Grumbling at her mention of him, I remind myself to kick his ass later. Knowing damn well I was trying to keep her to myself, he showed up at my place a few nights ago. They hit it off famously, which is great, but now I will have to deal with his supportive bullshit if she winds up leaving town.
Brody told me he does not think she plans to leave. They talked about the shop all night over beers and pizza, laughing as she drew up sketches for what the shop could be. I love her ideas, and he does too, but I hate the idea that we might get it going and then she leaves. I would have that constant reminder of her all around me. I will have to tear the shop to pieces if that happens.
“Stop thinking so loud,” she whispers again, brushing her mouth against mine. “I am right here, baby.”
“Yeah, right here,” I husk back, closing my eyes as I drawher even closer. I cannot stand the idea of her leaving town, but I also have not had the guts to ask that she stay. I am worried I dove in with her, but she just dipped her toes in.
Sighing, she kisses me softly, and I let her. I hold her close and kiss her back until Brody whistles to tell us to knock it off. We paddle for another wave, but I am in no mood to surf. I’m in no mood to be on the water at all. On the shore, I kiss her goodbye with an emptiness in my gut.
Something tells me it is our last day on the water, we’ve caught our last wave, had our last day in the sun together. I watch her go, trying to ignore the ache in my chest as she gets further and further away. Part of me wants to go after her, tell her not to go, beg her to promise me she will stay here with me.
“Brah,” Brody is at my side, watching her go, too. “Be cool. That girl is crazy about you. Just as crazy as you are about her. She is going nowhere.”
“Nah, not this time, man. Once summer is over, we’re over too.”
“You don’t see what everyone else sees then, man. That woman looks at you with stars and rainbows in her eyes. If you think she is going to bail, it is because you haven’t let her see that you look at her the same way. If you think she might go home, you’re just going to let her?”
“What can I do? What, do I ask her to just start a life here with me?”
“Uh, yeah, idiot, you do just that. You tell her you want her for keeps. You tell her you do not want her to go. Tell her to start a life here, in Sunset Springs, with you. What is hard about that?”
“Because what if I ask that....and she says no? What if I tell her how I feel and that I want her for keeps...but she just doesn’t want me back?”
“But she does, Killian. This is not some summer fling foryou and it ain’t a fling for her, either. Anyone who sees you two together sees that. That might be my MO, it has never been yours. Neither is being scared to take a risk.”
“Well, this is a risk I can’t take, man,” I tell him, shaking my head as anguish overwhelms me.
“What does that even mean? Youcan’ttake the risk, or you won’t?”
“Iwon’t. I am not going to make a fool of myself. It’s going to be hard enough if she bails on me, man.”
“Jesus, listen to yourself, man. You have the girl of your fucking dreams, a woman you never could have drawn up if you tried, here, with you, wanting to be with you. But you won’t tell her how you feel?”
“Why is this up for debate? What does it matter to you?”
“Man, screw you. You’re my best friend and I know you’re going to regret it if you don’t tell her how you feel. You’re treating it like some summer fling, so that is all it will be if you don’t tell her different. What happens when we open the shop, man? That has been our dream for half our lives. If you get everything you want, will you bail on me? Will it be too much for you?”
Shaking my head at him, ignoring how right on he is, I stalk off towards the surf shack. I grab a board and the client list for the day so I can get this day over with. Two clients in and I am still out of it. I could not tell you their names or how well they did. I have no idea if they wiped out or stood up on the boards.
By the time the sun is setting, I am past miserable and well into being pissed off. Not just at Brody. I am pissed at myself, too. Mostly, though, I am pissed off at Kiera. For coming here and disrupting my life. It was all smooth sailing before I saved her that day. If anyone else had saved her, I might not be in this mess. I might be out on a board, catching a wave, not giving a damn about anything else in the world.
“You doing anything tonight? Because I wouldloveto be doing something with you,” offers my busty, blonde, airheaded last client.
Any other time—hell, every other time—I would ignore her. I would turn her down to avoid the headache of getting tangled up with someone who will not stay. Now I am entangled, and I can’t undo it. I cannot unwrap the grip Kiera has around my heart, around my head, around all of me.
“No, I am not,” I answer with a smile, ignoring how wrong it feels.
“Yes, you are,” Brody cuts in between us. “Your girl is having a girls’ night out with Maribell. You ought to go nip that shit in the bud, brah.”
Frowning, it takes a few seconds for his words to register. Then I can’t think of anything else, most definitely not the busty blonde throwing herself at me. Anything I said before, any of that bullshit I fed him about not being willing to say something, does not matter. All I can think about is doing just what he said, just what I need to do.
I think I need to put an end to my girl going out on the town without me.
Chapter Nine
Kiera
I make bad choices sometimes—this might be the worst ever.
