Hawke glances at Roman, then answers for both of them, “Not yet.”
“You think he’ll come?”I ask.
With a subtle lift of his shoulders, Hawke continues his perusal of the long beachfront when his eyes thin.“Well, would you look at who's here.”
Jagger follows his gaze, and his expression ignites.“Hey, Little Thief.”He strides closer, tugs Violet into him, and kisses the top of her head.Beside her is a gorgeous-as-ever June Withers.Her dark, wavy hair is a little frizzier than usual.I blame the salty sea air.Scratch that.I have the salty sea air to thank for the view.Ever since our impromptu tutoring session, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about her.I’ve been telling myself it’s because her sourdough has been the star of my dreams ever since tasting it, but the truth is, a certain someone else has been haunting me, too.
I wait for her to look at me.To acknowledge my existence.Instead, she crosses her arms and digs her bare toes into the sand while avoiding me completely.Kind of strange, considering the fact that she showed up on my doorstep a couple of days ago.
Should I be offended?
Peeking up at Jagger, Violet grins.“Hey, Jag.”
“How was the drive?”he asks.
“It was good.We actually carpooled with June’s date?—”
“You brought a date?”I interject.
No wonder she’s avoiding me.I’ve seen it a hundred times.The guy’s probably some overbearing asshole who won’t let her have friends of the opposite sex.Is it the fireman?I wonder if she’s touched his firehose yet.Doesn’t matter.Whoever her date is, he’s a dick.
June’s attention shifts to me, though she doesn’t answer.The silence only gives me more time to build up steam in my vendetta against the unnamed asshole.
Keeping herself plastered to my brother, Violet answers for June.“Mm-hmm.He’s parking now.”
I make sure to keep my tone light and with just the right amount of snark so none of this can be used as evidence that I actually have a heart.“June, June, June,” I tisk.“You tryin’ to make me jealous?”
She rolls her eyes.“Whatever.”
“I think it’s working,” Jagger murmurs to Violet.
“Of course, it is,” I announce.“June Bug knows she’s the only one for me.”
June rolls her eyes again.“Says the player.”
“Says my June Bug,” I repeat, loving the way she squirms when I give her my full attention.Call me an assuming prick, but I think she’s so used to blending in and flying under the radar that anytime I actually address her, the girl turns into a cherry tomato, and damn, do I love tomatoes.
With a half-hearted scowl, she tosses back at me, “I’m sure you can find someone else to entertain you tonight.”
“Can?Yes.”I move closer to her and breathe in deep.The girl smells like bread, beer, and sugar all wrapped up in one.Add in the salty air and crackling bonfire, and my mouth waters.I lick my bottom lip.“Want to?Not so much.”
She peeks up at me, her breathing stilted and uneven.
“Give her a break,” Violet teases.
She’s right.My little June Bug might actually combust if I push her too far.Then again, I might, too.
Giving her space, I step back with a smirk, when my attention catches on someone behind us.It’s the guy from the coffee shop.Two dates now?Is this guy for real?
Yeah, I don’t love it.Not gonna lie.
Following my line of sight, June waves, calling out, “We’re over here!”
When he sees her, the guy lights up like the Fourth of July just as Jagger did when he saw Violet.I don’t like it.I repeat, is this guy for real?
Reaching for his hand, June tugs the guy into our little half-circle.“How was parking?”
“It was fine.”He plops the coat in his hand onto her shoulders.“Here.Found it in the trunk.”
