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PROLOGUE
12 SUMMERS AGO | TYBEE ISLAND, GEORGIA
GAVIN
“Today’sthe day, little brother!”
Gavin nodded at Noah, his eldest brother, and slowly sipped on his water at the kitchen counter. It wasthe dayfor a lot of reasons.
One, Noah was planning to propose to his long-term girlfriend and the family was really excited.
Two, his other brother, Simon, had just graduated from UPenn’s vet school and his parents were throwing a big party.
Most importantly, Gavin was going to tell Nia Thomas, the girl of his dreams, that he was in love with her.
“You nervous?” Noah poured himself a cup of coffee before leaning against the counter beside Gavin.
“A little. I think?” Gavin laughed and pulled out a small jewelry box from the pocket of his shorts. “I got her this.”
Noah took the box and flipped it open to reveal a necklace with a tiny gold heart. Gavin had thought about inscribing their initials on the back, but when he heard the price of all of it together, he changed his mind. His big brother whistled and Gavin met his eyes with a grin.
“This is pretty, Gavin, I think she’ll love it.”
He let out a sigh of relief and took the box back from Noah. With one last glance at the necklace, he shoved it into his pocket.
“Don’t overthink it. Tell her how you feel and let her respond before you jump to any conclusions, okay?”
Gavin nodded, setting his glass in the sink. Noah was the only one of his four brothers who knew about his plan. Or his insane crush on Nia. It wasn’t because he didn’t trust his other brothers, but Noah had always been his confidante. Always the one who he went to for advice since he was a kid. Their parents were great and fantastic role models, but having a big brother who was ready to give you advice about sex and love? An absolute treat.
There was also the fact that Nia was best friends with Spencer, the brother closest to him in age. While he was an awesome brother and one of the nicest people Gavin knew, Spencer was also protective of Nia. Had been since Gavin was a kid. While Spencermightbe okay with this relationship, Gavin didn’t want to press his luck.
Plus, he and Nia had been sneaking around behind Spencer’s back for the last two summers.
* * *
It was Summer 2007 when Gavin experienced the first stirrings of feelings when it came to Nia.
He’d grown up with her and the Thomas family—thanks to their mothers being best friends—and he’d played with her older siblings when he was a kid. There were enough and more photographs around the beach house that showed how long the two families had known each other. Gavin and Nia were in tons of them and he never saw her differently, or even acknowledged her gender.
Until the summer he turned thirteen.
Suddenly all he could focus on was the fact that Nia was a girl and she was pretty. So pretty in fact that every time someone made her laugh, Gavin found himself watching her. He always wanted to be where she was, trailing her without a care in the world. If someone asked what he was doing, Gavin would always brush them off. But he was absolutely and completely fascinated by Nia Thomas. He never told anyone about hiscrush, except Noah found out when he caught Gavin staring one night during a family bonfire.
As he slowly developed his confidence, Gavin started making conversation with her. Usually silly things like “may I have the beans?” or “could you pass me the salt”, but when Nia would turn her attention to him, Gavin would feel like the world had stopped spinning. He still spent too much time watching her smile, waiting for the sound of her laugh and admiring how shiny her dark hair was. Nia was funny, charming and always quick with a response. She and Spencer spoke in a weird code language that annoyed him, and made him jealous, but that didn’t stop the way his feelings evolved.
Gavin heard someone once refer to Nia asexotic, but he didn’t know why they said it in that condescending tone of voice. When he looked at her, he saw anexquisitewoman with brown skin that glowed every summer, sparkling light brown eyes—which he learned later was rare for South Indians—full lips that he dreamed about kissing and the most gorgeous body ever. The first time he saw her in a bikini, Gavin was enthralled—her stomach was soft and jiggled when she laughed, her thick thighs had dimples and silver lines (he later learned they were stretch marks). Her breasts were what had his attention most of that time and Gavin tried his best to be subtle about how he stared at them when she moved or bent over.
Nia Thomas was a dream come true and Gavin wasobsessed.
* * *
Like the rest of the kids spending their summer on Tybee, Gavin was at the beach for a party. For years, he’d watched the party rage on from his bedroom window at their summer home. But ever since he’d been allowed to attend, Gavin and been nervous. Maybe it was because he’d just turned fourteen. Or because he’d had his first kiss with Missy Garland a few weeks before summer break—and it had beenawful, like being slobbered on by a dog—or because he was finally feeling confident in his body; Gavin arrived at the party with every intention of finding Nia and making a move. Not that he knew what kind of move hecouldmake, but he figured he could wing it and hope that it all worked out in his favor.
Dressed in a green halter thingy that showed off her sun-kissed shoulders and white shorts that hugged her thighs, Nia was the most incredible sight that evening. Gavin swallowed hard, staring at her unabashedly as she and Spencer exchanged a few words. He watched his brother walk off with his tonsil hockey partner, leaving Nia alone with a glass of what he assumed was beer.
“H-hey,” he said, annoyed with himself for tripping over a three-letter word.
“Baby Rhodes!” She beamed, free hand reaching out to poke him in the shoulder.
