Page 40 of Love to Hate You

“Ahh.” His voice was threadbare. “So what did Daryl do to join this list?”

“I was sixteen and Autumn dared me to cannonball off Daryl’s dock naked.” She pointed to the dock in question. “Then she stole my clothes, and before I could formulate an escape plan Daryl happened upon me. It was like the perfect meet-cute. A damsel in distress, the guy I’d had an unrequited crush on for years coming to my aid with a towel.”

“That sounds noble.”

“We sat on the edge of his dock talking for hours, his hand touching my knee whenever a difficult topic arose.” It had been, up to that point, the most riveting conversation of her young life. It was the perfect meet-cute. “Suddenly he went shy and said he had something to ask me,” she continued. “I assumed it was to kiss me.”

“Summer,” Daryl had said in this hushed and intimate tone. “There’s been something I’ve been dying to do all week.”

“Really?”

“Yeah,” he said, leaning in closer.

This was it. This was going to be where she lost her lip-virginity. And she couldn’t have asked for a more perfect background. The moon was full, the sky crystal clear, and the boy was Daryl Sanderson.

Daryl freaking Sanderson!

“I know it’s a big ask.” He reached out and ran his thumb down her jawline. “And it probably seems like it’s coming out of nowhere since we’ve never really talked much.”

“We’ve talked,” she said dreamily. Well, she’d had millions of conversations with him—only they’d been directed to her pillow. But tonight, he’d shared—he’d really opened up to her.

“I feel like I know you,” she assured him, closing her eyes and puckering her lips. She leaned in and—

“He asked if I could put in a good word with Autumn and maybe even give him her number. He said he could barely speak when he was around her, then had the gall to ask me if I understood.”

Oh, Summer had understood. It was the same tongue-tied syndrome that had afflicted her everything when she was within breathing distance of Daryl. He had the same affliction it seemed—just for her identical twin sister.

“Did you give it to him?”

She felt her cheeks heat like a beacon in the dark night. “That’s the sad thing, I did. I even told Autumn she should go for him.”

Wes reached out with his feet and wrapped them around Summer’s waist, drawing her closer. She rested her arms on his calves and held on for support. Her heart nearly exploded in her chest from the building emotions. “Do you mind if I ask—why?”

Normally she would mind. It wasn’t fun replaying one of the humiliating times of her life, but for some reason she shook her head. “It’s like I’m hardwired to please. I’d rather take one on the chin than make a situation more uncomfortable.”

“Is that why you didn’t really say what was on your mind at dinner?”

She looked away. “What do you mean?”

“Randy’s impulsive and idiotic decision to buy a house.”

“You think it’s dumb too?” she asked, a giddy feeling zinging through her body at not being the only one to see reason.

“I think it’s ludicrous. They’ve known each other a month—maybe. Randy and I have just taken over our father’s business and we have a deadline to meet or we lose—”

He stopped short, as if he’d said something he regretted.

“Or you’ll lose what?”

He ran a hand down his face and worried his fingers through his hair. “I can’t believe I’m going to tell you this. I signed a fucking NDA, and telling you, my competitor, could cost me everything.”

“Not only am I a good listener, I am also like a vault with information. And I’d never use something told in confidence to sink your business. That’s not who I am.”

“That’s hard for me to understand, because I’d use any means necessary to make the company successful. But for some reason I believe you.”

What a sad life he must have to be so afraid to trust. “I don’t want to make you do anything you’d regret.”

He seemed relieved for letting him off the hook even though her insides were screaming at her because she wanted to know what was weighing this Adonis down.

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