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I swallowed. “It was physical like I said. That was it. The end.”
The belief felt like my mantra at this point, but that seemed necessary. It had to just be physical for me, and I did like having sex with Wolf.
A lot.
We connected on this visceral level, and it was something I’d never experienced.
And might not ever again.
I saved that thought for myself this time, shrugging, and Bru was in deep thought for the second time today. His fingers danced along his coffee cup, and I nudged his knee. “I’m sorry I made things awkward.”
Right away, his hand lifted, his smile back. It didn’t quite reach his eyes, and that just felt like more of his kindness. “Not my favorite topic, my brother’s sex life, but I’m glad you told me about it. We should be able to talk. We’re friends.”
That was how I felt too.
Then why did it feel so weird?
I shifted in my chair again, awkward.
“Definitely explains a few things, though,” he said, his eyes narrowed. He didn’t elaborate, and since his brother wasn’t my favorite topic either, I let what he said go. Odds were, I just wasn’t good at hiding how his brother affected me, and he’d picked up on that.
“So, uh, we still have some time before we head back for lunch.” Bru got up. “Want to check out the scene more? Get some more pictures?”
We kind of wandered into the back part of town this morning after miles of woods. I liked the look of the harbor and wanted to take pictures. I eased out of my chair. “Sure.”
I’d like that and loved spending time with him. We’d had so much fun. In fact, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt so free, so good.
It was good with Bru, easy. He never failed to take my worries away, and if I was smart, I’d invest a lot more time into that relationship. Things were always good with us and good wasn’t bad.
Again, it was easy.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Fawn
The Legacy parents and their kids decided to do some shopping later that afternoon, and I opted out of going. I claimed illness, something I ate during lunch.
The reality was they’d all piled into cars to do their shopping. The town was within walking distance, but it was far enough where people wouldn’t generally walk there. At least not these families. They had a private chef for all their meals on top of the beautiful mansion we all stayed in. Needless to say, they’d all chosen not to huff it through the woods, and I wasn’t surprised.
Still, I couldn’t do cars, and I had too much pride to tell Bru and his family the truth. I’d gotten lucky again when we all arrived at the airport. There’d been a shuttle, and I hadn’t had to say anything about my aversion to small vehicles.
I supposed that afternoon my luck ran out, and before Bru could protest and miss out on an opportunity to hang with his family and friends, I’d been proactive. I’d pretended to sleep after announcing my food poisoning, but not before sending him a text. I requested over-the-counter meds to help with my stomach, weak I knew, but it worked. He had checked on me, but he ultimately left when he’d seen I was asleep.
I guessed Wolf Mallick wasn’t the only liar around here.
I’d spotted Wolf at lunch in passing. It’d been brief because, despite all the families being under one roof, they hadn’t all eaten at the same time. I’d met everyone between the airport and just being under the same roof, and it was overwhelming what a family bond all these people had. Some of the parents were godparents to a few of the kids, but even without the tie, they were family.
Family.
I’d gotten quite a few texts from my mom the past couple of days. She did that, checked on me, but I never had much to say to her. I had no problem with my mom or stepdad, Anton, but it did hurt to talk to them. I just kept remembering how I had family, and I’d ruined it. My dad would still be alive if not for me, and I held that weight long past the time of his accident. It pushed me in every way to succeed and let him see I wasn’t wasting my life.
The sacrifice he made.
He was the real reason I wanted that internship with Kurt Ackerman from the New York Times. He was also the reason I went to Pembroke, my dad’s alma mater. I wanted to follow in my dad’s footsteps, and ultimately, work at the New York Times myself. My dad had worked there too, and we always used to talk about where my office would be. He’d take me on tours of his office when I was young, holding my hand. We were so happy, so fucking happy, and I’d taken that for granted.
There was no sleep for me that afternoon, fake illness or not. I changed into a plaid button-up instead of my hoodie since it wasn’t as cool outside, then headed out. I scouted the woods for subjects to photograph. Nature wasn’t typically my focus, but it was the next best thing I had to hone my craft. I usually focused on people or human interest when it came to my photography like my dad. A photojournalism major, I captured stories of individuals and documented the power we all had to influence our communities. It was something my dad had done as well, something we’d shared.
I snapped a photo of a creek after I got deeper into the woods and chastised myself for not getting the right angle. There was no excuse not to get a perfect photo out here. The lighting was perfect.
