Page 53 of Coming Home to You
I look over at Beck and his eyes are filled with hurt and anger.I can tell he’s still under the impression that Finn and I had something going on while he was gone.I wish he’d get over it.I don’t want to fuck Finn and he certainly has never wanted me.
“We need to get you laid, Finn.All this work and no play, it can’t be fun,” I say, giggling and Finn smirks at me.
“Oh, Kels, I wouldn’t worry about me too much.I’m doing just fine.”He winks at me and I know he’s just doing this to get a rise out of Beck and surprise, surprise, it’s working.
“I’m sure you are,” Beck growls and I squeeze his thigh.
“Stop it,” I mumble, my eyes glaring at him, as I turn my attention to Pop.“So, did you get any more estimates to remodel the pub?”
“You’re remodeling the pub?”Beck asks, but his voice is filled with shock.
“I was planning on it,” Pop says.“Got a few estimates, decided to go with a company outside of Boston.They’re gonna start in September.”
“That’s great.Have you been meeting with the architect I found?”
“Yeah, she’s great.Talking about expanding, making the kitchen bigger, a bigger dining area.You know, just trying to keep the tourists happy.”
Beck sits beside me, his food untouched, his face emotionless, but I see his jaw tense and he swallows hard when Finn starts to speak again.
“Kels, did you get everything booked for the Fourth of July picnic at the inn?I know you were struggling to find someone who could deliver a tent that morning.”
“I didn’t,” I say, wrinkling my nose and shaking my head.“I just ended up booking the place I always use.Do you think you could still run up there and pick up the tent for me that morning like you always do?”
Just as Finn starts to answer, Beck’s loud voice cuts through.“Fuck this,” he says loudly and shoves the chair away from the table and storms out the back door.
I sit shocked into silence for a moment with Finn and Pop staring at me.This is not how I wanted this evening to go down, but I feel responsible.
“Sorry,” I mutter to Pop and Finn as I follow Beck out the door.I need to fix this.
Chapter Twenty
Beck
I’m standing on the back deck fuming and wishing to fuck I’d grabbed another beer on the way out.How the fuck has all this happened?I mean, I get that Kelsey is friends with my family, she always was, they loved her.Pop practically treated her like a daughter from the second we got together and Finn always saw her as nothing more than a sister.
Growing up, never once did I think my brother had a thing for my girl.And never in my life would I have imagined that Kelsey might start something up with my brother.Sure she might be sleeping in my bed now, but the thought of her being in my brother’s, even just once.Fuck, it makes me want to punch something, preferably Finn.
I hear the back door open and then shut, but I don’t turn around, I know who it’s going to be.Kelsey slides her arms around my waist from behind and rests her chin on my shoulder.I don’t move, keeping my arms by my side as I continue to stare out at the ocean.
“I’m sorry,” she says, her voice quiet.“I probably should have mentioned that this dinner is a regular thing with the three of us.”
“I think what you should have mentioned,” I say, my voice even and calm, despite the anger boiling inside me.“Is that you and Finn were once an item.”
“What the fuck?”Kelsey shouts, her arms disappearing as she walks around and stands in front of me now.“You’ve got some fucking nerve, Beck,” she says, crossing her arms over her chest.
“I’ve got some nerve?”I say, my voice dripping with sarcasm.“How about you, Kels?I mean how does it work, you can’t have one brother so you just move on to the other one?What happened when I walked back into town, huh?Finn just got cast aside?I mean I know I’m the better lay, but jesus fucking christ, Kels.”My voice is getting louder and louder and I’ve no doubt that in addition to sounding like a complete and utter dick, Pop and Finn are hearing every single word of this conversation.
“You,” Kelsey says, her voice low as she steps towards me and sticks a finger in my chest.“Are an asshole, Beck.”
“What?”I bite back, my hands on my hips now.
“You honestly think I’d just move on to your brother after you left?”she says, her voice laced with anger now.“That you meant that little to me, that I’d be over you and under your brother as soon as you were gone?Fucking hell, Beck, Finn is like a brother to me.Your family…your family becamemy family,” she says, her voice catching on the words.“They became my family when I lost mine.When I lost you.”
Kelsey’s eyes are glistening with tears now and I’ve gone from feeling like the biggest dickhead on the planet to the biggest asshole of all time in the space of about five seconds.
I should have known Kelsey and my brother wouldn’t get involved with each other.Not only do they see each other as brother and sister, both of them have far too much class for that.
“Shit, Kels,” I say, grabbing her shoulders and pulling her into my arms.“I’m sorry, I’m being a dick.”
