Page 24 of That Time I Kissed My Brother’s Best Friend

He squints at me, then lifts the hand holding his fritter up to block the sun. “I’ve got a sweet tooth. I couldn’t say no.”

“Ha! Really. Well. No is a hard word forsomepeople to say.”

Mac, who’s standing between Beau and me, clears his throat. “Hey, Daisy. Let’s you and me leave Kasey and Beau to their… judging. I think I saw a stand selling cotton candy over by the Beachfront Inn.” Mac darts one last glance my way. “I can’t believe that old place is still hanging in there,” he says. “You hang in there too.”

Before I can beg Mac to stay as a much-needed buffer, he takes Daisy by the hand and walks her toward the oldest hotel on Abie Lake. I watch them go, wishing I could disappear into the beach crowd along with them. Instead, I’m stuck here with Beau. And a bunch of boat floats. And a churning stomach.

I turn to Beau, and he’s still squinting. What’s with that? “So.” I square my shoulders. I’m trying to look unfazed. Cool as a cucumber. In a red dress. With a sticky face. “Have you seen all the boats yet?”

He ducks his head. “Pretty much.”

“You have to see all of them, Beau. Those are the rules. Unless you don’t care about rules.”

He levels his gaze, then his eyes dip to my lips. “I care about a lot of things,” he says.

My heart squeezes. “I’m sure you do.” Too bad none of those things are me. Or my feelings. Or my dignity. Or—

“Kasey, I think we need to clear the air.”

I want to scoff at him. I really do. But I’m pretty thrown off by his bright, squinty eyes. So I dig deep to muster my scoff. Ah.There it is. “I don’t know about you, Beau, but my air is clear. Crystal clear.”

His brows knit together. “Listen, Kasey. You don’t have to like me…”

“Good, because I don’t.”

“Nevertheless.” He shifts his jaw. “Our mom’s roped us into this judging thing, and we owe it to everyone to do our job and be fair.”

I shrug. “I’m always fair. Sorry if you’re not.”

“I try my best. Sometimes life gets in the way of fair.”

“I don’t even know what that means.” I sniff. “Anyway, let me see your clipboard.”

He tilts his head. “Why?”

“I need to see which boat float you’re picking to win.”

He hides the clipboard behind his back. “Tell me yours first.”

“No way. If I tell you which boat float I voted for, you’ll just vote against my choice and ruin things. On purpose. Like you always do.” I stomp my foot, but the show of temper makes me feel like Daisy. Who is four.

Beau’s lip twitches. “Oh really. Is that what you think?” I swear on Santa Claus and George Washington, if Beau Slater laughs at me, I will shove him in the lake. “Well,I thinkthat was actuallyyourvoting plan, Kasey. It takes a saboteur to predict sabotage.”

“Saboteur?” I snort. “That’s a pretty fancy word.” Then I snort again. So it’s a really good thing I am not trying to impress Beau Slater.

“You’re a journalist,” he says. “I thought you liked fancy words.” Is he teasing me? He better not be teasing me. I tip my chin up.Be strong, Kasey.

“For your information, a good journalist never uses big words when a smaller word works better. But you’re right. I am a journalist. In fact, I just nailed an interview for my absolute dream job atThe Chronicle. And once I get that call from my new boss, I’m blowing this town and never coming back.”

Beau’s face clouds over. He likes it better when he’s the only successful one between us. “I hope you hear from your boss soon,” he says. His voice goes deep, almost gruff. “I want you to get your dream job.”

“Huh. That would be a first.” I grit my teeth. “Usually you steal the jobs I’m going after.”

“Yeah.” He averts his gaze. “Not this time.”

“Because there’s no competition anymore, right? My little newspaper can’t possibly compete with your sainted photography work.”

“Sainted…” He studies me for a moment, then shakes his head. “I just take the assignments that are the farthest away from here. This may come as a surprise, Kasey, but you’re not the only one who wanted out of Abieville.”

---