Page 7 of My Return to the Walter Boys (My Life with the Walter Boys #2)

Nathan pointed to the white pole tent on the other side of the square. “I like to hang out by the stage and listen to local artists perform. There’s going to be a battle of the bands this year, and some of my friends entered.”

“Your friends are in a band?” As soon as the question left my mouth, I winced.

Had I really been so distracted by his brothers that I never learned anything about Nathan’s social life?

He was my first friend in the Walter household, so the oversight felt like a major failing, one I would rectify this time around.

“Yeah, they call themselves Miami Bay,” he said, guiding us through the mass of people.

“And you’re not a part of it?” With his good looks and Walter charm, it wasn’t difficult to picture Nathan as a magnetic frontman who could inspire an entire fan base.

He shook his head. “I wrote them a few songs, but I’ve always seen myself as a solo act. Do you want to meet them? I’m sure they’re here by now.”

I opened my mouth to respond but was cut off by the sound of my own name. “Jackie, over here!”

The street was so busy, I had to scan the surrounding area twice before spotting Riley, who was waving both arms over her head to get my attention.

She, Heather, and Skylar were lounging on a blanket in the grass, a cooler parked beside them.

The afternoon sun was scorching, and I wondered how early they arrived in order to snag a spot under the shade of an ancient maple tree.

It looked idyllic, and I wanted to join them, but my freshly realized shortcomings in regard to Nathan made me pause.

“Go catch up with your friends,” he said when I looked at him, lip caught between my teeth. “I’ll introduce you later.”

“Are you sure?”

Nathan gently pushed me in their direction. “Positive. You’re riding home with us, right?”

“That’s the plan,” I said, scrutinizing his expression as I slowly walked backward. Thankfully, nothing in his easygoing smile betrayed signs of disappointment.

“Okay. If you don’t make it over to the music tent, I’ll see you then. Remember—”

“Eleven fifteen or else,” I finished, wagging a finger. He laughed and offered me a salute before receding into the crowd. When I turned back to my friends, Riley launched herself into my arms.

“Jackie! You’re finally back.” She squeezed me so hard I let out a strangulated squeak. “Summer was so lonely without you.”

The strength of her hug spoke volumes, and I turned to Skylar and Heather with raised brows.

The girls—not including Kim, as she spent equal amounts of time with Alex—were inseparable, and although Skylar tended to be more independent, Riley and Heather were his best friends.

Had something else changed while I was away?

Skylar waived off my questioning look. “Don’t mind her.

She’s being dramatic,” he said before instructing me to grab a drink from the cooler and get comfortable.

As I selected a lemonade and kicked off my sandals, he launched into an explanation about how, while Heather was away in California visiting her father and stepmom, he’d been busy working as a summer camp counselor, leaving Riley to languish—her word, not Skylar’s—by her lonesome.

“Well, what about Kim?” I asked. “Didn’t you see her at all?”

The smile on Riley’s face faltered.

When Skylar and Heather exchanged a look, I rolled my eyes and added, “You guys don’t need to break the news to me about them. I already know they’re dating and don’t care.”

“Really?” Riley perked up. “You’re not upset at all?”

“No, our breakup was…” I trailed off as I searched for the right word.

Skylar arched a brow. “A foregone conclusion?”

“Inevitable?” Heather suggested.

“Fated?” he shot back.

“ Amicable ,” I finally settled on as I gave them the side-eye. “We both came to the realization we were dating for the wrong reasons. Alex even admitted he wasn’t over Mary, so I guess I’m just confused about how he and Kim got together so quickly? Nathan said it was only a few days after I left.”

“Kim has had a crush on Alex since middle school,” Riley admitted as she dug around in the cooler for another drink.

She settled on a cherry cola, shook off the water, and popped the tab before continuing.

“She planned on confessing after the Mary drama blew over, but you arrived out of nowhere, and Alex—well, let’s just say he was enamored. ”

“Obsessed,” Skylar said with a fake cough.

Heather, who’d been nodding along with the explanation, was quick to cut in. “When Alex told her you guys broke up, Kim just went for it. She didn’t want to miss her chance again.”

“Oh my God,” I said, gaze darting to each of my friends as I pinched the skin at my throat. “I had no idea. She must hate me.”

“No,” Riley said tersely. “Kim isn’t like that. She’s one of those annoyingly good people who just wants everyone to be happy.”

