Page 25 of Tied Up in Riches

“You miss Thailand.” The observation isn’t a question. I can tell her sentiment was only partially about that, but I don’t touch the part about people abusing power.

“Yeah.” She tugs her arms through the sleeves of her hoodie, pulling it off and tying it around her waist, her midsection on full display. Goddamn, she’s hot.

Focus, man. “Why didn’t you stay?”

“It just felt like it was time to move on.” She’s not giving me enough, but I drop it, knowing less is better.

We continue the hike without talking. Just the roar of the water. The chirp of the birds. The rustle of the wind through the trees. She slows her pace a few times to take it all in, and I stay with her, completely forgetting Dean and Maci are here until we reach where they are waiting for us at a little side trail on a log by the river.

Maci is pulling sandwiches out of the backpack, lining them up on top of their ziplock baggies along the log she's straddling. She glances up at the two of us. “You both want chips on yours?”

“Yup,” I answer and can’t help my grin as Brooke says, “Duh. It’s the only way.” Maci pulls off one top piece of bread at a time, layering each sandwich with Doritos as I sit on the other end of the log. Brooke joins Dean nearby, immediately stripping off her socks and shoes. She moans dramatically when she slips her feet into the crystal clear river water, and I need a fucking distraction from her.

I pull my phone from my pocket, wanting to check on a few work things anyway. By some miracle, I have a bar of service and open one of the thirteen emails I’ve received since we left the house. Maci holds out my sandwich as I’m punching out a reply to one of them, and I take it from her, setting it on my thigh.

“Thank you,” I hear Brooke say on the edge of my awareness.

“So, are you at least excited to see your dad when you go home?” Maci asks her friend. I’m curious about her answer but don’t engage. I need to finish this email.

“So excited. It’s only been a few months since I’ve seen him. He came to Thailand at the beginning of the year. But he’s the best. Partially makes up for my mom being the way that she is.”

“I get that,” Dean chimes in. I tune him out as the three of them talk about Dean’s dilemma over whether or not to invite his dad to the wedding after what went down regarding his sister, Sophie and her boyfriend, Cooper. I’ve already run through the pros and cons with him until we were more angry and further from a decision.

I press send and open another email.

“–Marcus?” I register my name at the end of a sentence I completely missed from Brooke. Finishing my email and pressing send, it sinks in that she was talking to me. When I glance up, her face shifts from hesitating on mine awaiting a response, back to Maci who has started to reply for me.

Fuck. She probably thinks I’m such an asshole. I need to get this done. I don’t want to drop the ball on Charlotte and Emma’s deal and need to keep up with everything else too. The email I just opened was an issue with our tax payment on the bar property–obviously a priority.

Closing out of the app, I slip my phone into my pocket and pick up my sandwich.

“Marcus won the lotto with his parents. I love them. On summer breaks from school, they used to do mission trips to South Africa. They have such good stories.”

Brooke looks to me as if for confirmation, and thank fuck I’m paying attention now and figured out what she was asking about. “They’re great.” I smile at the thought of my parents. I know I’m lucky to have two incredible ones. I feel bad for my friends who don’t. My gaze shifts to Dean for a moment, noticing the conversation about his dad took a toll. Not sure if I’m helping or hurting, I add, “My dad and Jack coached our soccer team when we were kids.”

“Oh my gosh. I wish I knew you then!” Maci swoons.

Dean chuckles. “I’m glad you didn’t.”

I hold back my own laugh with a bite of my sandwich. Goddamn, the chips really make it.

“Oh yeah?” Brooke instigates. “Why’s that?” She splashes her feet on the top of the shallow water, the sunlight reflecting off the skin where her leggings are pushed up.

“We just fucked around all day,” Dean responds for the both of us. “I’d always forget my uniform. And Marcus would be missing before every game. Dad would find him wandering through the food carts.”

“And yet, somehow, you both ended up with killer bodies, like you actually made an effort in sports.” Those words from Brooke’s mouth definitely get my attention.

With half a mouthful of sandwich, Dean takes a sip of his water and swallows. “Yeah. Well, girls are much better motivation than orange slices and rice crispy treats.” He pinches Maci’s side and she giggles, falling into him. It's disgustingly cute, and I want to detour away from relationship talk.

“So, Brooke.” I shift my attention back to her and where the sun’s golden rays reflect on her braids. Fuck, she’s beautiful. “Did you play sports?”

“Yeah.” She smiles briefly before it falls as she brushes crumbs off her hands. “When I was younger, I did gymnastics. Dad was my biggest cheerleader. But once I got good, it became too time consuming and expensive for my parents to keep up with.”

“That sucks.” I have no clue what the fuck else to say because it does. Money makes the world go round. My dad only coached my team with Jack so we didn’t have to pay for my spot. I refuse for it to be like that for my little sister. I want my parents to be able to experience her life however they want.

“It’s okay.” She forces a smile, lifting her feet from the water and kicking them in the air a bit to shake the water off before putting her socks back on. “My best friend and I made up games to play in the woods behind my mom’s work. I would never have become a pro at ‘capture the five-star dining napkin’ if I had been stuck in the gym for five hours a day.” She laughs at the memory, and I feel the shift inside my chest. I want to know every detail about the life that created this girl in front of me.

Without giving me the chance to start that right now, Brooke stands. Maci and Dean follow suit, zipping up the backpack and getting ready to continue on our way. This time, they don’t skip ahead of us, taking over the conversation with wedding talk, and finding out more about Brooke becomes just barely out of reach.

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