Page 67 of Love Off-Limits
Perry frowned. “He and Emily broke up last week.”
“Oh, no. I liked her. What happened?”
He shrugged. “You can ask him on Thursday, I guess.” He tapped the door jamb twice and disappeared without another word.
I sank back into my chair. It would be good to see all my brothers together again. Mostly because of how happy it made Mom and Dad to see us all together. But also because maybe one of them would be able to help me figure out what Perry wasn’t telling me.
I reached for my phone and pulled up Tyler’s last text, studying the picture he’d sent. Penelope’s big brown eyes shone in the sunlight. She wore a green bandana now, and it matched the green of Tyler’s t-shirt. The pair of them looked like they belonged on a wall calendar.
Olivia: You’re right. I definitely can’t compete with those eyes.
Olivia: You’re both adorable.
I added a row of heart-eyes emojis to the message and sent it off.
Tyler: Are you ready for the second question yet? I get to pick this one.
I wasn’t even halfway through the ginormous book I was supposed to read, but after my conversation with Perry, I was ready for a pick-me-up.
Olivia: Bring it.
Tyler: Favorite movie. You guess first.
We’d talked about movies the night of the wedding, and half a dozen other times just in the past few days we’d been texting. Tyler was a little more cerebral than I was. He liked movies that surprised him, that made him think, that were about more than what they appeared to be on the surface. But there were so many that fit that description.Inception. Interstellar. The Adjustment Bureau.
I tapped my phone against my palm.
Olivia: Okay. I’m going with M. Night Shyamalan’s Signs.
The little dots that showed Tyler was typing appeared then disappeared then reappeared again.
Tyler: WHAT.
Tyler: That is absolutely my favorite movie.
Olivia: Because it’s a movie about aliens that isn’t actually about aliens.
Tyler: I feel so seen right now.
Tyler: I have to go cut fifty thousand acres of grass. That should give me time to puzzle out your favorite movie.
Olivia: Funny how the farm keeps getting bigger every time you mention the grass...
Tyler: I’m sorry, what? I can’t hear you over the sound of the lawn mower. *winking emoji*
Tyler: I’ll text you later with my guess.
Chapter Nineteen
Olivia
I loved being surrounded by my brothers.
I did not love being surrounded by my brothers while trying notto stare at Tyler all night.
The Fourth of July staff celebration had been an annual thing at Stonebrook for as long as I could remember. Closed to anyone except current staff members and their families, we filled the pavilion with tables, slow-roasted ribs from Bailey’s Farm, and drove watermelon and fireworks up from South Carolina for the celebration.
It was one of my favorite days of the summer, but this year, my insides were coiled up like a copperhead ready to strike. I couldn’t keep my eyes off of Tyler for anything, and my brothers wereallwatching me.