“Things worked out better for her anyway,” Skylar added. “She’d rather be the forever girl than a rebound.”

“I guess that’s fair, but are you sure she’s okay with me?” I asked. “I want to be friends, but I can’t help that I live with her boyfriend. What if she’s secretly wishing misfortune on me and all my descendants?”

Riley laughed. “It’s hilarious how worried you both are of being hated by each other. Kim’s practically given herself an ulcer. She’ll be so relieved to hear you don’t care about them dating.”

Alex had said something similar, but boys could be naive when it came to these kinds of things, so having confirmation took the load off my chest.

“Not relieved, ecstatic,” Skylar said. “She wants all of us to be a big happy family so we can run a D and D campaign together, remember?”

“Oh God.” Riley groaned and flopped backward onto the blanket. “I completely forgot about that. Please don’t remind her.”

“I would never . Last time I was at her house, I hid her player’s handbook and collection of dice sets.”

“Hey! Focus, people.” Heather snapped her fingers at Skylar and Riley to get their attention, then turned back to me. “I need more details. Was it really that clean of a breakup? Because rumor has it you’re heartbroken over Alex and that’s the real reason you went back to New York.”

Ugh, this was what I hated about small towns.

It was so much easier to stay anonymous in the city.

“That’s ridiculous,” I told her. “Katherine offered to let me spend the summer in New York, so I was thinking about going even before we broke up. Alex had nothing to do with my decision. Actually, he was the one who convinced me to leave, now that I think about it, but not by breaking my heart. He helped me realize there was some stuff I needed to deal with at home.”

“What about Cole?”

“What about him?” I replied, even though I wasn’t ready to have this conversation.

Not before I’d spoken with him. Nevertheless, I should have anticipated Heather’s question.

It was a given that my friends would want to know where I stood with Cole, especially after I explained how things ended between me and his brother.

“You and Alex are over,” she said as if this was the only explanation needed. “Has Cole made a move yet?”

Not recently , I thought. No way would I be sharing details about our goodbye kiss, though.

They’d never let it go. The four of us would be here until Christmas, dissecting all three seconds of that moment as if there were nothing more newsworthy than kissing one of the Walter boys.

Instead, I asked, “Why would you think there’s anything going on between us? ”

“ Please ,” Riley said, rolling her eyes so hard she probably caught a glimpse of her brain. “Just because you were dating Alex doesn’t mean everyone and their mother couldn’t see how bad Cole had it for you. The sexual tension was suffocating.”

“I haven’t had a chance to talk to him yet,” I said, sidestepping the question as best I could. “He doesn’t live at the ranch anymore.”

“But what about this summer?” Heather pressed. “Didn’t you talk at all?”

I was saved from having to answer when something caught Skylar’s attention. He pushed himself into a sitting position and nudged his sunglasses down. “Well, you better figure out what you’re going to say,” he said, his eyes sparkling with amusement. “Your chance is heading straight this way.”

“What?” I followed his gaze and—

My heart lurched in my chest. Cutting through the crowd as if he were on a mission was Cole, his attention already fixed on me.

Unlike Alex, he hadn’t changed at all while I was away.

His eyes were the same startling shade of blue, his skin perfectly tanned.

Same tousled golden locks and self-assured confidence.

I couldn’t forget how devastatingly handsome he was, how it felt when he looked at me, but remembering and experiencing the weight of his gaze were two vastly different things, and my entire body thrummed with awareness.

For a moment, all I could do was watch him.

He didn’t look angry, but there was a determined gleam in his eyes that made me squirm.

“Yeah, definitely nothing going on between you two,” Riley said, snapping me out of my trance. Heather and Skylar both laughed.

They weren’t wrong, but that didn’t change my decision.

Not wanting an audience for what would undoubtedly be an awkward conversation, I scrambled to my feet and went to meet him, disregarding both my sandals and my friends’ good-natured heckling.

The dried-out grass prickled against my bare feet as I crossed the lawn, but I was too focused on Cole to truly notice.

We reached the sidewalk at the same time, stopping three feet from each other, but Cole didn’t say anything.

He just stared down at me, his face blank.

The fluttering in my chest quickly turned unpleasant and panicky.

Then, right as I convinced myself that he was only here to chew me out, that infuriating smirk of his made an appearance.

“Hey, New York. Miss me?”