Page 22 of Summer Brew

Greylin’s voice rises slightly, “It finally happened for you.” She reaches over and shakes me slightly. “I’m so excited. I have so many questions.”

Mayer’s face goes blank in the way it does when she’s realized something. It usually happens before she says something important. My gut sinks; I don’t need her to say it.

But she does anyway. Her words are neutral, but not cruel, “You’re worried about Gary.”

I groan and flop back a little while hissing, “Of course I’m worried about Gary. Is he going to freak out? Is he going to try to do something utterly ridiculous like fight Keaton?” The thought has me bolting upright in my chair and all three women reach for me like I was about to launch into orbit. “He’s going to want to punch him for sure, isn’t he?”

Greylin winces and nods slowly. “Probably. Even though Elwood is not confrontational normally, he’ll flip really quickly if he feels like he needs to protect someone.” She points to the rest of us. “He’d do the same for all of you and now Hollyn.”

“Ridiculous,” Mayer sneers. “Why would Gary or Elwood get a say? Why would Gary care if you’re with Keaton?”

I almost laugh because this is a rant I’ve heard from Mayer before. She’s just getting started. I share a look with Meadow and Greylin because they know it just as well as I do.

“It’s a guy thing,” Greylin tries to tell her.

Rage flashes in Mayer’s eyes. “That doesn’t make it better,” her voice is cold. “Who cares if there’s some manly rule about a man’s friend and his sister? Who even came up with that rule? It’s misogynistic bullshit. I’m not standing for it.”

Mayer stands up like she’s about to charge out of the room and take every man down who has the misfortune of crossing her path, whether they have sisters or not. We all lunge for her and push her back down in her seat. The huff that comes out of her is filled with indignation as she glares at us.

“You can’t go charging off,” I tell her, trying to calm her down.

“Why not?” Mayer curls her lip slightly and looks at us like she’s considering charging through all of us in order to unleash her wrath. “Bro code is the stupidest thing I have ever heard of. Doesn’t it make more sense that a guy would want his best friend, someone he trusts and has a solid relationship with, to be with his sister? Wouldn’t that be better than some stranger who is using hope to build trust?”

Greylin holds her hands up in surrender. “Preaching to the choir,” she exclaims.

“Men,” Mayer says the word like a curse.

I can’t help but laugh at the scorn in her voice. “Speaking of men,” I reach for anything to change the subject, “is the mayor still being good?”

Mayer shoots me a look, but she doesn’t call me out on my attempt to push the spotlight off me. She scoffs, “For now. I don’t trust it though. I just know that old man is up to something.”

Meadow giggles and shakes her head. “You’re paranoid,” she accuses our friend who is wound way too tight.

“Maybe,” there’s a teasing in Greylin’s voice, “you should try to get close to York to find out what he’s planning. Aiden is still on the outs with his family, and they won’t give him any inside information anymore.”

“You definitely should,” I jump on the bandwagon encouragingly while Meadow nods like a bobblehead. “It could be an enemies-to-lovers type story with an undercover, secret agent vibe.”

Mayer’s frown is epic and she refuses to acknowledge the suggestion. Instead, she looks at me. “I’ll remember this little deflection. You can have it for now, but not for long.”

I can’t help but laugh because I know her threats are something I should only half-way be afraid of. Most of the time.

Warmth fills me as I stand up feeling much better about everything being ready for the event. I feel more settled even when my thoughts drift back to Keaton. Maybe we really can make this work.

I hope so.

CHAPTER 8

KEATON

I hear the laughing coming from the event space of GMH before I even enter the room. It’s the kind of laughter that you can’t ignore, filled with joy and something genuine that makes me want to join in. Even though I can’t catch what people are saying, the lilt of the conversation is light and joking.

“Everyone,” Gemma’s voice cuts through the noise just as I reach the doorway and lean against it to take in the scene in front of me, “it’s time to show everyone what you’ve been working on.”

The space feels like summer while being light and not campy. There is a beach landscape on an easel, and I watch as everyone holds their version of it up. A few are far more successful than I expected, and some are worse than I imagined. But the smiles around the room don’t falter.

Everyone finds something to lightly tease or praise everyone about, usually both. As their happiness wraps around me, I look around again. I don’t know what I was expecting, but this isn’t quite it. Maybe I was expecting a cloud of smoke and tapestries everywhere.

That’s not what this is.