Page 90 of In Case You Didn't Know

Is he jealous? Of Ben?

“This is stupid. I didn’t give it to him. And I absolutely didn’t flirt with him.”

He veers left, onto the tiny road that leads to the lighthouse.

I glance at him, then out the window, and bite my lip. “I missed you today,” I admit, my voice soft. “More than I wanted to.”

He glances over, and for a moment the tension breaks. His grip loosens on the wheel, the muscle in his jaw unclenches.

“I couldn’t stop thinking about you either,” he admits.

But then, almost like he can’t help himself, the steel returns. “But that guy?—”

“What did you think I was going to do?” I cut in. “Flirt my way to a dinner date with the first man who used a series of buzzwords? Just because you went radio silent like a ghost with a day job?”

His jaw twitches. “That’s not what I meant.”

I fold my arms. “Then what did you mean?”

He doesn’t answer for a beat. The silence feels thick between us, the only sound is the crunch of tires against the gravel. He pulls up outside the lighthouse and puts on the handbrake.

“You’re mine, that’s what I meant. And I don’t want to watch some finance prick try to slide into your DMs because he thinks you’re a fucking model with a family who might give him a boost in life.”

You’re mine.There it is again. I hate how annoyingly hot that makes me feel.

“You don’t own me,” I point out.

He shuts the engine off, then pinches the bridge of his nose, like he’s in genuine pain. “I know that.” His voice is low. “You think I don’t know that? Maybe it’s the other way around. Maybe you own me.”

Oh. My heart slams against my chest.

Finally he looks at me, his gaze catching mine. “I don’t own you, Francie, but I don’t like to share.”

The way he says it, so intensely, makes my thighs clench.

“I’m not looking to be shared,” I murmur. “But this is all so… new. I still don’t know how you really feel. And I’m worried. About Autumn, about my brothers. You think they won’t care if they find out that I’m seeing somebody older than me? Because they will.” The thought of it makes my stomach tighten.

“Is that what this is about?” he asks. “Your family? You keep so many damn secrets from them.” He looks at me like he’s trying to understand. “Why?”

I don’t know that I’m ready to talk about this. I know for a fact he won’t understand. He’s older. A brother. He has no idea how stifling my life can be.

“I’m the little sister, the baby,” I say, trying to find the right words. “I’ve spent a lifetime being coddled. Never taken seriously. Once I tell them about my books, they’ll become… I don’t know, jaded. Not mine anymore. Like everything else, they’ll want to take over. And I can’t bear that.”

His voice softens. “Francie,” he murmurs. “If it was my sister I’d want to know. I’d be so damn proud of her.”

I look him square in the eye. We both know his sisters. Yes, Autumn is my best friend, but I love Eden too.

“And how would you feel if they were sleeping with an older man?” I ask.

“Autumn’s married to Parker. He’s older.”

“And Hudson gave him hell for it. You did too,” I point out, because I had a front row seat to that shitshow.

“And now we accept it. Because he loves her and makes her happy. So yeah, I’d want to know what brings my sisters joy.”

I stare out of the windshield at the lighthouse. The white stucco looks almost gray in the moonlight.

“Maybe I just want something that’s only mine,” I say.