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“You promised you’d tell me if you left. Well, this funny thing happened, where you fucking left and didn’t tell me. I’d trusted you to be honest with me. Do you know what I had to do to track you down? Your brothers are freaking out, and so are your parents. You can’t leave without telling anyone. How did you get here?”
He’s livid, and I haven’t seen him this upset ever.
“Please tell me you didn’t drive that fucking motorcycle here.”
Her jaw is locked tight, and her eyes are zeroed in on him. Like a tiger, she’s contemplating her next move. Go for the jugular or give it to him easy.
Billie continues her cold glare. “You drove two hours to treat me like a fucking child? You will watch your tone when speaking to me. Family or not.” Her voice is calm. Slow. It’s frightening.
“I was extremely concerned aboutyou. You’re not safe, wandering around without some sort of detail while you’redatingPrince Louis,” Brody sarcastically says between clenched teeth, glancing back at me. “If something happens to you on my watch, I’ll never be able to live with myself. I trusted you, Billie. My ass was on the line, and you disrespected that. I’m sure Easton and Weston will be more than fucking pleased to know where you are. Your parents too.”
“Brody, please. Please do not tell anyone that I’m with Asher. I will forgive you if you keep this part to yourself.” Billie’s not backing down. She’s fierce and flustered.
My eyes slide down her body, and I memorize her.
“I’m nearly thirty-one years old, Brody. You’re literally ruining one of the greatest moments of my life. Please be invisible,” she whispers, and then he takes a step back.
With disdain, he walks away. As he passes me, his nostrils flare. “You hurt her, and I’ll fucking kill you,” he says to me, then walks back through my house and disappears.
A few minutes later, I hear an engine roar and growl as it takes off.
“That went surprisingly well,” I say to her, breathing out.
I don’t know if any of the Calloways would be happy to discover we’ve been fucking around. Another reason why it’s best to keep it to ourselves. This situation gives me the courage to finally admit something I should have a long time ago.
Although we’re alone again, the mood is spoiled.
Billie breathes out and closes her eyes. “Have you ever wanted to disappear from this life? To just live? I’m so envious of people who have a normal life.”
“Yeah. All the time. We didn’t get a choice, did we?”
“No,” she whispers.
I give her a smile and nod, loving how she thinks.
“I come here a lot to escape,” I admit, moving close to her, resting my hands on her shoulders as I face and meet her blue eyes. “It’s my safe space. When Eden passed away, I left everything in thecity and disappeared here for three months. It healed me in ways I hadn’t known I needed. Anytime life becomes too much, I’m here with the sand between my toes and the saltwater breeze on my skin. Luckily for me, now you’re here, too, and we get to escape life together even if it is just for a few days. Sometimes, that’s all you need.”
I kiss her forehead, and it feels so natural. She wraps her arms around me. I hold her for a long time, and she holds me back. And it’s just us with no other worries in the world as the sun beams down on us, kissing our cheeks.
Billie eventually pulls away from me. “Did you buy this home because my parents’ house is in this neighborhood?”
I laugh. “Actually, no. This beautiful turn-of-the-century mansion belonged to my mother’s parents—my loving grandparents. Your father actually purchased the Calloway estate because of them.” I tilt my head at her. “Wait, do you not remember meeting me when we were, like, twelve? Best summer of my life. My grandparents threw huge parties, and all the adults got wasted. And at the end of the summer, we did too.”
Her brows furrow. “What? I met you at Stanford.”
“That’s not completely true. We got drunk on spiked punch and put a blanket on the sand at the end of the boardwalk. We counted satellites in the sky and made wishes on stars. And Itotallykissed you.” I chuckle. “It was a standout memory for me. It was the summer I was made a man.”
She stares at me. “No. His name was Max. Max Holly. His parents were in Africa that summer.”
I nod. “My parents were in Africa, trying to rekindle their failing marriage, so I was dropped off at my grandparents’ house. That summer, I forcedeveryonein my life to call me Max. And I stopped being a Banks. It’s short for my middle name, Maxwell. It was cool. Hip. Three letters. Unforgettable,” I say.
“Oh my God,” she whispers.
“It was my tagline,” I say with a laugh.
Billie shakes her head. “I don’t believe you.”
“Hold on. I have proof.”