She lands in our ever-growing circle with a spring in her step, her features all the more appealing as she draws in close. “Well, well, who is this?” Her eyes light up like spark plugs. “Let me guess—a long lost McCarthy of the legal branch down in Collingsworth?”
Every last one of us breaks out into a laugh. It’s hard not to. Caleb and I have been mistaken for twins for as long as I can remember. Solomon not so much, no thanks to the burly hair, the month-long scruff he’s spent a lifetime perfecting.
“Abel”—I hold my hand out to her—“you hit the McCarthy right on the head.”
She reels me into a quick embrace. “Well, you’re just like family.” She pulls back, that come-hither look in her eyes already tossing out the invitation. “Are you here on family business?” She glances back to my brother, her hand still very much attached to my own.
Kennedy bites down on a smile. “He’s writing a book on trashy girls with loose morals. If you play naughty, he might just invite you back to his place for research.”
The crowd breaks out into laughter once again, and I take this as my cue to free myself from Brylee’s death grip.
Reese shakes her head. “He’s taking a break and soaking in the sights. He won’t be here long. Just thought it might be fun if the two of you met.” She pins me with a hopeful look. Reese and Ace still have their arms tangled around one another’s bodies. Kennedy and Caleb are their matching bookends.
“It’s great to meet you, Brylee.” I offer my kindest smile, one that says I’m pretty sure I’m not what you’re looking for.
I glance back to Gavin, and he slaps me over the shoulder.
“If you ever want to soak in some real fun, head down to the clearing.” He points just past The Corner Store. “You can help me split wood in the afternoon. There’s nothing that relieves tension better than slamming an ax over a hunk of pine.”
“It takes a hunk to know one,” Demi hums into his ear while taking a bite out of it.
“Would you look at this?” a sharp female voice cuts through the jovial atmosphere—Zoey. Her hair fans out like a white mane, her eyes sparkling like cut stones. My heart jumps at the sight of her. She’s that much more cutthroat looking than she was last night, and suddenly my adrenaline is charging as if it has somewhere to go. “It looks like I’m missing the party.” Her eyes widen my way. That open-mouthed cherry smile is working its magic on me whether I want it to or not. It’s clear I’m not in charge of this parade. I’m just some hapless victim of her desires.
Brylee slips a hand around my waist as if claiming me for her own, gliding in close beside me. “I’m the party, Zoey.” She gives a little wink. “Don’t you forget it.”
A light chuckle works its way around our group, but I can feel the tension between them, an old rivalry amping up with the claiming of new territory, me. Selfishly it feels like an ego boost to be a part of something so childish. Maybe it only seems childish because Loveless is tagged with so many of my own childhood memories. Maybe this is a newer version of dating that I’m unfamiliar with, and these are the rough undercurrents I’ve been missing out on after a seven-year hiatus.
“You’re a party, all right.” Zoey gives a dry laugh. “A host to all sorts of venereal diseases. I’d watch your man parts if I were you, Abel. You’re awful close to ground zero.”
Brylee bubbles out a laugh as she adheres herself to the left side of my body. “Ignore her. Zoey is like my wingman. The more she tries to scare men away from me, the more they’re drawn to the light.”
“Like a fly to—”
“Zoey.” Gavin steps in and whispers something into her ear and her demeanor changes on a dime. Gone is the viral hatred toward Brylee as a calmer, curious version of Zoey appears. “Everyone”—Gavin flashes his lightning bolt smile—“Demi and I have an announcement to make.” He holds an arm open, and Demi flutters in like a dove.
Ace and Caleb step in close, as do Reese and Kennedy, but Zoey takes a step back, her face bleaching out as if she already suspects the worst. Ironic. Anyone can tell they’re happy as anyone can be. Happier than Elizabeth and I were at the end and quite possibly the beginning.
Gavin gazes lovingly into Demi’s eyes, his smile ever expanding, and my gut clenches because whatever they’re about to tell us feels monumental.
“Demi and I are having a baby.”
Our small crowd breaks out into cheers, but his words sear through my heart like a blade cutting open an old scab that refuses to heal. Just as I’m about to manufacture a smile, a howl, a brief round of applause, I catch Zoey with her face gone white as if she were witness to a murder.
Brylee screams wild in my ear, embracing and quickly kissing me on the cheek before abandoning her post.
But my eyes are still on Zoey and that dead gaze of hers. I’d say something, but the crowd is busy mixing around the happy couple, offering up congratulatory embraces, asking all of the appropriate questions.
“We’re due in October!” Demi’s voice rises from the thicket of bodies crowding her.
Zoey glances past me. It’s that panicked scanning of the vicinity when you hear a predator in the midst and you are very much the prey. She’s about to bolt, I can tell.
“October,” I say as I head over. “You’ll be an aunt.”
“An aunt.” She blinks to life, and the color returns to her cheeks.
The music changes pace to something slower as couples migrate to the dance floor, spilling out toward the sand with their lazy romantic sways.
Ace taps me on the elbow. “Let’s catch up sometime. Don’t be a stranger.” He needles me with his dark stare a moment. “There are some things I think we should talk about.”
