“Have you ever considered that the Carter you’ve gotten to know isn’t really who he is?”
“Not even for a moment.” I huff and shake my head. “Carter isexactlythe annoying guy I’ve always pegged him to be. In the years that I’ve known him, he hasn’t proved me wrong once.”
She slides around the counter, looking over the bowls and platters and adding a few finishing touches along the way. “You know, Daze, sometimes we only see what we want to. We don’t take the time to scratch beneath the surface or dig deeper. Sometimes you just need to be patient and give people time to reveal who they really are.” Shegives me another penetrating look, one that makes me wilt under its intensity. “Can you honestly say you’ve done that?”
Instead of answering, I shrug. I’ve given Carter enough chances to prove that he’s not a jerk and he hasn’t.
This fondness Aunt Marnie has for Carter is seriously messed up. He may have her hoodwinked, but he’s not fooling me. I love my aunt and am usually quick to follow her advice. But on this particular subject?
Uh-uh.
“Just give him another chance,” she urges, her hazel eyes on me. “It can’t hurt, can it?”
Actually, it can. But I’m not going to argue. “I don’t know,” I mutter, glancing out the window. My eyes arrow to him like a heat-seeking missile.
Electricity slices through me when I realize he’s staring right back at me.
4
DAISY
The party has been underway for two hours, and everyone’s having a great time. There’s plenty of delicious food, and the weather is perfect. While watching a group playing chicken in the pool, I catch a flash of caramel-colored hair from the corner of my eye. Olivia waves as she maneuvers through the crowd.
I return the greeting, happy to see her.
Olivia is the first real friend I made at BU. Before Noah bamboozled me into my current living situation, Olivia and I had planned to get a place together.
Obviously, that’s a decision I regret.
She settles on the lounger next to mine and stretches out. Olivia has legs for days. “Sorry, I’m late. I was hoping to get here a little earlier, but I had to stay and cover a shift when one of the girls didn’t show up.”
Olivia waitresses at a diner two blocks away from campus. She’s worked there for a few weeks, and the tips seem to be good. I’ve only met Olivia’s parents a handful of times, but from everything she tells me, they’re controlling. This part-time job is Olivia’s way of trying to gain a little financial freedom.
“Hey, it’s your loss.” I shrug and wave my hand toward the pool. “You’ve been missing out on a pretty good show.”
She grins and cranes her neck to get a better view. “Looks like a hot athlete photo shoot over there.”
This is Olivia’s fourth annual Walker Family Labor Day Barbecue. It was our shared love of hot, half-naked football players that originally brought us together, and we’ve been best friends ever since. I suspect it was at the first party during freshman year where she fell head over heels in love with Noah.
Aviators cover Olivia’s eyes as she takes a moment to appreciate the man candy in various stages of undress.
Today’s a suns-out-guns-out kind of day.
Sometimes it’s good to be us.
“Are you finally settled in?” I ask.
Olivia was lucky enough to land an internship in California this summer. We’ve spoken and gotten together a handful of times since she’s been back, but it’s been too busy to really talk in detail.
Ignoring the guys, she twists her head my way. “Almost. There’s been so much to unpack and not a ton of time with working at the diner.” I know she doesn’t mind the job, but it’s a lot to juggle with her course load. “I wish you could have visited me in California during the break. It was so amazing. You would have loved it, Daze.” She shakes her head as a small smile lifts her lips. “They have beaches with seals on them.”
There’s nothing I would have loved more than hanging out with Olivia in California, but I couldn’t. I spent most of the summer with my mother. It was the compromise we struck before Mom agreed to let me live with my aunt and uncle after the divorce. It’s the only time she and I get to spend together. As flighty as she can be, I do love her.
Olivia’s attention gets snagged by something, or more likely, someone. I don’t have to turn my head to know who she’s staring at. Part of me had hoped that Olivia would find a guy in California to dull the crush she’s been harboring for my cousin.
I’d be the happiest person in the world if they got together, but Noah is oblivious to Olivia. He treats her the same way he treats me,which is like a little sister who needs shepherding and protecting. Even though I keep prodding her into making a move, Olivia refuses to put her feelings out there.
My guess is that Noah’s girlfriend has something to do with it. As we speak, Ashley prances around in front of the football team in a teeny-tiny bikini that leaves very little to the imagination. Ashley is a would-be model and stick-skinny.
