Sweet obsession, p.24
Sweet Obsession, page 24
My sister keeps up with me when I don’t stop moving. I can’t stop moving. Can’t keep thinking about her.
Summer, Summer, Summer.
“Hey, I’m sorry about what happened with Summer.”
“Are you?” I almost laugh in her face. She’s the person who wanted this the most. “If the next words that leave your mouth are I told you so, I’m telling Carson about your fungus obsession.”
“It’s not an obsession,” she pants, her boots slapping against the concrete while she holds her hat to her head. She looks ridiculous running next to me in those clothes, but at least she’s not trying to stop me. “It’s a perfectly normal, healthy level of interest. And you swore you would take that to your grave.”
“Why be with someone if you can’t be yourself, Vee? You’d be better off alone than hiding parts of yourself for the rest of your life.”
At last, Vee tugs me to a stop. I heave a sigh, bending at the waist before stretching my quads. I expect her to object, yell at me for criticizing her relationship with Carson for the millionth time, but she doesn’t.
Somehow, she’s not even mad. “Is that how you felt when you were with Summer? That you could be yourself?”
Summer and I might’ve lied and pretended with my family and hers, but I never had to pretend with her. With Summer, I got to be exactly who I am. “Of course. That’s one of the things I love most about her.”
Vee doesn’t have a fraction of that with Carson, and she’s planning to marry him. She twists her gloved hands together. “Love? You still love her?”
“Yeah. I always will.”
I don’t even have to think about it. Summer is the one for me. The only woman I want. No matter how far she pushes me away, that will never change. Even if that means pining after her forever. Even if that means spending the rest of my life in the shadows, watching from a distance to keep her safe.
“Don’t talk like that. You’ll find someone else.” But even as she says it, Vee doesn’t look entirely convinced.
“I don’t want anyone else. Can you say that about Carson?”
Silence. That’s what I thought.
After a few quiet beats pass between us, Vee’s gaze sharpens. “Then you should get her back.”
My brain works overtime to process her words. I almost ask her to repeat herself because there’s no way I heard her right. “What? You’re the one who wanted us to break up in the first place.”
“I didn’t trust her, and I didn’t want you to get hurt.” Vee exhales like she’s finally throwing in the towel. “But it’s clear that’s happened anyway. It was wrong of me to get involved.”
“Holy shit. Are you . . . apologizing? Are you admitting you . . . made a mistake?” I drop my jaw in exaggerated astonishment.
She swats at me but ignores the jab. “If you love Summer, you should go after her. Show her how much you actually care. If she still doesn’t choose you . . . well, then at least you can move on.” My heart starts to sink until Vee adds, “But I talked to her, Noah. She really does love you. I don’t think she actually wants to be without you either.”
God, I hope that’s true. Vee is definitely right about one thing, though: I need to prove to Summer how much I care. How much she means to me. The lengths I’ll go to for her.
Vee waves me off. “Go. Finish your run. I’m not running in these damn things anymore.”
I give her a quick hug while she remains stiff in my arms. My sister hates most forms of physical contact, so letting me hug her—especially while covered in sweat—is a huge win, even if it’s for just a few seconds. “Thanks.”
I race back home. Time to make my plan.
Twenty-Eight
SUMMER
When I get home from work, my heart stops.
Two giant men loom in front of my door.
But my pulse returns to normal when I register the gray sweatpants and leather jacket. Killian and Aries.
“Hey, guys. What are you doing here?” I eye them warily.
Noah wouldn’t send them to kidnap me so I’m forced to face him again, would he?
The two of them could easily kidnap me. Killian probably bench presses my weight on a lazy day. If they abduct me, how hard will I fight?
Aries shoves his hands in his pockets, his bike parked next to the sidewalk in front of my house, helmet resting on the seat. “You have a minute?”
Before I can answer, Killian lurches toward me and blurts, “Please give my brother another chance.” He holds up his palms together in a prayer. “I don’t know what he did, but I’m sure he was just being dumb, and he’ll fix it. Please, Summer. I can’t listen to the breakup ballads anymore. I can’t. Please give him another shot. I’m literally begging.”
