Page 49 of Spin Control

“Let me guess,” Todd says, even though he can already see the screen. “Wes Grant.”

“Hello again,” Wes says. “Tom, right?”

Irritation crosses Todd’s face. Wes may have a knack for pushing my buttons, but damn, does he know how to come through.

With Jane and Todd preoccupied, I thwart Eddie’s plan of pulling the bows off of Ellie’s braided pigtails, ask Emma to help me brush the sand off of her siblings, and grab the jumbo-sized pack of wet wipes from Jane’s bag to clean their hands. It’s probably a wasted effort since beach, but hopefully it’ll help Jane when it’s time to take photos again.

“Lizzy!” Jane calls, and I turn to look at my sister. “We’re inviting Wes to come stay!”

“What?!” I yell, alarmed. Wes says, “Told you,” and Todd chuckles. Jane shrugs innocently. “Boston’s not far, and he said he’s bored. We have an extra room now that Mom and Dad have left, so I figure why not.”

“He’s not bored,” I say. “He has tons to do. Training and meetings and—”

“I can do that from anywhere,” Wes says calmly. “But don’t worry, I can get my own place—”

“Nonsense!” Todd says. “Save your money, stay with us.”

“It’s hard to argue with that, Jacobs,” Wes says, his eyes on me. “But it’s up to you.”

There’s no stopping my surprised intake of breath.

“No it’s not,” Todd says, his cocky voice interrupting my thoughts. “It’s up to me. And I say you’re invited.”

But Wes doesn’t acknowledge Todd. He keeps his gaze squarely on mine, even when Todd says, “So you’re coming, right?”

I have no idea if Wes understands how monumental this is. If he’s aware how uncommon it is for a man to casually give a woman control of a decision offered directly to him. I have no doubt that if I said no, Wes would say no, too.

And that’s why I decide to allow this.

It isn’t until I nod that Wes says, “Now that I have Elizabeth’s blessing, I’ll see you guys in a couple hours.”

Jane squeals and Todd tells him not to speed. He’s still laughing at his own bad joke when my sister hands my phone back to me so she can resume the perfect, WASPy family photoshoot.

“And to think I only called to make sure you were okay,” Wes says.

I bristle at the reminder. “I told you I was.”

“I know,” Wes says. “But in my experience when women say they’re fine, they’re actually not.”

I start to argue—but the truth is that I’m not fine at all. I’ve maybe never been fine in my entire life.

But now is not the time for existential quandaries.

“I guess you’ll see for yourself soon.”

The left side of Wes’s mouth kicks up. “Yeah, I guess I will.”

22

I pull my Jeep Wrangler into the driveway of the butter yellow house the Andrews rented and sigh.

I can’t believe I’m really here.

But it’s not like I went fishing for an invite. I just couldn’t stop thinking about Elizabeth. I hated that she was spending her valuable downtime with a man who gets twisted enjoyment out of proving that her sister loves him more than her. And after what happened in D.C., I wanted to make sure she’s okay.

I doubt she wants me here—but she gave me permission to come anyway. If she tells me to fuck off and go home, I’ll do that, too.

I re-read the message she sent, letting me know they’ll be in the backyard when I arrive so I should use the garage code to let myself in. After dropping my bag in an unoccupied bedroom, I grab the gifts I picked up and make my way to the back door. Todd is at the grill, there are three kids chasing fireflies, and Jane and Elizabeth are seated at an outdoor dining table filled with plates, cups with utensils in them, and a few plastic containers.