Page 99 of Summer Love

Brady frowned. "I'm not talking about the magazine article."

"Then what photos are you talking about?" I asked, my stomach dropping.

Brady pulled out his phone and went to a popular social-media app. There was an account for theIsland Timesthat included daily posts about which brother was the hottest. Each day, a different brother was featured along with a photo and details about us. I read Shep's first, and it wasn't flattering.

"It says Shep enjoys picking up women at bars. That it's like a sport to him." He lowered his phone. "That makes him look like a player who doesn't care about anyone's feelings."

I grabbed the phone from him, reading through Dalton's bio that mentioned him getting a girl pregnant. "I can't believe that Elena did this. She promised she wouldn't publish this stuff, that she wanted everyone to know what made us unique."

"I'm not sure it was her—" Brady began.

The pressure built inside my head until I exploded. "Who else could it have been? She was the one interviewing us. It was her article."

"I saw the draft she sent Mom and Dad, and it's nothing like what was published in the magazine. This makes us out to be playboys who care about picking up women and nothing about the business."

I ran a hand through my hair. "This is a disaster. Dad trusted me to handle this, to ensure that we were portrayed in a good light."

"Shep frequently says things like this, but he's joking," Brady said. "I don't think he does half the things he says he does. It's all an act. I don't know why he does it. I just can't believe that Elena would have done this. She seemed so genuine."

Elena appeared in front of us, wringing her hands. "You've seen the article?"

"Brady showed me the social-media posts."

"I didn't have anything to do with that."

"I trusted you," I ground out, because I felt horribly betrayed.

"And I trusted Valerie would tell me if she was making any big changes or if she created a social-media campaign. But I guess I really didn't know her at all."

"You're the writer. You're the one who asked for personal information and then exploited it." I pointed at Brady's phone. "This could ruin us and the business. My father was counting on me to handle this, and I let him down. I let my brothers down."

Elena moved closer to me, touching my arm, but I shrugged her off.

"Hudson—" Brady chided.

"I have to get out of here," I said to Brady.

"Are you sure?" Brady hesitated, his gaze moving from me to Elena.

"Hudson, will you let me explain what happened?" Elena asked, her voice filled with a soft plea I struggled to ignore.

"I can't. Not when I'm dealing with the fallout."

My phone rang, Dad's name showing on the screen. "Dad's calling. I have to talk to him."

I turned on my heel and headed toward Brady's truck. I felt too volatile to drive myself.

Thankfully, he was quiet as he drove to our parents' house. I couldn't talk. I couldn't seem to make the words go past the lump in my throat. Everything inside me felt too tight, like I was going to jump out of my skin.

At home, Brady put the truck in Park. "I think you should listen to Elena. I know you're upset, but I'm not sure that she's the one who did this."

"We obviously don't know her at all."

Brady sighed and got out of the truck. I followed him inside where Dad was pacing the living room, and Mom looked on with a perplexed expression. "What's going on? Your father said something about the article not being what we'd thought it would be."

"I didn't even get a chance to read it. I just saw the social-media posts, which were in poor taste."

"It was nothing like that draft Elena sent you," Brady said while I stood there, my heart heavy.

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