I cock a brow at Aries, who nods in resignation. “He’s bad. I’ve never seen him like this. It’s nonstop Adele. We’re truly concerned.”
My stomach clenches. I hate knowing that Noah is hurting, badly enough that two of the men he’s closest to in the world would show up at my door to plead with me to put him out of his misery. Part of me wants to run to him right now, comfort him, take care of him the way I did after he left the hospital.
But another part of me—a part I can’t quite name—hesitates. Shrinks back. Pulls away.
My heart has already broken. Even if Noah and I did get back together, who’s to say it wouldn’t end the same way? The heartache would be so much worse the second time.
“I . . .” The words are on the tip of my tongue. I can’t. I won’t. But for some reason, the words won’t form. “I . . . I don’t know.”
Killian’s shoulders drop in defeat. Aries’s smile wanes slightly, but he was expecting this.
“Damn.” Killian rubs the back of his neck. “Honestly, I thought you were good together. Didn’t need to witness as much of it as I did”—Aries darts a look in his direction, and just like that, my cheeks are on fire—“but I thought you two were the real deal. That you’d make it, you know? You reminded me a lot of my parents.”
Tears sting, but I blink them back. David and Christine just celebrated their thirtieth anniversary, and the only couple I’ve ever met that was as happy as the two of them were my own parents. For a second, I’d convinced myself I’d found the same thing with Noah. “Um. Thanks.”
“I adopted Edgar Allan Paw.” Killian beams.
“Oh? I didn’t know he was up for adoption.” I suppose it makes sense. Only the strongest of wills could contend with a cat like Edgar Allan Paw, and only the biggest of hearts could love him like he deserves. “You’ll be a good cat dad.”
“He loves me,” Killian agrees, pulling his phone from his sweats to show me photos of them cuddling, Edgar swiping a paw at Killian, Edgar attacking Killian’s hand with love bites. They make quite the pair.
My heart squeezes. I wish Noah had been able to deliver the news to me. But I shake the thought away.
“Are you still going to Victoria’s bachelorette party?” Aries asks.
The question throws me off. “Her bachelorette party? I didn’t think I was invited.”
“This may come as a shock,” Killian says, “but my sister doesn’t have many friends. You might be one of the only people there she actually likes.”
I bark out a laugh. “Victoria does not like me.”
“She respects you. Which is more than most people can say,” Aries tells me. “It would mean a lot to her if you were there.”
“It would?” I don’t think I’ve ever been more shocked to hear anything in my life.
I want to ask Aries how he could possibly know that. How he seems to know Victoria so well for two people who act like they nearly despise each other.
Killian steps forward and places two heavy palms on my shoulders. His spandex shirt hugs the bulging muscles on his biceps. If I didn’t know he was a giant softy, I’d be beyond intimidated. “If you won’t give my brother another shot, then please, do me one last favor and go to Vee’s bachelorette party. Talk some sense into her before she marries that nutjob.”
My lips curl in a sardonic smile. “Aw. I thought you and Carson were best friends.”
Killian drops his hands from my shoulders and shudders. “If I have to hear the words fantasy baseball leave his mouth one more time, I’m going to lose it, Summer. I mean it. My fate rests in your hands. Your sweet, precious, dirty hands.”
I flip my hands over. “They’re not dirty. That’s charcoal.”
“You’re still drawing then.” Aries gives a small smile. “Noah will be glad to hear that. He was worried.”
Flames lick at my cheeks. Noah was worried I haven’t been drawing? I should object to Aries reporting back to him, but I keep my mouth shut. I wouldn’t be able to stop him anyway, and I’m not sure I want to. Noah can still keep track of my comings and goings with the camera—maybe tonight, I’ll draw in my room so he can witness the truth for himself.
Killian nudges me. “Hey, just so you know, even if you don’t end up with my brother, I hope you keep coming around. Give it some time before you do, obviously. But we like you. And I’m pretty sure you helped Vee dial down the crazy.”
