Page 1 of Love Bites
Chapter One
At night, the parking lot behind the coffee shop where I worked always freaked me out a little.
Seriously, though, was there anything creepier than a dark and empty parking lot? No, right? So it wasn't my fault that I jumped when someone approached me out of nowhere, making me spill half the contents of the coffee cup in my hand.
God, I hated the closing shifts for exactly this reason.
I whirled around to the person who'd touched my shoulder only to find it was my younger brother, Luke, and the cold claws of panic that had dug themselves into my heart retreated.
"Relax," he said. "It's just me."
"What are you doing here?" I asked, hoping I didn't come off as irritated as I felt. Honestly, Luke shouldknowbetter than to pull shit like this. I realized that at twenty-five, I was too old to be afraid of the dark, but Luke knew what I'd been through.
Looking for a distraction from the memories rising to the surface of my mind, I inspected my now-sad coffee cup. Most of the liquid was gone. And of course I'd just closed the coffee shop.
"I just thought I'd drop by," Luke said. "I just got out of class and I figured maybe you'd be here." He glanced at my cup. "I'm sorry about your coffee."
"It's fine," I lied as if this hadn't been a mocha latte with hazelnut creamer and caramel syrup and too much sugar made exactly to my liking. My treat for finishing my shift. "Just a friendly visit?" I focused back on Luke, not entirely buying his story. I loved my little brother, but lately, there was only ever one thing he wanted to talk about, and it was the topic I did my best to avoid.
"I thought we could hang out," Luke said. He didn't convince me, and I could tell by the way he lowered his gaze that he didn't think so either. Luke was about three years younger than me. Dad had adopted him when he was roughly four years old. I'd never forget the day he joined our family, eyes wide with wonder and wary at the same time. It was an expression only Luke could pull off. He hadn't spoken much at all the first couple weeks, but gradually he'd come out of his shell. He'd never lost the wide-eyed look, though. If he was avoiding my eyes, it was because he wasn't being entirely truthful.
"You sure there isn't any particular reason you came?" I asked.
"You've been ignoring my messages," Luke said, finally looking at me.
"You mean I've been ignoring your nagging," I corrected, awkwardly trying to zip up my jacket with one hand as a cold breeze blew around my ears. Temperatures had been dropping steadily over the last couple of days. "C'mon, let's get into my car." I motioned to the beat-up red Toyota I'd parked near the coffee shop's back entrance at the start of my shift. Luke didn't have a car, so he must have come here by Uber or some other means.
"I don't mean to nag, I just really think—"
"I know," I cut him off as I started walking. Seemed like I couldn't put off this conversation forever, but I wasn't gonna have it out here in the parking lot.
Once we were both seated in my car, I handed my coffee over to Luke. He shot me a questioning glance. "It's a hazelnut caramel mocha," I explained. "You love that shit, don't you?"
"But it's yours."
I shrugged and buckled up. "Most of it is gone anyway. I'll get another one tomorrow." I had the late shift again the following day, which meant a ton of coffee would be required to get through it, anyway. Lots of caramel shots in my future. It wasn't the worst outlook.
Besides, I needed to show my little brother that I wasn't a total asshole before we started this conversation. "I'm not coming home," I said as I turned the key in the ignition.
"I know you don't want to, but tomorrow—"
"Buckle up." I reminded my brother, cutting him off mid-sentence. I already knew what he wanted to say anyway. The following day was going to mark the first anniversary of Dad's death. Luke had mentioned to me that everyone was gathering at the family house and then visiting Dad’s grave to cry together or something like that. "I'm not going to the cemetery." I glanced at Luke to confirm that he had fastened his seatbelt and then I drove onto the dark road.
"You don't have to come to the cemetery."
"I know, and I won't." Not that I would even know where Dad's grave was. I hadn't attended the funeral after all. I'd fullyplannedto, but then... My hands tightened on the steering wheel as I dismissed the thought. None of that mattered. It was all in the past and it was about time I forgot about it.
Which was exactly why I was not going to get together with my siblings and celebrate an event I had to get past in order to move on.
"Remy has been asking if you'll come collect your shit."
"I will."
Luke shot me a doubtful look. I didn't blame him. I hadn't been back to the family manor since the day I left only a week before Dad's heart attack.
"I'll get around to it, okay?"
Luke nodded, sipped at his coffee again and stared at the road in front of us. I could tell he wasn't happy with me, but he'd get over it. "It would be really good to have you home," he said after a moment. "At least for events like this. With Dad gone I'm scared that we'll all just... drift apart. We're all we've got now, you know?"
