Page 38 of Summer Kisses

I'd been lucky to inherit part of a successful business from my family and to have an extra income with the video-game show. Hazel had followed all the rules, but her salary was small and her student loans huge.

I wanted to make her life better. I wanted her to fall in love with this new way of thinking and me. It was a tall order, and I wasn't sure it would work.

Each night after work, we coordinated dinner, taking turns cooking. We always ate together and then took a walk with Max on the beach. It was simple but the best part of my day.

On Friday, I was looking forward to coming home to her, but she'd texted and said she was going out with her friends. I didn't think I could talk my brothers into crashing girls' night again. Dalton was determined to make a go of it with Oakley, and Hudson wanted to let Elena have her girls' night out.

Cooper had been really busy lately. No one could figure out what was going on with him. And Shep said he needed to go to the mainland to get laid.

Hazel hadn't come home for dinner or even to change, so I didn't get to see her at all. I was just eating leftovers standing at the counter when there was a knock on the door.

I opened it to find Hudson. "You want to pop in on the girls?"

His brow furrowed. "What? No."

I moved out of the way so he could come inside. "If you don't want to crash the girls' fun, then why are you here?"

Hudson shrugged. "I thought we could hang out, talk for a bit."

"Have I given you a reason to think I need the older-brother check-in?" I asked, without even thinking that we called it that when Hudson wasn't around.

Hudson grabbed a beer from the fridge. "What are you talking about?"

I cleared my throat and grabbed my own beer. "Nothing."

"I don't drop in to check on you guys," he grumbled as we made our way onto the deck with the best view of the ocean.

I turned on a fan because it was a hot one. "Sure you don't. So why are you here?"

"I wanted to make sure you were okay with the engagement and everything."

I dropped into the chair, twisting off the cap. "How is that not a check-in?” I continued without waiting for his response, “Why wouldn't I be? I asked her to marry me, didn't I?"

"I don't know. It seems sudden is all."

"I've been friends with Hazel since we were kids. By the time we got over ourselves and admitted we liked each other, we’d wasted a lot of time." These thoughts had been running through my head lately.

"I'm not saying there're rules or a timeline for these things?—"

"Then what are you saying?" I asked, more than a little irritated. "Because if you're here to tell me I'm too young or impulsive, Dad already said that."

Hudson shifted in his chair. "That's not why I'm here. I wanted to see if you were happy."

I thought back to the last few days living with Hazel. I was content in a way I did't think I'd ever been. "I'm happy."

"That's good."

"I think it's one of those situations where I got out of my own way. I'd been afraid to risk our friendship, and that kept us in this never-ending cycle of not moving forward."

"I'm happy for you then. I can't imagine life without Elena, and I'm sure it's the same for you."

I leaned forward, my elbows on my thighs. "I can't remember a time when I didn't have the thought that I should go to Hazel's and hang out with her."

"Yeah, that's something else."

It wasn't like I'd just met Hazel, and I wasn't sure who she was. I knew Hazel inside and out.

"How is it living together?" Hudson asked.

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