Page 6 of Summer with a Brother's Best Friend
“No.” Her fingertips trace over the scars on my hand, and I can feel that simple toucheverywhere, my heart now hammering in my chest. “I don’t want you to be in the middle.”
Again.
The word hangs between us unspoken, but we’d all made choices that day, albeit for very different reasons.
Reece chose herself, Maddox chose me, and I—being the peacemaker—chose Maddox by default and lost my heart in the process.
My bar is my life, and it had always been my dream to take it over—make it mine—but there wasn’t a day that went by that I didn’t feel a twinge of regret too. The dream had turned bittersweet, and there was no salvaging it.
Not anymore.
“I know we talked about it,” I say, swallowing hard and then clearing my throat, “but are you sure you want to work for me?”
Reece frowns, her eyebrows pinching together as she stares at me. “You don’t want me to?”
“What? No, of course I do, I just,”—need to make sure I don’t try and bend you over the bar top—“want to make sure that’s what you want.”
“Yeah.” She looks away quickly and then back at me. “It was one of Maddox’s better ideas especially because it’s only temporary. You won’t have to train me too much, and I can vouch for Vienna.”
The wordtemporarygrates on me, but it’s a necessary reminder that not everyone gets what they want in this scenario.
This summer.
Reece will be here just long enough to give me a taste of the life we could have had, and then she’ll be gone and I’ll…what, kick around Love Beach as a bachelor with Maddox forever?
The thought is terrifying and a little sad.
But what can I really do about it?
Does Reece even want a second chance?
The questions are unending, but one thing is clear—something’s gotta give if I plan on surviving this summer with the one that got away.
5
REECE
9 WEEKS TILL THE END OF SUMMER
“What’s next on the list?” Vienna asks as we walk down the sidewalk, my mood instantly brighter with her here. She’d been the first friend I made in North Carolina after I’d broken up with Isaac and momentarily destroyed my relationship with my brother.
She’d been there for me during the worst time of my life, and she’d never left my side.
“Can I just say how happy I am that you’re finally in Love Beach?”
She chuckles and bumps her shoulder into mine. “I mean, you’ve told me twice today already, but by all means I’m listening.”
Laughing, I let myself relax and enjoy the hot South Carolina weather and the humidity that won’t quit. My soul is more relaxed this close to the ocean, even if my family is determined to give me an eye twitch to balance it out.
“You’re amazing and I missed you.”
“You are.” She blows me an air kiss. “And…” she prompts, forcing me to roll my eyes.
“And…we’ve finalized the cake, DJ, venue…flowers maybe? I need to get the invitations sent out this weekend.”
“Aren’t you working a double both days?” she asks, pushing her sunglasses up on top of her head.
“Yeah, but it should be fine,” I say, waving off her concern as I type out a text to my brother.
