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“I liked her enthusiasm.”
I roll my eyes. “Yeah. I bet a lot of men like her ‘enthusiasm.’ Hunter was so smitten by herenthusiasmhe could hardly function today.” Fucking MBA from Harvard and she reduced him to a lovesick teenager in a matter of seconds. If he’d seen her Saturday night—miles of bare skin, nipples pebbled tightunder a soaking wet tank top—he’d have written her a blank check.
Mark runs his tongue over his teeth, struggling to remain patient. “Caleb, she did an amazing job, and you were borderline rude the entire time.”
“I don’t especially enjoy getting to know people who will soon beformeremployees, especially when they live next door to me. And we both know she isn’t going to last. I told you I was only keeping this person on for three months and you led her to believe it was permanent. That’s on you.”
“I hired her for a permanent position because thisshould bea permanent position and I assumed you’d come to your senses.” He climbs to his feet. “Based on what she just did today, you already should have.”
I can’t even argue. She knocked it out of the park, but that changes nothing. She still can’t stay.
I head to my friend’s bar a short time later. I’d prefer to skip the weekly get-together, but I’ve been out of town for weeks and it’s easier to get it over with than having my friends harass me by phone for the rest of the week.
Once I’m there and have a beer in front of me, I’m glad I came…until Harrison tells us his dad is putting their beach house on the market.
That house was a staple of our childhood, the place where we surfed from dawn to nightfall, fooling ourselves into believing we were the next Kelly Slater, the next Andy Irons. I thought we’d teach our kids to surf there, our grandkids too, but I think we’ve all avoided it since our friend Danny died during a trip in college.
“Did you ever go back, after that weekend?” I ask Harrison.
He shakes his head. “I intended to. It was just—”
We all know what he means.
“That was the weekend shit started to fall apart,” Liam says. “It’s like we were fucking cursed.”
None of us argue. We all held so much promise back then, but after Danny’s death…we withered. Maybe that’s how adulthood is for everyone, but it’s nothing I foresaw for us, back when Liam and Beck were the star athletes at Gloucester Prep and Harrison and I were vying for valedictorian.
“Maybe we should go surf there, one last time, before it sells,” Beck adds. “Break the curse.”
Liam shoots a wary look at the corner of the bar, where a group of women are gathered—and scowling at him. “I’m not sure I’ll live long enough to join you.”
Harrison reaches for the pitcher. “You wouldn’t have this problem if you’d attempt something that lasts more than two minutes.”
“Two minutes? No wonder your wife looks so unhappy,” Liam replies, which would be funnier if it wasn’t true. “I think I’m finally ready to settle down, however, now that I’ve laid eyes on Caleb’s hot new neighbor.”
I set my beer down with a thud. “She’s got kids and she’s going through a divorce, so leave her alone.”
“All I heard was ‘She’s getting divorced,’” Liam replies. “Was there something more?”
Harrison laughs under his breath as he turns to me. “What neighbor? I thought you were the only idiot who’d buy a house on the north end of the lake. Not a single place there was built after 1950.”
“I have no idea who she is.” That she’s Robert Underwood’s kid obviously isn’t public knowledge, and I’m sure as shit not about to admit she works for me. It’s a situation I plan to change, ASAP. “She moved in next door.”
Beck leans back against the far side of the bar. “Why aren’tyouinterested if she’s so attractive? I mean, have you slept with anyone since Kate left?”
If I tell him it’s none of his business, I’ll look like I’ve got something to hide. And I, unequivocally, do not. “Of course Ihaven’t. She’s been through a lot. I’m just trying to do the right thing.”
Harrison looks at the others briefly before clearing his throat. “She’s been gone for nearly a year, Caleb. You’ve waited long enough.”
I look between them and sense this was all pre-planned. Intervention for the guy who refuses to cut the cord. They see me as the victim when they look at us, but when I look in the mirror, I see a villain.
Because everything that went wrong with Kate began with what was wrong with me.
5
LUCIE
My mother’s name lights up the phone mere seconds after I’ve gotten dressed in the morning. Calls from her are rare and visits even rarer. I’m okay with the infrequency: I don’t need my kids lured in by the same false promises she always made me.