Damn it, the tears are back. “I like all of you too. You were . . . very kind to me. Well, most of you. I hope your parents don’t think badly of me for leaving the vacation early.”
“Not at all. They understood.” Killian smiles down at me like the big brother I never had, and it takes a flurry of blinks to hold the tears back.
For the first time, it hits me that letting go of Noah doesn’t mean only losing him. It means losing his family too. A family that has grown to feel like my own.
“Well. We’ll get out of your hair.” Killian points at me. “Remember what I said about the bachelorette party. And stopping my sister from marrying the guy I hate most in this world.”
“Agreed.” Aries gives a single nod.
Although I can’t help wondering if Aries hates Carson for very different reasons.
“I’ll do my best,” I offer as each of them heads for their respective vehicles.
Aries smiles back at me, and it may be the last time I ever see him. Either of them. “Take care of yourself, Summer.”
Victoria’s bachelorette party is held at a crowded, noisy club with a thumping bass. This doesn’t seem at all like her scene, but neither did her bridal shower, so I guess this isn’t surprising. To be fair, a bachelorette party in general doesn’t seem like Victoria’s thing. I’m almost just as surprised she wanted a party as I am that she invited me.
Supposedly. Killian and Aries very well could’ve lied to get me here.
Killian’s intentions were good, if a little selfish. Aries, though? I’m still not entirely sure about his motives. Killian made it clear he didn’t want Victoria to go through with marrying Carson, and Aries didn’t object. But something tells me it’s not just because he dislikes Carson.
A tangle of women in bright pink shirts emblazoned with the words Team Bride partly dance, partly grind, and partly jump together in the middle of the claustrophobic club. Most of them I recognize from the bridal shower as Carson’s relatives or his college friends.
Killian said his sister doesn’t have many friends, but now I’m starting to wonder if she has any.
Despite everything, despite every harsh word or narrowed gaze she’s cast in my direction, my heart squeezes for her.
I can’t find her laughing amongst the group. Maybe she needed a bathroom break. I scan the club until I finally spot a woman with a high blonde ponytail and a white shirt slumped alone at a table.
Weaving through the crowd, I make my way toward Victoria until she spots me. And sighs.
Why the hell did I listen to Killian and Aries? She obviously doesn’t want me here. She never invited me. I should turn around right now and head home.
Instead, I plop down in the seat next to her. She doesn’t say a word, but she also doesn’t snap at me to leave or cuss me out, so we’re making progress.
“Aren’t you supposed to be out on the dance floor, Bride?” I nod down at her shirt, the word Bride plastered across the chest in big, bold letters. In smaller letters below: Vee’s Bachelorette Party. “I thought you didn’t like people calling you Vee. Other than your family.”
“I don’t.” She takes a sip from her straw. Some kind of bright pink, fruity drink.
“Why aren’t you having fun?”
“Gee, I don’t know, Summer.” Her voice cracks, and to my horror, tears line her eyes. “Maybe because I’m fucking miserable? Maybe because I’m about to marry a man who spends more time at dinner on his fantasy baseball than talking to me? Who quote, unquote invested five thousand dollars in Pokémon cards in a single month without telling me? Who thinks that foot rubs are foreplay?”
“Oh.” This is the second time since I’ve met her that Victoria has ranted like this about Carson. Maybe I actually have a chance at fulfilling Killian’s wish. But I need to play it right. “I mean, foot rubs can be a good start—”
“He doesn’t take me seriously. He barely talks to me, and he definitely doesn’t listen to me. Everything I say, oh, better fact-check that. Can’t believe anything Victoria says, even when she’s an expert in the field. I’m a dental hygienist and I warned him not to get veneers, so what did he do? Got veneers!” She throws up a hand. She’s nearly screeching at this point. Some of the club patrons nearby glance our way.
“Yeah, that’s—”
“He didn’t even care about the bird that died!” Victoria wails. Her face scrunches, cheeks flushed. “How can I marry a man who doesn’t care about a dead bird? Tell me, Summer! How?”
