I shrug.
“I met her first.”
Kane follows my gaze.
Then looks toward Vale.
Then back to me.
“Ah.”
“Yeah.”
He’s quiet for a second.
Then, because Kane’s a bastard but not a stupid one, he says, “Vale is going to be a tough opponent to beat.”
I take a drink and look out at the dark Pacific.
I know.
Not because Vale’s malicious.
That’s the problem.
He’s not.
He’s just finished in a way that makes everybody around him look less.
And somewhere down the beach, near one of the farther bonfires, another figure steps into view.
Tall.
Long-legged.
Dark hair.
Volleyball body.
On cue, Stella.
She doesn’t come over.
Doesn’t need to.
Vale doesn’t even turn his head in that exact second.
Still, the air shifts all the same.
Kane sees it too.
I know he does.
I laugh once under my breath.
Not because anything is funny.
Because I already know how this goes.
