Page 90 of Ten Rules for Faking It
“I’m not meant to stayhere,Noah. This was always temporary.” Even if saying it put a clutch in his chest.
Noah rolled his eyes. “Because that was the plan.”
Chris set his bottle down hard on the rail. “Yes, it’s the fucking plan. What’s wrong with that? What are you getting at? There’s nothing wrong with the path I’m on. It’syouwho is aimlessly wondering what to do next because Dad said no to some warehouses. Speaking of being like him, you’re one to talk. You jump from one goddamn thing to the next wondering why you’re not satisfied. Stand still and maybe you will be.”
Chris’s lungs squeezed. Why did he feel so mad right now? What the hell was Noah’s problem?
“Back at you, bro. Stand still. Reassess. You can be pissed all you want, but I’m worried you’re going to get back to New York only to realize that everything you wanted…everyoneyou wanted… was right here in California. You can’t plan for everything, Chris. Sometimes you have to let life just happen.”
Chris leaned in. “My life is finallystartingto happen.” Everything he wanted was within his grasp.
Noah shrugged. “Keep telling yourself that. Just answer one thing.”
Chris waited. Noah stared at him, giving nothing away.
“If I tell you to think of something that makes you truly happy, what’s the first thing that pops into your brain?”
Everly.Shit. Her image snuck in without any effort at all. He’d seen his father throw away wives the way he did businesses, and he wasn’t about to do that with Everly. She deserved more. He had a plan that involved New York. Once he was waist deep in it, he could think about the next step.
Noah set his beer down. Chris glared at him, grateful when the doorbell rang.
“I’ll get it.” Chris started to walk away, but when Noah chuckled behind him, he raised his hand and shot his brother the finger. Noah only laughed harder.
The sun had lowered itself in the sky as if it were settling in for the best part of the evening. Streaks of red and orange blazedout from each side of the orb, creating a painting-like view. There was a path leading from the house down to the water. A few of the staff had headed that way when they’d heard about a bonfire at the beach. Mari and Mason were playing Frisbee with Kitty and Luke, both of whom brought significant others.
Jane was chatting with Benny and his wife, enjoying the wide variety of finger foods the caterer had set out. Noah was showing Stacey how to play boccie ball and stopping every five seconds to laugh gregariously at something she’d said.
Chris glanced around, trying not to seem like he was looking for someone specific. Everly showed up on her own, right after Stacey. He hadn’t talked to her about her final date, but he didn’t want tonight to be about work.Or the men she’s dating.He’d thought the two friends would come together, but Stacey claimed Everly had a list of things that she had to do. Apparently, she was serious about her lists. The thought of it made Chris smile.
He walked out into the backyard, watched the Frisbee game for a few minutes, and then decided to take the path down to the beach.
He expected—okay, hoped—to find Everly by the beach. He was surprised to see her sitting off to the side of the entrance to the main area. She sat, knees drawn up to her chest, on a bench, staring out at the ocean with a quiet focus he didn’t want to break. It was no hardship to stare. She wore a soft gray shirt and a pair of cargo shorts. Her legs were paler than her arms and face. Now that he was looking at her, he realized, she rarely wore shorts. Capris, the odd dress here and there, but rarely shorts. She’d looked beautiful in pink last weekend, but tonight, she looked soft and sweet. Approachable. It struck him that, over the last several weeks, she’d started to share more sides of herself even if it was just through subtle changes in her wardrobe.
“You don’t have to stay over there,” she said quietly.
Chris laughed, walking over. He settled beside her. “Clearly, my application to ninja school should be denied.”
She turned her head to smile at him. “Stealth you are not.”
“It’s beautiful here,” he said, meaning the ocean but unable to look away from Everly.
“It is. I love the water. I never make time to come enjoy it.” She looked back toward the seagulls diving in the shallow waves.
He took a long swallow of his beer, and when she looked at him again, he offered it to her. She took a sip and then scrunched her nose in an adorable way.
“I hate beer. I try it every now and again because so many people love it. My dad is in a craft beer craze. That’s how he’s handling the latest break with my mom. But I can’t get used to it. It tastes like… wet bread.”
Chris laughed, taking his beer back. “Wow. I guess our taste buds are different, because I was thinking more nectar of the gods.”
She grinned. “That would be the Oreo milkshake at the Burger Shack.”
“Also delicious. So, your mom and dad aren’t together right now?” Was it weird that he wished he could erase the sadness in her tone?
She rested her head on her knees, and Chris had to fight down the urge to put his arm around her and pull her closer.
“It shouldn’t matter. I’m thirty years old. I don’t need my parents to stay together to make me happy. But it would make me happier if they didn’t both think they needed to get me on their side. It’s like this covert competition to see who can hang out with me more right now. They don’t understand that I don’t want to hang out withanyone.” She scrunched her nose again. “Present company excluded.”
Another chuckle rumbled from his chest. The ocean breeze had tendrils of hair dancing across her cheeks.
