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“Our slip is on the very end of dock seven. Go see for yourself.”
So I wouldn’t even have to go by the Kings’ residence if I wanted to see him.
Coop tugs me into a quick hug and then walks away, setting into his easy familiar swagger at first and then picking up pace to run.
Running wasn’t his thing, but it looks natural on him now, so maybe he really has changed. And if he’s changed, doesn’t that mean Ethan has as well?
I certainly know I have.
Maybe that’s what happens with time. Maybe we all change, and if we’re smart about it, we mature, too. But even so, I can’t help but think some things will always stay the same. Like the sun that rises in the east and sets in the west. Like the way I felt when I first laid eyes on Ethan. I never believed in love at first sight but that must’ve been it because I also never believed I could hurt as much as he hurt me.
Only love can hurt so good.
I pick up my pace too, needing to run until my lungs burn and my mind clears and I don’t have to think about what the hell just happened. Unfortunately, I’m not fast enough. I can’t unrun the truth in my heart, nor can I outrun my family obligation to stay away from the Kings.
Forty-Five
That night we skip the high-end restaurants and the private chefs the Laurence family are accustomed to and make dinner ourselves. Aunt Amelia loves to cook and has passed down her skills to her children. Me on the other hand? No chance. But still, it’s fun to sit around the kitchen and watch the masters at work, helping out with whatever odd jobs are needed.
I’m chopping up cucumbers for the salad when Aunt Amelia turns on me with an appraising gaze. “We can finish up here. Why don’t you and Sybil go upstairs and freshen up?”
I frown at my linen shorts and plain t-shirt. Is this not appropriate for dinner? There’s still so much about their world that I have to learn, like apparently we should wear nice clothes to dinner in our own houses with our own family. My voice wavers. “What kind of outfit should I wear?”
“Sybil will help you.”
“Yes I will!” Sybil drops the dish towel she was just using to wipe off her hands.
“She looks fine,” Hayes says nonchalantly. He’s standing over the stove doing something magical with the chicken. At only seventeen, it’s pretty impressive. Whenever I try to make chicken it turns out dry and flavorless.
“Thanks for having my back.” I shoot him a wink and he nods sagely. He really is growing up.
“I’m not changing,” he states. The kid is in tie dye board shorts and a band t-shirt. So okay, maybe not so grown up. “Arden shouldn’t have to either. It’s dinner at home. Who cares?”
Sybil turns on her mother, the two communicating with their eyes alone. Amelia gives a little nod. “Stay out of it, Hayes,” Sybil chirps, her mouth twisting into a sly smirk.
“Stay out of what?” Chandler asks. He’s setting the dining table and is meticulous about every item being placed perfectly. He’s usually the type to ignore family drama but this conversation has him wide-eyed and curious.
“You’ll find out soon enough.” Sybil hands the spatula off to Amelia like a baton. “Let’s go.” She grabs my hand and tugs me upstairs before I have a chance to finish my job, leaving the cucumber half-chopped on the cutting board.
“What aren’t you telling me?” I ask the second she drags me into her room. She turns on me with a knowing grin.
“We have dinner guests tonight.”
I narrow my eyes. “What dinner guests?”
“The kind that includes a single twenty-six-year-old hottie who just so happens to be interested in you.”
I stare at her. “You guys are setting me up? I don’t want to be set up.”
“Don’t worry, you like him.”
“I like him?” My frown deepens.
She really has no idea what’s been going on in my head lately. No new guy is going to have a chance with me when I’m so hung up on Ethan. Still, it doesn’t hurt to humor her. This is what my family wants and it’s not like I have to marry the guy, but I can give him a chance.
“Who is he?”
“Perry Hargrove,” she announces, then prattles on about how she’s known him for years, that he’s rich and handsome, and how admirable it is that he went out on his own instead of joining the family business like all their other friends. “He’s an executive producer for a hit television show called The Verb. Have you ever heard of it?”
