Page 10 of A Crush in the Storm
KAI
Walker is stretched out in the hammock in front of my room when I get back to the main house, hands behind his head, whistling a tuneless pop song from last year.
“What are you doing here, bozo?”
He ignores me, continuing to whistle, until I poke him in the ribs, hard.
“Ow! Can’t a guy get some peace while he’s in love?”
I snort. “You, in love? Please. There’s only one person you love in this world, and you see him every morning when you look in the mirror.”
He laughs and sits up, tipping out of the hammock in one smooth movement. “What’s got your boxers in a twist?”
“Nothing,” I mutter, wanting to talk to someone about what happened this afternoon with Sadie, but Walker is the last person I’d confide in.
My overly optimistic, exuberant doofus of a younger brother is too cocky for his own good and won’t understand my conflicted emotions. He’d need to have a heart for that.
“For your information, the bridesmaid I hooked up with last night is special.” He pretends to swoon while clutching at his heart. “She might be the one.”
“I’m happy for you.”
He laughs at my droll response. “Why doesn’t anyone believe me? West and Linc dismissed me too.”
“Maybe because we’re used to you dating your way through the entire eastern seaboard of Australia?”
“Can I help it if I’m popular?”
Walker grins, and I see why women love him. Having a smile that says ‘I don’t have a care in the world’ is charming when most people are stuck in the daily grind of work, mortgage repayments, and familial responsibilities. Walker has none of those.
Walker points at me. “What’s with you? You look troubled, bro.”
“It’s nothing.”
He rolls his eyes. “Yeah, right. I’m not just a pretty face, you know. I see stuff, and what I saw a little while ago was you and Sadie hand in hand. That’s some major shit for a commitment-phobe like you.”
“That’s rich, coming from you.”
“Hey, the women I date know the score,” he says, his expression surprisingly serious. “But Sadie is different. You can’t mess with her.”
“I’m not.”
But my heart sinks at the conversation I know we need to have before I leave.
“Does she know that?” Walker shakes his head. “She’s been our friend for a long time, and I know she has a thing for you. Always has. And until now, I thought you had boundaries so you wouldn’t hurt her. But seeing you holding hands puts a new spin on things.”
“How is this any of your business?”
Walker rolls his eyes. “Sadie is a friend, you’re my brother. I know you think I’m a shallow prick without a soul, but that’s not the case.”
“I don’t think you’re a shallow prick. I think you’re a shallow dickhead.”
He chuckles. “Want my advice?”
“No.”
“Too damn bad, because you’re going to get it, anyway. I think you have feelings for Sadie, but when she didn’t agree to leave the island with you a decade ago, you shut down. Though here’s a thought. Why don’t you ask her again?”
“And have her shut me down a second time? Not a hope in hell. I’m not a masochist.”
