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Parting her hair down the middle and putting it into two French braids, part of their dress-alike tradition, Summer was practically bouncing on her toes as she applied her lip gloss. She even used a touch of mascara—because, why not?
Today was also important because she needed to get out of this house and away from Wes. Sneaking down the stairs, she tiptoed through the hallway and into the kitchen, and froze.
Because there he stood, the man she was trying to avoid, shirtless, sweaty, sipping a glass of water like he owned the place. His was such a large presence she could barely breathe. Especially when she caught a glimpse of his glistening abs. Suddenly, the kitchen felt too small and intimate.
He pushed off the counter to leave and she held out her hands. “Don’t leave on my account. I was just heading out.”
He took in her outfit and his lip curled up. “Where to? A hoedown?”
“Not that it’s any of your business, but Autumn and I are going to the boardwalk for Twin Day. Are you auditioning forThunder Down Under?”
“I’m British, not Australian, and I just came back from my morning run. See anything you like?”
She remained mum on the topic.
“What is this Twin Day?” he asked, leaning back against the counter.
“It’s a yearly trip where we eat too much candy and pizza and funnel cake, then we ride the Gravitron. Whoever pukes first must wear the Cone of Shame. Which is a bright orange traffic cone withLOSERwritten across it. And before you ask, you aren’t invited. It’s a no-boys-allowed kind of affair.”
“Good thing I’m a man.”
That he was. A tall, dark, dangerously attractive man, who wasn’t her prince. Not that she wanted him to be, but a tiny piece of her had begun to believe that he could be. That in the right setting with the right timing they could build on that connection that had started to bloom. But he’d doused that in gasoline then put a blowtorch to it.
“Men are worse than boys. They know how to disappoint like it’s a god-given talent.”
His expression went soft and serious. He set his glass down and walked toward her until they were toe to toe. She could smell the sea air and clean sweat on his skin.
He cupped her face. “I never meant to disappoint you, love. That’s why I stopped things before they could even start. I thought that would be for the best.”
“But it already started. We were having a fun time until you made it weird. You didn’t have to friend-zone me—we were already there.” A flash of hurt sliced through her. “Unless you don’t want to be friends.”
She saw the look of regret on his face. “We are friends. I just didn’t want to cross a line we can’t uncross.”
“You’re the one who said I was giving mixed signals. You were forcing me to say I meant the kiss, then you wrote me off. Was this some kind of game?”
“God no. I would never do that. I would never hurt you.”
“But you have. You tried to have my car towed, you make fun of my shop, you didn’t tell me that concrete was going to be poured and would block the driveway. I should have seen this coming.”
“You’re right. I should have told you about the concrete and that was a shit move on my part.”
“That’s it? That’s your big apology? That it was a shit move? Be still my heart. God, you’re such a guy! It’s no wonder you moved up the grand opening and didn’t have the balls to tell me.”
“Wait. What are you talking about?”
“The big banner hanging across all of downtown announcing your new grand opening on July first.” He just stared at her as if she’d grown a third nostril. “Don’t pretend that you weren’t trying to mess with my head. We have fun here, become friends, then we get home and you’re like, ‘Oh, by the way, surprise! You’re going-out-of-business date is closer than you thought.’”
He was in the middle of pulling out his phone and punching in numbers when he said, “I don’t have a fucking clue what you’re talking about. But I’m going to get to the bottom of this.”
His tone was dialed somewhere betweenwhat the fuckandsomeone is going to fucking die. The shock was so genuine she believed him, and guilt about her delivery rushed through her like a tidal wave.
“I thought you knew.”
He held up a finger for silence and said to the other person on the line, “What the fuck, Harper? Did you think I wouldn’t find out?”
Before she could say another word, he was stalking out the back door and talking in a tone that made her think that if she were Mr. Harper she’d be peeing her pants. The funny, easy-going guy from yesterday who’d laughed and smiled at her had vanished, and back was the Boardroom Barracuda who was rock-hard, singularly focused, and intimidating.
Her heart told her to follow him, give him support, but her brain reminded her that he didn’t want help. Wes was a lone wolf and liked it that way. There was no way to change that in a matter of a week. To think so would be stupid.