“I’m Noah’s boyfriend now,” Connor corrects smoothly, his arm tightening around me.
Rick’s face shifts—surprise, confusion, then something else flickering in quick succession before he masks it with another smile, this one not quite reaching his eyes.
“Boyfriend?” he repeats, glancing between us. “That’s great. I didn’t know you were seeing someone.”
The way he says it—with a slight emphasis onyou, as if the idea of me moving on is somehow surprising—makes anger flare in my chest.
“A couple of months now,” I say, leaning into Connor’s side, grateful for his solid presence. His skin is still damp from the lake but radiating warmth, despite what he said about being cold.
“We’ve known each other for years, so it feels like we’ve been together much longer,” Connor says, and then I feel it—his thumb tracing a small, soothing circle against my side under my hoodie.
His voice is so warm, so genuine, that for a second even I believe him.
“That’s great,” Rick says again, a beat too late, before adding, “Cassie and I have known each other our whole lives, but we only started dating six months ago.”
I feel a twinge of pain in my chest at the words, but do everything I can not to let it show.
“That’s great,” Connor echoes, perfectly polite.
And then Maya comes sprinting up from the water’s edge, saving us from this disastrous conversation.
She’s dripping lake water all over the gravel, her hair plastered flat against her shoulders, with absolutely no sign she’s picked up on the energy of the last thirty seconds. She’s just Maya—blazing into a situation with no idea it’s on fire.
“Rick!” she says, pulling him into a hug that leaves a large wet patch on his light blue shirt. “Oh my God, how long has it been?”
Of course she can touch him like that—easy, uncomplicated. She never knew what we were to each other.
Rick laughs, the sound making my chest ache, and hugs her back. “Your mom’s birthday, right? So not that long. Look at you, superstar. I caught your last game against Boston. That hat-trick in the third period was insane.”
“You saw that?” Maya beams, genuinely pleased.
“Of course I did,” Rick says, mock-hurt.
“We watch all your games,” Cassidy says, reaching to hug Maya. God, she’s so fucking perfect I could puke. I know Cassidy isn’t to blame for Rick or for the way he ended things with me, but I still hate how flawless she seems.
“Aw, you guys,” Maya says, hugging her, then pulling back to beam at both of them with a warmth I’m physically incapable of faking right now. She shoots a quick look at Connor and me and says, “Have you met Connor already?”
“We just did,” Rick says smoothly, before adding, “I’m surprised I didn’t know about him.”
“You’re not the only one,” Maya says, chuckling. “We found out about Connor, like, two days ago. Noah is very secretive about his boyfriends.”
“He is,” Rick says, chuckling back, and his eyes immediately flick to mine, clearly treating this as some sort of inside joke. Fresh anger flares in my chest, but I do everything I can not to meet his gaze.
“You’re the first boyfriend Noah introduced to the family, Connor,” Maya says, throwing him a wink. “Our awkward boy must be really serious about you.”
Connor smiles at her, giving me a squeeze. “Well, I’m serious about him too.”
I feel my cheeks heat at the whole interaction and ignore Rick’s insistent gaze on me. I hope he’s annoyed by what Maya just unknowingly insinuated, even if it’s just a little bit.
Then Brad and Maria come over, and it’s more hellos, more how are yous, and me introducing Connor to them too. Both Brad and Maria seem a little taken aback by Connor’s appearance—his rugged look and tattoos, the complete opposite of what they consider appropriate.
“Alright, everyone,” Mom finally says, steering us all toward the cottages. “Dinner should be ready soon, but there’s still time for everyone to freshen up.” She looks at Rick and Cassidy, then turns to me. “Rick, Cassie, Noah will show you to your cottage. Your room’s upstairs on the left—right next to Noah and Connor’s.” She gives me a brief, reassuring smile like she’s done me some kind of favor. “Daniel and I will get Brad and Maria settled in the West Cottage, and then we’ll meet in the Main Cottage in twenty minutes, okay?”
We all nod. The older Scotts head toward the West Cottage with my parents and Maya, Brad’s hand on my dad’s shoulder. Brad and my dad are already talking about the U.S.Open Golf Championship in June, while Maya tells Maria about making the playoffs.
Which leaves me.
With Rick. And Cassidy. And Connor. And this short but awkward walk back to the East Cottage.
