Page 58 of Cherry on Top

Ten minutes later, he’d grabbed a sweatshirt from his loft on the way to the beach spot Kate had described, and, with his sandwiches in hand, he took the path through the tall grasses. Just as she’d predicted, there Will was, sitting on top of the tallest dune, staring out at the sea.

He looked so peaceful, knees tucked up under his chin, watching the waves as they rolled in and out Enzo almost didn’t want to bother him.

Okay. That wasn’t true. He still wanted to. But he wasn’t sure he should, no matter what Kate said.

What they had wasn’t real.

But Enzo liked to think because of all this fake dating, at least they were friendly. Maybe not friends yet. But something.

Still, he knew that what he should do was turn around, head back to his place, and then send him a text, suggesting they meet up in the morning.

But before he could, Will glanced down, and their eyes caught.

He was unbearably handsome like this, the sunset glow shading his face, the remnants of the sun glinting off his hair.

Then there was his smile, friendly and welcoming, and okay, he actually seemed pleased to see Enzo.

It wasn’t particularly easy to scramble up a dune, and Enzo hadn’t done it in long enough that he was sure he looked even more awkward than normal. But Will didn’t say anything as he finally made it to the top, brushing sand off his calves as he plopped down next to where Will was sitting.

“Kate said you’d be here,” Enzo said. Hoping that it didn’t look like he was tracking Will’s movements around town.

“Sorry,” Will said. “I know we were supposed to have dinner. I guess I missed it.”

“It’s alright.” Enzo pulled the two paper-wrapped sandwiches out of the front pocket of his sweatshirt and handed one to Will, who took it with a grateful look. “Dinner was happy to come to you.”

“You didn’t have to,” Will claimed.

Another guy might’ve been frustrated with Will. After all, he seemed determined to be a bit of a martyr. But in this case, Enzo actually understood the instinct because he’d done it enough to himself.

“It’s all good. I’d have missed this sunset, and it’s spectacular,” Enzo said casually. He nudged him. “Eat your dinner.”

And for a while, that was all they did, munch away at their sandwiches.

When all was left was paper and a few stray pieces of lettuce, Will spoke up.

“I had a weird afternoon,” was all he said.

“You want to talk about it?”

Will chuckled under his breath. “Not particularly.”

“But you’re gonna tell me anyway.”

“Seems to me,” Will said, “like you’ve got parental issues of you own, so maybe you’d understand.”

Enzo took a risk and put his hand on Will’s bare knee. Felt the shiver that went through him and through his own body, too. “From personal experience,” he pointed out dryly, “keeping it to yourself doesn’t help you deal with it any better.”

Will was quiet for a minute. “It’s kinda funny, because you wanted to leave here, to avoid the way your family makes you feel. But I came here because Indigo Bay saves me from my family.”

“Why?”

“Did your mom tell you how they own a whole chain of stores? Like Cherry’s but—” Will paused. “Nothing like them, too. Johnson’s serves ice cream and bulk candy and fudge and there’s fifteen stores stretched across the Southern coast. My great-grandfather started the first one, but my grandfather and father expanded. And then expanded again.”

“And what, you’re supposed to be the new head of the business?”

“Um, well, no, not even that.” Will winced. “That’s my older brother, Brewer. But they like to . . .well, I did work for them for a long time. Most of my life. It’s how I learned so much about business and also about ice cream. But they always knew I’d do anything for them. That I’d always be there to step in. To bail them out. To go wherever they needed. I realized that I was getting lost. What I wanted. What mattered to me, what made me me, was getting lost. They weren’t happy about me taking time off, but I did, and then I realized what I really needed to do was quit. So I did. I came here, I built Cherry’s, and in a way, I designed it so I couldn’t be at their beck and call anymore. Only my own. ’Cause I knew I’d want to do it, anyway.” Will hesitated. “My mom called today. Wanted me to come help out at the new store on Tybee Island. I had to tell her no. Didn’t feel great.”

Enzo thought he understood what Will was really saying. He’d wanted, he’d hoped, for some kind of happy medium. A place where he could be what his family needed and also be his own man. It was the same thing Enzo had fought and fought against, for so long, before he’d finally just had to leave.

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