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“Like you were only nice if you stayed home hoping the phone would ring.”
“I don’t know, maybe it was easier when everyone knew what to expect.” Zac hoisted his board onto the Prius’s roof rack. “Boys did the chasing, girls got chased.”
“Elephant seals still do it that way.” Luke put his board on top of Zac’s and flashed a smile at his brother’s expression. “Summer took me to the rookery.”
“That’s a cool place.” He retrieved the straps to tie down the boards from the back of the car. “So what’s going on with her?”
“She’s too good for me.”
“Hey, I could have told you that.” He fastened the strap to one side of the rack, grinning to show he was teasing. “What makes you think so?”
“She’s got her life all figured out. College, graduate school, career.”
“Summer?” He was surprised, and then he wasn’t. Not at all. She was smart, a hard worker and a great listener with a good heart. “Good for her.”
“I don’t think she’s that into dating a dropout who sells bagels.”
Zac threw him a look. “So get a life, dude.”
“I have a life.”
“Selling bagels.”
“That’s a life if it’s what you want to do.”
“I agree.” Zac tossed the strap across the top of the surfboards for Luke to secure the other side. “But I don’t think it’s what you want to do.”
Luke sighed. Sounded as if Zac had scored a point there. “Maybe not. Thing is, you know, she wants to do all this stuff and she has no money. I have no ambition but tons of money. I wish there was some way I could help her.”
Zac secured the second strap. “Marry her and pay her tuition.”
“Yeah, right.” Luke burst out laughing. Harder than the joke warranted. Much harder. Almost maniacally. “Yeah, right.”
“You’ve thought about it.” Zac stared at him, frozen in the act of throwing the second strap over. “You’re in love with her.”
Luke stopped laughing. His face flushed. He looked slightly sick. “I think I might be.”
“Yeah, well, there’s this thing about love.” Zac threw over the second strap, then walked around the car, since Luke showed no signs of being helpful. “You aren’t one hundred percent invested in what you want anymore. It becomes at least half about the other person.”
“Yeah. That’s how it feels.” Luke stepped back. “I dunno, maybe I’m growing up.”
“You decide what’s best for you, and what’s best for her. If you’re lucky, they turn out to be the same thing.”
Luke ran his finger back and forth along the top of the car window, then his face suddenly cleared.
“You know? I’m not sure how you stumbled onto that, but it actually might make sense.” Luke punched Zac on the shoulder, beaming, the age-old guy method of avoiding a hug. “And now let me teach you something about love, big brother.”
“Oh, no.” Zac rolled his eyes, yanking the strap tight. “Here it comes. Go ahead.”
“You see...” Luke put his arm around Zac’s shoulders and gestured grandly into the air. “Love is like a tree falling in a forest with no one around.”
“Uh-huh.” Zac rolled his eyes. “How does that work?”
“Funny you should ask. I was just going to tell you.”
“Luke...”
“If Chris doesn’t hear that you’re in love with her, dude, then as far as she’s concerned, you’re not.”
* * *
SUMMER SAT ON Zac’s front stoop, clutching a Slow Pour bag containing assorted muffins, Suja juices and coffee, feeling stupid. Coming here this morning to bring Luke breakfast on Valentine’s Day had seemed like a great idea. She didn’t have to work until one—Chris’s event started at three—so she and Luke could have breakfast and hang out, the way they’d done the day they went to see the elephant seals.
One problem: it had never occurred to her that Luke might not be home. She’d taken it for granted that at 9:00 a.m. on a Saturday he’d still be asleep. Zac hadn’t answered the door, either, and Luke wasn’t answering his phone. He wasn’t supposed to start his new job until Monday, so that couldn’t be it...
