Prologue
Fiveyearsago…
Seventeen-year-old Matt Lundholm could hear sounds of splashing and excited screams through the French doors even as he descended the stairs at the opposite end of the house. He’d finally finished his homework and had no more excuses to avoid the party. The screams only got louder as he made his way toward the kitchen, where his mom was preparing the side dishes for his older sister Olivia's nineteenth birthday cookout.
“Hey, Mom,” he greeted, snagging a chip from the bowl as she filled it on the counter. “Do you need help?”
“No, dear, you go on outside and spend time with your sister. You helped me plenty yesterday.”
Matt peered through the French doors onto the pool deck. Olivia and her friends were playing a rousing game of Marco Polo.
His face fell. Ever since Olivia left for the University of Maryland, they had drifted apart. “Doesn’t look like she needs me.”
“Don't be silly, it's just her and her friends; try to be social. It’s your sister’s birthday, after all.” Matt shrugged, hoisted his towel over his shoulder, and opened the door for his mom. He didn't feel much like horsing around in the pool, so he left his shirt on. No one needed to see his scars today, or the pudgy belly under them. Maybe when the sun went down, he'd go for a dip.
He took a seat on one of the deck’s lounge chairs to watch their game, noticing a slight movement out of the corner of his eye. Under the umbrella next to him, two beautiful bare feet with toenails painted dark blue recrossed themselves. No, he didn't have a foot fetish, but there was no other way to describe such cute, smooth toes. Curious who their owner was, Matt's gaze traveled up to find them attached to voluptuous legs, thick thighs. A royal blue one-piece covered a pair of wide hips and full breasts, with navy stripes enhancing her shape. Sunglasses perched on her head held back wavy brown hair the color of walnuts, with her attention focused on the book in her lap. She couldn't have been more than five-foot-five, based on how much of the chaise she took up.
Matt prayed he wasn't drooling. Short, thick girls with enough curves to fill his big hands were his Kryptonite. The girls at his high school didn’t look likethis. They were all straight lines and sharp angles. But she had to be one of Olivia's friends, which meant she was not only older than him, but she was also off-limits.
His mom wanted him to mingle and be friendly, but of course the one girl hewantedto socialize with was not only forbidden, she had her nose stuck in a book. Go figure. As he contemplated how to start a conversation, Olivia caught sight of him sitting alone on the deck.
“Look gang, it’s my little brother!Hey, Matty!”
Matt winced as his sister put him on the spot. He wasn't that much younger than Olivia, only two years, and he was taller. It wasn’t fair. At seventeen he was on the cusp of adulthood, but he’d always be “Little Matty” to his family.
It sucked.
Olivia abandoned her game in the pool and climbed out of the water to greet him. “What took you so long, Bro?”
“Homework,” he mumbled as he accepted her soaking wet hug.
“Let me introduce you.” His sister pointed. “That’s Nadia, that’s Amelia, also known as Mia, and that is Jade. And behind us, shielding her Irish complexion from the sun, is Rosie.”
Rosie.
Her name suited the gentle wave of her hand she offered him when she looked up from her book. Was that … was that the latestStar Warsnovel? Had Olivia found a beautiful friend who lovedStar Warsas much as he did?
He wished for a moment that life wasn’t so unfair.
“Nice to meet you,” he grunted, But Rosie had already turned back to her book, so he waved sheepishly to the other girls in the pool, who barely noticed him. At the same time, his dad called from the grill that the burgers were almost done, and they should come out of the water.
Later that night, Olivia came upstairs when Matt was scrounging for a midnight snack. The girls were having a sleepover in the big game room in the basement, and Matt was wishing he had the courage to go talk to Rosie.
“Hey, Livvy.”
“Hey, Matt. Is there any soda left? I told the girls I’d grab some for them.”
“Here.” He handed her the pack of cans, unable to make eye contact. But something must have shown on his face.
“You doing okay, little bro?”
“I, uh …” Now or never, right? “I was wondering, does Rosie have … a boyfriend?”
“No, why?” She asked as she hoisted the box under her arm. But he could tell when she answered her own question. “Wait a sec … Matt! Ugh, wetalkedabout this! Remember Willow?”
Matt grimaced as she brought up the ex-friend of hers from high school that had humiliated him just last year. He’d been crushing on her all summer, and he’d been so nervous to ask her to the homecoming dance. Matt had been over the moon when pretty, popular Willow agreed to go with him, but it had merely been a ploy to make her ex-boyfriend jealous. It worked; her ex came up to them at the dance and stole her away for the rest of the night, leaving Matt alone in a corner. And the next week at school, Willow and the guy she’d got back with made fun of him relentlessly. He became the laughingstock of the cafeteria. The protective sister she was, Olivia had cut ties with the girl. Drama queen that she was, Olivia did so in the most obnoxious way possible. By calling her out in the same cafeteria and trying to point out how bad of a person she was. The damage had been bad for both of them. His reputationandhis heart, were trashed for the rest of sophomore year. Meanwhile Olivia’s entire friend group sided with Willow, and made what should have been the best year of high school a lonely, miserable place for her.
“She doesn’t seem like Willow.”
