Page 14 of Wish You Were Mine

Liam looked like he’d rather be anywhere else. “I have no idea. As far as I can tell based on the guys she’s brought around, ‘asshole’ is her type.”

I huffed. I was pretty sure she wasn’t actually interested in any of the douchebags she’d flaunted in front of Liam and me. She just wanted to make me squirm.

She’d succeeded.

“I can be an asshole,” Darcy said eagerly. “Hang on. Is that actually what I want? Or should I be my usual self and hope all the assholes mean that the bar is set low?”

“Just be yourself,” Igor said, breaking his sullen silence for the first time. “But stop talking and do it already. You’re giving me a headache.”

Darcy started to stand.

“Don’t.” The words left my mouth before I could think them through. Everyone turned to stare at me. I hunched inward. “You’re too young for her.”

It was the only thing I could think of, but it should be blatantly obvious. Darcy was an exuberant golden retriever, and some people liked that, but Summer had her shit together and she deserved a guy who was the same.

Darcy frowned. “I’m only a few years younger than her, and age is just a number anyway.”

“It’s too much,” I insisted. “You’re…what? Twenty-one?”

“Twenty-two,” he said firmly.

“Well, Summer is twenty-seven and, as you pointed out, a business owner. She needs someone older. Someone stable and reliable.” Just as Liam often said. Why wasn’t he speaking up now?

Darcy crossed his arms and pouted. “I can be reliable. Why are you being weird about this?”

My heart skipped as I realized he didn’t seem to be the only one looking at me strangely. “I’m not. I’m just saying what I’ve heard from her family. Summer deserves someone who’ll be there for her when they say they will, and with our jobs, we can’t make that promise.”

Darcy looked hurt. “Maybe not, but I’d treat her well in other ways.”

I groaned. This was getting out of hand. “Sorry, Darce. If you want to ask her out, then do it.”

If she accepted—which she might do just to piss me off—I’d find a way to live with it. Even if I really didn’t want to see them together. Honestly, I didn’t want to see her with anyone who wasn’t me, but I also wasn’t prepared to pursue her myself, which put me in a difficult position.

“You might need something stronger than beer. You’re clearly in a mood,” Darcy said, but he stopped pouting and relaxed a little. Still, he didn’t approach Summer, so I must have put him off. I should feel worse about that than I actually did.

After we finished the round, we all walked home. I had a faint buzz going, but I was far from drunk. I hadn’t had nearly enough alcohol to quiet my mind.

As Liam and I parted, he leaned close and murmured, “Don’t worry. Summer would never be interested in him anyway.”

Ah. So that’s why he hadn’t said anything to put Darcy off. He didn’t think it was necessary.

“If you say so,” I muttered back. I was less certain than him. Summer liked to be contrary.

I let myself into my house, stooping to greet Cookie at the door. I patted the top of her fluffy head and watched her tail swish as she trotted along ahead of me into the kitchen.

I fed her, then changed into shorts and a tank top and racked up ten kilometers on the indoor cycle. I showered and got into bed, but even Cookie’s familiar weight on my chest didn’t comfort me.

Every time I closed my eyes, Susan’s broken body appeared on the inside of my eyelids, and Robert’s pleas echoed in my ears.

You couldn’t save her, I reminded myself.

It didn’t stop the haunting memories though. Instead, a highlight reel began to play in the dark recesses of my mind.

A pale old man, dead from a heart attack.

A ten year old girl who’d been hit by a drunk driver, her vacant eyes begging for help that would arrive too late.

A pensioner who’d fallen and cracked her head against the hearth.

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