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6

WARREN

THAT FIRST SUMMER

This job was handed to me. Arranged. A favor from my new stepdad to help me get on my feet, to keep me occupied before starting college. He called it a good opportunity. A way to earn my own money, to get used to responsibility.

As if I haven’t been responsible for as long as I can remember. For my deadbeat dad and his endless money-spending habits, for my mom when she finally fell apart, for myself when it became obvious no one else was going to be.

I’ve been managing shit on my own for years.

But I took it because there wasn’t a good reason not to. Lifeguarding at a country club? Easy hours, decent pay. Beats hauling bricks or sweating through a landscaping job in the middle of July.

It’s only my second week, and I’m still figuring things out. Who’s in charge, who slacks off, which members to avoid, which coworkers to actually acknowledge. I don’t care much either way. Just keep my head down, do the job, go home.

That is, until a voice slices through the heat, clear and furious.

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

I turn my head toward the sound. There’s a girl about my age standing by the cart path. She’s tall, athletic. A long dark braid swings over one shoulder. Her skin is sun-warmed, her frame all lean lines and sharp edges. Really fucking gorgeous.

She doesn’t notice me. Just storms off, steps clipped and shoulders tight like she’s ready to shatter something. Or someone. She stops at the staff shed, yanks a clipboard off the hook, and stares it down like it just insulted her entire family.

I should keep moving. Whatever she’s pissed about isn’t my problem. Definitely not my business. But for some reason, I don’t. I stand there like an idiot, watching her flip through the pages, muttering curses under her breath.

She’s mad—not the kind of mad that fades fast. It’s rooted. Wound tight and deep. I can’t see what’s on the clipboard. Don’t know what she’s looking for. But it clearly wasn’t there.

I’m not the type to start small talk. Especially not with someone mid-rage spiral. But for some reason, my mouth moves before my brain catches up.

“Rough day?”

She snaps her head up, eyes already narrowing like I’ve personally offended her. “Who the hell are you?”

I raise a brow. “New guy. Lifeguard.”

Her eyes drag over me like she’s trying to decide if I’m worth acknowledging. Then she exhales sharply, shaking her head. “Right, the Donovan kid?”

I wince. “Mercer. Daniel’s my stepdad.”

“Great. A step -nepo baby. Just what we need here.”

“Nice to meet you, too,” I mutter.

She doesn’t laugh. Doesn’t even look at me again. Just keeps flipping through the clipboard, fingers drumming impatiently against the edge.

I could leave. Could keep walking like a normal person. But something about her keeps me rooted in place. I want to understand her, want to get under her skin.

“Something wrong?”

She lets out a humorless laugh. “You mean besides the fact that this job is an endless exercise in suffering?” She flicks the clipboard toward me like it proves her point. “Someone switched my assignments. I was supposed to be with the high rollers this week—good tippers, good money. Now I’m stuck caddying for a bunch of washed-up guys who call me sweetheart and think it’s a compliment.”

I frown. “That sucks.”

“No shit,” she mutters.

She’s still fuming. I can see it in the way her jaw clenches, the way her fingers twitch like she’s two seconds from chucking the clipboard into the nearest hedge. It’s kind of impressive, honestly.

I lean against the shed, watching her. “You look like you’re about to kill someone.”

She tilts her head, eyes flashing. “Yes, and I still might.”

And for some reason, I grin. I like that about her, like that she doesn’t fake it.

She catches it, frowns harder. “What?”

“Nothing.” I shake my head. “You’re just—”

Bitter. Rude. Furious at the world.

And I want you anyway. Badly, in fact. Desperately, if the way my pulse spikes just from standing this close is any indication.

“You’re kind of terrifying. It’s weirdly appealing.”

She scoffs and steps past me. “Not worth the effort.”

And then she’s gone. But I already know, down to my bones, I’m completely fucked.