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“Does Calvin know the two of you are playing tonsil hockey during a shift?”

She glared at him, on the verge of reminding him how he loved the idea of making out with her during a shift. “We weren’t kissing.”

“Looked pretty damn close to it from where I was standing.” Jay’s mouth twisted into a smirk. An evil one, the kind you would expect from someone who was in the mood for chaos. He still didn’t bother looking in Rory’s direction, but instead, looked up at Tyler. “Still got a girlfriend?”

“That’s none of your business,” Tyler said coolly.

Jay chuckled, shaking his head. “So that’s a yes.”

She took a step toward him. “Jay—”

He reared back. His eyes finally locked on hers, and she could see it—the unadulterated rage. “So much for not deserving to come in ‘second place,’” he started, holding his hand up in mock quotations. “Tell me, does it get you off chasing guys who don’t want you in return?”

Before she could respond to that blow, Tyler stepped around her and with one arm slammed Jay up against the wall, causing the corkboard to rattle as the stack of shirts in his hand tumbled to the floor. Jay didn’t even seem fazed by the brute force of Tyler’s hold on him, his forearm holding Jay’s chest to the wall like a thumbtack.

“Do not speak that way to her again,” Tyler said, his voice calm despite his aggressive hold.

Jay simply laughed. “Or what? You’ll beat me up? Please do. I would love to show off a black eye from your royal fist.”

Tyler shoved him slightly again, tightening his arm against Jay’s chest. Jay’s feet were barely touching the ground, his whole body practically dangling underneath Tyler’s arm. Yet Jay kept on grinning as if this entire interaction was amusing to him.

“GUYS,” she screamed. “Enough!”

Tyler loosened his hold. Jay slid back to the ground, still with a shit-eating grin on his face.

“Damn, Rory, that’s quite a tight leash you have on him,” Jay sneered. “Too bad he’s dating someone else.”

Tyler’s hands curled into fists as Jay chuckled, reaching down to grab his pile of shirts. He took three steps toward the back door before turning to face them again, his mouth still pressed into a forced grin. “See you at the party tomorrow, Rory,” he said. Then, before he turned, he dipped into a deep bow. “Your Royal Highness.”

They remained standing there as Jay left, the door slamming again from his departure.

Tyler turned to face her, his eyes softening. “Ry…”

Before she could respond, the back door swung open again. They both flinched, but this time it was just Blake stepping inside with Jess for the night shift. Rory didn’t look in their direction, nor did she return Tyler’s gaze as he whispered to her, pleading for her as she quickly signed out and walked out of the shop, not bothering to shield herself from the pelting rain.

* * *

The rain was unrelenting as she drove past Hillside Park and into the beach communities, turning her car onto the dirt road of Sandy Cove. She pulled into the seashell driveway of cottage five, parking next to Calvin’s truck.

Something inside her snapped when she stepped out of Scoops. She was tired…tired of trying to fight it all. Tired of trying to be okay with everything changing so quickly around her. She wondered if life was meant to feel like this—always in motion, always walking through a revolving door, facing one challenge after the next. Was it impossible for things to ever feel solid under her feet? For things in her life to feel like a calm morning breeze instead of a constant raging storm?

She’d immediately thought of the person in her life who had become a constant in this mess of a year, and without even calling, simply drove to Melanie’s house.

Rory stepped up the porch steps, sopping wet. She knew it was probably selfish to bombard Melanie right now. But before she could talk herself out of it, Melanie’s words came back to her. Reminding her that having friends like her was the reason she was able to be strong through it all.

Rory needed a strong friend, too.

Melanie’s parents greeted her with hugs and a warm towel, whispering to her that she was upstairs in her room. Nodding, she climbed the creaky stairs before knocking on the door and pushing it open slowly.

Calvin glanced up at her, his arm tightly around Melanie who was curled up sleeping, her head on his chest.

“If it’s a bad time, I can come back,” Rory whispered.

Calvin shook his head. “No, she’ll be glad you’re here.” He rubbed Melanie’s shoulders, whispering something to her that Rory couldn’t hear. She woke up at the sound, her eyes blinking open. Lines from Calvin’s shirt were indented on her face, her eyes sleepy, but she smiled when she saw Rory in the doorway.

Without having to say anything, Melanie could somehow read Rory’s expression. She slipped out of Calvin’s grasp, turning to him. “I love you, but leave.”

Calvin smiled in response, kissing the top of Melanie’s head before standing up. He walked up to Rory, and she was stupefied when he placed a hand on her shoulder and whispered, “I’m glad you’re here, too.”