Page 27

TYLER

CLANK!

Startled, I looked up to see Chris plop in the beach chair he dropped beside me. Aiden and I had come earlier in the afternoon and romped around in the waves while Chris was at work. I was taking a break while Aiden built a sandcastle a few yards in front of me.

“You look lost in thought,” Chris commented to me.

I looked back at the shoreline. “Just keeping an eye on Aiden,” I responded. “Your sister will kill me if she comes home and finds even a scratch on him,” I joked, gesturing toward the boy in question who was currently trying to catch a sand crab that periodically poked its small body up from the sand.

Chris laughed. “Yeah, she’s always had a protective and nurturing nature. It’s a shame about his parents, but she’ll make a good mom to him.” He shifted his eyes toward me. “But I don’t think worrying about my new nephew is what has you so bothered.”

I had only met Kayla’s brother a few months ago at Christmas when he’d come to meet Alex and Aiden. Protectiveness ran in the family; Chris took his time assessing Alex, but once he saw how much Alex adored Kayla, he gave his blessing. In the months since then, Chris visited every chance he had, and we’d all become exceptionally close. Chris had moved back into his parent’s house a few years ago after they had both died, but now he was hoping to sell it and move to Charlotte to be closer to Kayla’s family. I’d even heard him and Alex discuss the possibility of going into private business together. I’d miss the chance to spend time at the beach with him but would look forward to all of us being able to spend more time together.

Aiden and I had arrived at his house last night, and because he had to get up early in the morning for work, we hadn’t had too much time to talk other than for Aiden to get some Uncle Chris time. So it was a little disconcerting that he was already reading into my moodiness.

I shrugged. “It’s nothing.”

He pulled off his tank top and settled back into the chair, smiling appreciatively at a couple of women who walked by us in skimpy bikinis.

“Wow! I never thought I’d see the day,” Chris smirked and offered me a soda from a small ice chest he’d brought.

“What are you talking about?” I waved at Aiden, who was laughing when a wave rolled up farther than usual and caught him by surprise.

“I’m guessing it’s not a something, but a someonewho’s rattled you.” He waited until I’d taken a mouthful of my drink. “And my money is on Jen.”

I sputtered and spat my drink as I tried to draw air back into my lungs. Chris pounded on my back and laughed at my reaction.

“Why would you say something like that?” I asked, wiping my mouth with my towel.

“Well, for starters, you seemed more annoyed than interested that two gorgeous women just eye-fucked us. I may not have known you for very long, but I’ve never seen you so indifferent.” When I didn’t say anything, he continued. “And then there’s the fact that I saw you leave the wedding reception with her, and I saw how she was looking at you.”

I couldn’t help myself. “And how was that?”

“Like a bear who wants a beehive.”

“You should write for Hallmark, bro,” I snickered. Outwardly, I attempted to remain casual. Inwardly, however, I cringed. If Chris thought that, how many other people did?

He laughed, also, but then quickly sobered up and looked directly at me. I could almost feel his eyes probing me from behind his sunglasses. “Yeah, well, the problem is, this particular bear is afraid of getting stung, so she stays away from the hive and swats at the bees that come near her.

I snorted. “That’s quite the analogy there, my friend. What are you, a shrink in your spare time? And what the hell does that even mean?”

Chris gave me a crooked smile but remained quiet as he stared at the horizon for a few minutes. I’d thought maybe he wasn’t going to answer me until he spoke quietly, still staring at the water. “I’ve known Jen since she and Kayla were little girls. Jen is an only child. She and Kayla were always together, and they always liked to tag along and pester my friends and me. I guess it just became natural to think of her as another little sister. She made some decisions that turned out to be bad ones, and she feels a lot of guilt over her choices. She blames herself, even though she shouldn’t.”

All this cryptic talk was driving me nuts. I wished that someone would just come out and tell me what had happened to Jen. “We all make mistakes. What did she do that was so bad?”

Chris shook his head. “It’s her story to tell. But I know you get to her in a way no one else has, not even Kayla or me because we can’t be everything to her. You could be, and it scares the shit out of her.”

I sat back in my beach chair, trying to understand what Chris meant. He sat up and swung his legs over his chair so he could look at me. “Look, I feel like a chick with all this talk, but I’ll say this. Why do you think she works so hard to push you away?” He rolled his eyes at my silence. “Because she likes you, you idiot. More than likes you.”

“That makes as much sense as your bear analogy.”

“Come on, Ty. Work with me here. Think back to grade school, man. When you liked a girl, did you say sweet things and carry her lunch for her? I bet not. I bet you might have shot spitballs at her or teased her to get her attention. Jen acts the same way. She argues with you because she likes you and wants to make sure to keep your attention. She’d ignore you if she didn’t care. But at the same time, she never moves past the snarkiness because if she lets you any closer, she might fall for you. And she’s afraid of getting hurt, so she keeps you where she can control you. I bet even she doesn’t recognize that’s why she’s doing it because that would mean she’d have to admit she likes you in the first place.”

I shook my head. “That’s just crazy. We’re not little kids anymore. And why would she be afraid of me?” But even as I said the words, I had to admit he was right. She was nicer to other guys, but she’d spit them out after a couple months and ignore them. I always thought she just wasn’t ready to settle down, but now I could see her timing was always about when the other guy wanted to get more serious. She sparred with me, but she never completely rejected me. She made excuses why we wouldn’t work as a couple, but she was always apologizing for her behavior. My instinct to diagnose and fix things was running amok. All sorts of scenarios came to mind; none of them good.

“I can’t tell you. But I’ll say this, and then I’m going to let it go before I need to buy us some tampons. I think you’d be good for her, but if you want her, you’re going to have to be patient and prove that you’re just as different with her as she is with you.”

“Uncle Chris, come see the sand castle Uncle Tyler and I made!” Aiden’s interruption could not have come at a more convenient time. I needed to digest Chris’s advice and decide if I was willing to fight for a woman who was determined to keep me at arm’s length.

There was no question I wanted her—and not just physically, although now that we’d been together intimately, I couldn’t get her out of my head. And seeing her in my kitchen dancing and joking with Aiden as she cooked, bringing laughter and light back into the house, filled an emptiness I hadn’t wanted to admit was there. No one else had ever made me feel that. Not to mention she’d brought the music back into my life, something I wasn’t sure would ever happen. For the first time, I was beginning to believe that maybe my life could be different than the household in which I grew up. I guess the big question was, who would I be fighting for, her or myself?