“Give me five minutes,” Brooklyn replied hurriedly. “I swear I’ll be ready.”
Brooklyn groaned and retreated to our room, leaving me alone with Alec. I’d never actually been alone with him the few times we’d all hung out, and the tension of things unsaid was so thick it was almost physically tangible. Alec cleared his throat.
“Nice to see you again, Nat.” He nodded cordially.
“Likewise,” I replied. I looked down at my newly manicured nails and fought the urge to rip the gel right off.
“You can come to the golf course if you want,” Alec offered.
“Oh no, that’s okay.” I shook my head. “I don’t golf. I can’t golf.”
Stella reemerged from her room and slung her arm around my shoulder. “You don’tactuallygolf. You sit in the golf cart with me, drink Bloody Marys, and watchthemgolf.”
I cocked an eyebrow at her. “Really?”
Stella nodded with enthusiasm. “Would I steer you wrong?” She paused and tapped her chin. “Actually, don’t answer that.”
>> <<
The golf course was within walking distance of the estate, and while the walk was pleasant, it was at least ten degrees hotter on the golf course. Thankfully Stella and I sat in the shaded confines of the golf cart with icy Bloody Marys in our hands. The boys unloaded their golf clubs and set them down in the tee box. Brooklyn looked out of place in his loud jellyfish-patterned shirt and blue-tinted sunglasses. Older men in conservative colors with graying beards and cigars in hand strode past their group, eyeing Brooklyn with furrowed brows and noses turned up.
“I didn’t even know you golfed, Brooklyn,” I said.
“He doesn’t,” Alec chimed in. “He has more of a Happy Gilmore approach.”
“I’m anathlete, that’s good enough.” He pulled a golf club out of his bag to swing it a few times. I took a sip of my Bloody Mary, letting the tangy frigidness of the drink cool my throat. Stella nudged me.
“I’m not trying to be blunt or anything but did you ever figure out what they argued about on my birthday?” she asked.
I couldn’t see her eyes through the thick frames of her cat-eyed sunglasses, but I could hear the tinge of hurt in her voice.
I looked down at my half-finished drink, watching the droplets of condensation drip to the bottom of the cup. “No, have you?”
Stella shook her head.
I had an inkling (more like a very large inky smudge) of an idea, but Brooklyn and I didn’t talk about it. Almost as if it hadn’t even happened.
She took a long gulp of her drink before answering me. “It doesn’t really matter. I’m over it and everything. I was only wondering.”
Or wondering what the other knew—or didn’t know. But that was the problem, wasn’t it? It wasn’t our thing to tell, and neither of us wanted to violate the sister/girlfriend code.
“You’re a good sister, you know,” I said softly. I felt a pang of guilt thinking about how much of abadsister I’d been lately, but it was nice at least one of us could be the good one.
“Well, I try.” She gave me a pinched smile. “I’m going to get another drink. Do you want one?”
I hadn’t even realized how quickly I had finished my drink, leaving only the olives rolling on the bottom of the cup. “Sure.”
She hopped out of the golf cart, and my gaze wandered over to the two boys. Their sunglasses hid most of the emotion in their eyes, but Alec talked with his hands, and Brooklyn kept his gaze away from him. He was fidgeting with his gloves, or taking swings with his putter.
I tried to fish out an olive with my finger, but only managed to succeed in spilling ice in my lap. As I dumped the rest of the ice into a nearby bush, my ears perked up when I realized I could hear Brooklyn and Alec’s conversation. Alec’s voice was even toned and calculated as ever, a distinct difference from Brooklyn’s, which was rough and deep.
“All I’m saying is that you can tell me,” Alec said. “I’m notinsinuatinganything.”
“I know you’re not. Neither am I.” Brooklyn reached down to the green and placed his marker next to the ball. He swung his putter back and forth a few times, keeping his gaze away from Alec. “Can we just drop it, please?”
“Fine.” Alec clicked his tongue. “Things are getting pretty serious with Natalie, huh?”
I bit down on my lip, tilting my head slightly to see if I could hear them more clearly.
