. About why I really came here.
June looks between us. “Expecting someone?”
I shake my head. “No.”
“I’ll get it,” Jake says, leaving the bedroom.
June follows on his heels.
And hell if I’m going to miss whatever’s coming.
I move to the side of the bed and stand. I’m a little dizzy, but I’ll be okay. I leave the bedroom.
Brett is standing there in the doorway of my suite.
He looks…raw. Like he’s been battling ghosts the rest of us can’t see.
His eyes meet Jake’s. Not mine. Not June’s. Just Jake.
No one speaks.
Then Brett’s voice breaks the silence.
“Can we talk?”
Jake doesn’t move.
Then finally—quietly—he says, “Yeah. We can.”
They step into the hallway.
I plunk into the nearest chair.
And June exhales dramatically. “Okay. Now I’m interested.”
EPISODE 219
STILL
Brett
Jake and I don’t say much as we leave the house and walk back to the beach. My stomach growls, and it dawns on me that I haven’t eaten much today. Hell, have I eaten at all? It’s nearing dinnertime.
I walk beside him, my hands jammed deep into the pockets of my shorts. Our steps fall into an easy rhythm, even after all this time. Jake walks like he’s holding the universe on his back. I feel for him. He wanted to believe the world was fair and righteous, and it nearly killed him when it wasn’t.
He glances sideways. “You’re quiet.”
I draw in a breath. “Just trying to figure out how to say what I need to say.”
He chuckles. “Granted, I’ve been gone a long time, but I don’t remember you ever having trouble saying what you thought, Brett.”
Fuck.
My name on his lips.
I remember how I used to love the sound.
I blink, thrown off. He keeps walking like he didn’t just say something that rearranged my heartbeat.
“I cried for a month after you died, man,” I finally say.
He stops, turns to look at me. “Seriously? I thought I annoyed the hell out of you.”
He’s trying to lighten the moment. Of course I mourned him. We all did. He just doesn’t know the extent of my grief.
“You did,” I say. “But not the way you think.”
I let that hang between us.
I can see his mind working. He’s thinking he annoyed me because of his commitment to justice. After all, he was always the moral compass, and I…
Well, I wasn’t.
Most of our capers were brainchildren of mine.
After a few moments, I gather my courage once more. “I couldn’t sleep after you…left. I’d stare at the ceiling and count all the things I never said.”
Jake doesn’t answer. He just exhales, slow and deep.
“I went to your funeral. Put flowers on an empty box. I cried like someone had carved me open from the inside.”
“Brett…” His voice is rough.
“I’m in love,” I say, surprising myself.
It’s true, but it’s not what I brought him here to tell him.
“With Sienna?” he asks.
I cock my head. “It’s that obvious?”
“On her end, it is. The way she looked at you. Plus, she’s a knockout. Totally your type.”
The way Jake said “knockout” grates on me. Is he attracted to Sienna? Doesn’t he have a woman back in Miami?
Fuck. Who the hell am I jealous of, anyway?
“Not on my end?” I ask.
“Hard to tell. All three of you were astonished when River showed up with me.”
I rub my eyes against the salty breeze. “I love her, man. Totally. And the thing is… It’s only the second time in my life I’ve felt that way about someone.”
“Oh?”
I nod. “And the last time was twenty years ago.”
He shuffles his feet. “Back in high school? Bridget Monahan?”
Wow. I haven’t thought about Bridget Monahan in ages. She was a member of the freshman drill team, and damn, she had a rack on her. We popped each other’s cherries when we were both fifteen. It was great, but I didn’t love her.
“No, not Bridget,” I say. I pause, gathering my strength once again. “I was in love with you.”
Jake goes still. He doesn’t turn, doesn’t breathe. For a full ten seconds, it’s like time stops around us.
“You don’t have to say anything,” I add quickly. “I’m with Sienna now. She’s… She’s the real thing. I love her.”