AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Wheeler, I can’t do it. Can’t go through with it. It’s not cold feet. It’s not right. I need to get out of here. Can you come get me, bring me to my place?”
“Yeah. Sure. Whatever. Be right there.”
“Don’t tell the other guys. Not yet.” I send him a pin to my location as the line goes quiet.
Garrison drives me to my apartment and I tell him that I’ll be in touch. I pack in haste and less than an hour later, I’m heading to a place where no one will look for me. I can be relatively anonymous because the population is small and the Nosy Rosies aren’t the type to plaster my face on social media. Rather, they’ll tweet and chirp among themselves on the Coconut Wireless, their concerns ranging from whether I’ve been eating enough, why I’m not yet married with children, and if I’ve been wearing sunblock.
Okay, fine, they’ll probably also speculate about Harley and me, but that’s nothing new.
What they won’t do is gossip about how I’m a famous football player who skipped out on his bachelor party.
In Coco Key, I’m just Ryan.
Well, not to Harley. To her, not only did she put me in the friend zone, but I occupy frenemy territory.
At Royal and Isla’s wedding, she hardly looked my way. But seeing her broke something loose in me.
I only realize it now and it’s why I got so hung up today at the bachelor party. Merely seeing Harley Jean Owens brought all my regrets to the surface. Even now, as I cruise south with water on both sides of the road, they wash over me like a tsunami.
But we were the worst for each other.
I should know better than to even entertain the idea of a second chance. No, a third, fifth, eighth? I’m not sure what it was that we had together. Had we given it a chance, we’d have been that annoying couple who dated and then broke up. Repeat. Sort of. It was unclear what we were to each other.
All too soon, I’m back at the rental I’ve shared with my brothers since our grandfather summoned us down here with a mysterious invitation. Turned out to be the opposite of a birthday celebration.
Seated at the center island, gazing out to sea, I pick up andturn over everything that’s transpired the last few months, trying to make sense of it all.
Lost in my thoughts, I only surface when something whacks me on the back of the head.
It’s Royal with a rolled-up newspaper. “What are you doing here?”
I squint, making sure I’m looking at the right brother—yep, it’s my twin with the same brown hair. We’re not identical, but close enough. Royal’s nose is smooth. His eyes are blue gray whereas mine are true blue.
“What are you doing here?” I echo.
“Are we playing this game?”
It takes me a moment to come into focus. “No, I’m not playing any games and that’s the problem.” I tell him about Webster arranging for me to marry his daughter.
Royal rubs his hand across his forehead. “Sounds more like a threat than an arrangement. That can’t stand.”
“Which is why I’m here.”
Brows pinched steeply, he asks, “Do you need legal help? I know a guy.”
“I’m not sure yet. I just came back to think things through. But there’s no way I can marry Jayda. Speaking of marriage, why aren’t you on your honeymoon?”
Just then, the bubbliest, most cheerful woman I’ve ever met bounces into the room. She laces her arm through Royal’s—the two are like night and day. He towers with a brooding expression. She’s human sunshine in a petite but powerful package.
“We have a lot going on at the resort. We’re postponing our trip. And let’s be real, every day with Royal is like a honeymoon.” She lifts onto her toes and kisses him on the cheek.
The guy wears the biggest grin—the kind I’ve never seen before.
Shielding my eyes, I mutter, “I need sunglasses.”
“Come with us into town and stop by the Treasure Chest. I have to go help Bean pack,” Isla says.
“Where’s your sister going?”