I place a hand on her shoulder that I hope is reassuring and shoot a glare in the direction of the people nearby openly gawking until they quickly look away. Victoria’s bridesmaids are enjoying themselves on the dance floor in blissful ignorance. I’m on my own here.
My first instinct is to call Noah. He would get in the car and be here to help as soon as he could.
But I brush that thought away.
“Do you really want my advice?”
“I don’t think I can go through with it!” she blurts. “I think . . . I think I need to call Carson. Right now. And call off the wedding.”
Holy shit, maybe this will be easier than I thought. It would be simple enough to slide the phone into her hand and coach her through the conversation with her fiancé. That would certainly make Killian and Aries happy. Noah too.
But I have to make sure this is what’s right for Victoria. She needs to be certain she’s making the right choice, in the right state of mind. “Maybe you shouldn’t make any rash decisions when you’ve been drinking.”
Her eyes go round with confusion. “I haven’t had anything to drink.” She nods down to her glass. “This is a virgin cocktail.”
Oh my god. This is Sober Victoria. This is Sober Victoria in the middle of an emotional meltdown, grieving the end of a relationship she’s already decided is over.
“Wow. Okay. I didn’t see that coming.” I turn in my seat so I’m fully facing her. “If you want my opinion, yes, you should call off the wedding. Cold feet is one thing, but that’s not what this is. Frankly, Victoria”—I chew my lip, knowing I’m stepping on a landmine, but I’ve gone this far, so what the hell—“you don’t even like the guy. Why the hell would you want to marry him? Why the hell would you even give the time of day to a guy who doesn’t listen to you or respect you? You know how many men in this club have been checking you out since you walked in here? And that’s while you’re wearing a damn shirt that says Bride on it. Carson sucks. There, I said it. And there are way too many other guys out there to settle for that dumbass. I would rather claw my own eyeballs out than ever have another conversation with him. I don’t know why you put up with him or with being treated like that for so long, but if you don’t realize it, I’ll tell you right now: You deserve better.”
I suck in a breath, collapsing back in my chair. If she wants to go off on me, she can. But I said my peace. I said what she needed to hear.
If being with Noah taught me anything, it’s that I need to embrace being myself. Speak my mind and accept whatever the consequences might be.
Silence falls between us, and I sneak a glance at Victoria to make sure she’s not about to launch an attack when I spot the glint of tears. “Thank you, Summer.” Her throat bobs. “I was thinking you met my brother so you could help him move on after Naomi. I was hoping maybe you’d actually finally be the woman who deserves him. Like how when an author quits writing and the next book they write becomes their bestseller? But now I’m thinking you met my brother so you could be my voice of reason. So you could be the person who shows up when I . . .” She gestures around the crowded club. “When I need someone.”
Now it’s my turn to tear up. I’m glad I could be that person for her. Something tells me Noah would be glad too.
Victoria sniffles, digs into her purse, and pulls out her phone. She’s not murdering me. Not even a scowl in my direction.
A few clicks on the screen and then Victoria presses the phone to her ear. She shifts uncomfortably in her seat when he answers. “Hey. Can we talk?”
She makes eye contact with me, and it takes me a second to realize she’s looking to me for reassurance. Me. I nod quickly, and for good measure, flash her a dorky thumbs-up.
Part of me wishes she’d put the phone on speaker, but I probably wouldn’t be able to hear Carson over the din in the club anyway.
Victoria waits a few more beats and then draws in a deep breath, her words coming out like a race to the finish line. “Carson, you suck. You don’t listen to me, you don’t respect me, you don’t talk to me, and I don’t need to put up with it anymore. There are too many guys out there to settle for someone who treats me like shit. I deserve better.”
I’m practically preening that she used most of my little speech. Maybe Aries was right—Victoria respects me. Does she . . . value my opinion? If I had a diary, I’d write in it tonight. Victoria doesn’t hate me! She might even like me!
