Prologue
FINN
Eight months ago
I’m really regretting not drinking more. One drink means I’m fit enough to drive not just myself home but also my sister’s best friend. My sister’s best friend, who I’ve been stupidly in love with since my sister, Wren, first brought her home all those years ago.
It’s taking everything in me not to say anything; to not say that I like her shorts that have sunflowers sewn onto them, even though wearing shorts in the middle of fall is crazy; or that I think the red tinge to her cheeks brings out the mahogany notes in her eyes.
What I said to her before we left the bar was true—that I don’t want Wren crying over her best friend going missing on her way home. What I didn’t say, is that the thought of something happening to her causes my stomach to churn, because even though I pretend to hate her, she’s still pretty high up on my list of people that I care about, and I would rain hell down on anyone who touches her.
“Have you ever heard of a speed limit?” Oakleigh asks beside me, arms crossed over her exposed cleavage while she shivers in the passenger seat. I reach over to the center console and jam the button that turns on her seat warmer with a fake roll of my eyes.
“Have you ever heard of dressing for cold weather?”
“What I wear is none of your damn business.”
“And how I drive is none of yours. Not all of us drive around like we want to make it into the very emergency room that we work in.”
She huffs and falls further into her seat.
“Seriously, Cherry, it’s the middle of fall, for fuck’s sake. You’ve been shivering ever since we left the bar.”
“No, no, no.” She sends a glare in my direction. “Don’t you dare try and give me the big-brother tone. And I’ve told you a million times to stop calling me that!”
“There is absolutely nothing ‘brotherly’ about my tone, I can promise you that. And even if I did see you as a little sister—which I definitely don’t—I’m smart enough to know that you’re way too stubborn to listen.”
“Wow, you definitely don’t see me as your little sister?” She fakes a sniffle. “That hurts my feelings.” In my peripheral, I see her start to dab at her pretend tears.
“Oh, please. You’re trying to tell me that you see me as a brother?” My nausea increases as I wait impatiently for her answer.
“Hell, no.” She scoffs. “You will forever remain nothing more than my best friend’s annoying older brother.”
My own scoff is a pathetic attempt to hide the hitch in my breath as I keep my eyes trained on the dark country road ahead. My hands clench the steering wheel so hard the leather squeaks, and my shoulders are now tighter than a tourniquet.
“What’s the scoff for?” she asks defensively.
“What scoff?”
“The one you just did.”
“No idea what you’re talking about.”
She turns toward me. “Wait, are you upset that I friend-zoned you?”
“Believe it or not, Cherry, not everyone is interested in you.” I am, but that’s beside the point. “And for the record, you didn’t friend-zone me, you best-friend’s brothered me, which is a whole level above friend-zone. You’ve not just made it unlikely we’d ever get together, you’ve made it unsanctioned.”
“Why are you explaining how it’s worse, if you’re not interested?” I don’t need to look at her to know she’s smirking as though she’s won.
Maybe she hit a nerve. Maybe she almost managed to unknowingly goad me into reacting rashly. Maybe my chest is feeling tight right now thanks to the violent sting of rejection.
Maybe…
Fuck, I don’t know.
Other than a light chuckle, she thankfully remains silent, but I know that’s only because her silent victory could be felt by the wild animal in the forest either side of the road we’re on. Her shivering has ceased thanks to the seat warmer, so I’m able to fully concentrate on the dark country road.
Our friends all live in Eaglewood, a small town known mostly for its pumpkins and abundance of bakeries. Oakleigh lives two towns over, in Beckford, a slightly bigger town that is one of five (including Eaglewood) to surround Lake Carlow. The drive is mostly pitch-black until you meet the main roads in Beckford, so thankfully, it’s too dark for me to get distracted admiring the woman beside me.
