“Did you know Andi and Rex weren’t dating for very long before they got engaged? Wendy was telling me that she heard that Rex was actually not even that interested in Andi.”
“No, I did not hear that. Who would I have heard that from?”
“I don’t know. That’s just the gossip in town right now.”
“They’re getting married now, so I suppose it’s for a good reason.”
“Yeah, I suppose so.”
“Wait, are you asking me this because you still have?—”
“Do not ask me if I still have feelings forRex. Really, Luke? You know I don’t.”
“I’m just saying this whole farce is because you didn’t want people to think that you were jealous that he was getting married.”
“No, this is because he left a rude note on my invitation, basically saying I was incapable of getting a date. And, yes, the fact of the matter was, I didn’t have a real date, and it was unlikely I was going to find one in that short amount of time, but I don’t want to be known in Coconut Beach as the loser whose unrequited love married someone else, and she was going to all the wedding festivities as some sort of sad sack.”
“No one would have thought that. Plus, what would they be thinking about me? I got a note as well.”
“I know. Let’s not talk about it anyway. You know what I was thinking?”
“I don’t know, but you seem to be doing a lot of thinking.”
“Really,Luke?”
“Really,Mia?”
“I was thinking that we should go on a night walk tomorrow.”
“A night walk?”
“Yeah, like we used to back when we were younger.”
“You mean to watch the stars?”
“Yeah, I miss those days. You always knew every constellation, and it was just cool, lying back in the sand and staring up at the sky and thinking about the universe in its entirety.”
“There’s something about thinking about other galaxies that makes you feel quite small, doesn’t it?”
“I can’t believe you would ever feel small, Luke, what with all your money.”
“You know, I don’t do it for the money, Mia.”
“I know why you do it.” She grabs my hand and squeezes. “You do it to prove to your family that you are capable, that you’re brilliant, that you’re the best Haverbrook that ever lived.”
“How did you get to know me so well?”
“Maybe because I’ve known you for so long and we’re just always in tune with each other, aren’t we, Luke?”
“Yeah, we are.” I wrap my arm around her shoulders and bring her in close to me. “I’m not going to lie. It hurts, what my dad did. He still doesn’t really look at me. If I didn’t know better, I’d think my mom had an affair, and I wasn’t really a Haverbrook, but?—”
“You are. Of course you are.”
“I know I am,” I say. “I look just like my dad. How could I not be?”
“Exactly,” she says softly. “And, hey, who cares that you weren’t on the football team and that you didn’t go to UF? UF is not the only good school in the country.”
“Try telling my dad that. If I’m not a Gator, I’m nothing.”
