“ShouldI have believed you?” I asked. “When you said we were just friends? After all this time?”
“No. You shouldn’t have.”
Before I could get another word in, Mateo was out the door. I watched as my brother slung his arms around the hot firefighter and hot hockey player, and the three of them laughed as they sauntered down the sidewalk.
Levi was my neighbor.
Mateo was my friend.
And the two of them were my brother’s best friends.
Which meant, above all else—they were off-limits.
CHAPTER NINE
Levi
Austin led us down the sidewalk to a small blue two-story hotel with a handcrafted sign out front that saidWhynot Stay. A wraparound porch with an abundance of flowers and wicker chairs made it feel more like a home than anything else.
Before we got to the gate, Mateo’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He answered it quickly and then winced. “I’ll head over. Thanks, Angie.” He clapped Austin’s shoulder. “Gotta go.”
“Everything okay?” Austin asked.
“Just a tiny fire to put out, but not the literal kind. Some kids being dipshits. I’ll catch up with you later. Levi, don’t be a stranger. You don’t need to run over a cactus to get my attention.” He winked at me, and that wink bolted straight to my cock. “Get my number and address from this dumbass.”
Austin gave him a quick hug. “See you. Be careful.”
“Will do.”
“See you,” I croaked as Mateo took off down the sidewalk.
We watched him go, and then Austin cleared his throat. When I looked at him, all the bright energy that’d been radiating off him disappeared. He suddenly looked beyond exhausted—nothing like the always happy guy I’d known growing up.
Every summer I’d spent here had been full of everything good and everything bad. But, Austin had always been one of those good things.
The thing was, even though we’d catch up every month over the last few years, he’d kept a lot from me. I was still mad at him. Hurt, even.
“Avery told me about your dad,” I said bluntly. “Something you didn’t mention in the many phone calls we’ve had.”
He opened his mouth to speak, but then shut it.
“I was shocked,” I continued. “I still am. And I don’t understand why you wouldn’t have said anything to me. That man raised me during the summers, Austin.”
“I have things to explain. There’s a little restaurant inside the hotel. Are you okay with me multitasking while we eat and catch up?”
“Multitasking while you tell me what the fuck is wrong with you? Sure.”
Austin winced. “Great. I’m doing bookkeeping today and it’s been a nightmare.”
I sighed. I didn’t like walking on eggshells, but decided to indulge him. “Didn’t your mom used to do that?” I asked.
“Used to.”
Austin offered a grim smile as he led me through the tiny picket fence gate. Water trickled from a three-tiered fountain, sun-warmed stones creating a path through yellow tufts of grass and bright pink flowers of the Texas sage. With the rocky soil and dry climate, the grass here was rarely green, but there was an appeal in that. It felt like home. I could almost feel the heat of the rocks through my soles, reminding me of when we’d run around barefoot chasing horned lizards.
I remembered this hotel, and they’d put in some work to make it look like this. It used to be rundown and dull, but thepaint job, landscaping, and careful renovations had really turned it around.
“Did you do all this?” I asked.
