Page 61 of Chasing the Sun

Once again, Seb looked more amused than angry, and it made her like him that much more. Maybe this was just a game or a competition between brothers, but she didn’t really think so. If she’d met him first, things might have been different, but as it was, she only had eyes for Bryce.

“Sort of,” she said, deciding to come clean.

“That’s what I figured, the dork.”

She laughed. “I might have used a slightly stronger word.”

“Oh, I have. Believe me!”

Now that it was out there, she felt a tangible sense of relief, but she still wasn’t sure what to do. “He asked me to come home.”

Seb nodded and ran his index finger through the condensation on his glass. “What did you say?”

“I said I was busy.”

He tipped his head back and laughed, loud enough to garner attention from the two women at the neighboring table. Not that they hadn’t already noticed him.

“That’s classic. I bet he loved that!”

“I’m not sure what to do, Seb. You’ve been so nice to me, nicer than he has, but…”

“It’s him you want. I get it. I don’t like it, but I get it.”

“You do?”

“Yeah.”

“No hard feelings?”

“Not toward you.”

“I don’t want to cause any problems between you and your brother.”

“Ha! You’re not the cause, sweetheart.”

“What is it with you two? Why don’t you get along?”

“We get along fine most of the time, but sometimes we rub each other the wrong way. Do you have any siblings?”

“I have an older sister. She’s married and has two kids, and we get along great. So, this thing with you and Bryce is hard for me to understand.”

Just then, her phone buzzed again. She glanced down at her purse and furrowed her brow.

“Go ahead,” he said, picking up his glass.

She pulled out the phone and opened Bryce’s latest message.

I’ll be in the hot tub. Come and join me.

She felt a wave of dizziness and gripped the edge of the table to keep from falling off her chair.

“You okay?” Seb asked with a look of concern.

“I got a little lightheaded. I’m not used to drinking this much.” It was partially true, but she couldn’t very well tell him the rest of it.

“Why don’t I take you home, then?”

She nodded and slowly stood up, holding onto the back of the chair for support. Seb quickly downed the rest of his beer and then fished a few dollars out of his pocket and threw it on the table. He presented his arm for her to hold onto, and as she gripped it, she glanced over and saw the women at the neighboring table staring again. Seb noticed too, and he winked at them as they walked past.