Page 137 of Unforgettable

“Yeah,” Devon spoke up, tipping his own beer at James. “You chewed my head off in the car for being ten minutes later than we planned. So, tell us what the hell is up with you.”

He sighed and ran a frustrated hand through his hair. Hazel and I traded concerned looks as she pulled her own hair up into a bun at the top of her head.

“Nothing is wrong—”

“Nope,” Devon interrupted. “Try again.”

“I’m just having an off day. I swear that’s—”

“Ha!” It was Luke that interrupted that time. His large, tattooed arms were banded around Hazel’s waist, and he held her tight to him. “Two days ago, when I called you to talk about watching Sadie, you were short-tempered too. Don’t give us some bullshit excuse, okay?”

Defeated, James’s shoulders slumped, and he shook his head. “My mom was in a car accident during the winter storm. My mom’s best friend, Catherine, hit a patch of ice and veered off the road. They’re both fine, but Mom broke her leg in a few places. I’m just irritated because no one told me. No one called me when it happened. I had to find out when I went up there this past week.”

“Why didn’t they tell you?” Hazel asked.

James was from a small town just an hour or two north of Austin. The warm wind whipped around us as we all sat in thoughtful silence. James stared at a spot far across the lake, and I gently nudged him in the side in an effort to not only get him talking again but to also acknowledge that we were there for him. Hopefully my soft smile conveyed as much.

“They made it seem like I wouldn’t have wanted to know. That it wasn’t a big enough deal todisturb me. I mean, I can’t blame them for it. I hardly go back or visit… But either way, it’s whatever.” And we all knew he’d said all there was to say on the topic. At least at that point. “Josh, I think you’ve got next go!”

He hopped from his seat and returned the music to full volume. Josh shook his head at our friend but rose from his seat, letting his fingers trail over my neck and shoulders as he stood. It was eighty-five degrees outside, yet goose bumps erupted over my skin.

The coy smile he shot me from above was evidence enough that each of his movements was intentional. I raised my middle finger in response which he took with a smile and wink before turning to Reed.

“Take it easy on me, ba—man,” Josh hollered at him. I didn’t miss the near slip of the tongue—not that Josh calling Reed “babe” would be too out of the ordinary, but it was the kind of thing we didn’t want to happen, no matter how casually it was said.

If he had heard it, Reed didn’t seem to be too worried about the pet name slip. “No promises, Sunshine. I know you like it rough,” he threw back.

Oh my gosh. Thankfully, no one thought it odd and chalked it up to their usual playful banter.

As Josh prepared to hop on the inner tube, Hazel and Luke got lost in their own little bubble while Devon and Reed chatted about something on the boat. At that moment, a realization hit me like a Mack truck.

“Wait,” I said abruptly, putting together the few pieces I had based on small tidbits of information I’d collected over the years. I turned to James, who had reclined next to me once again. “Isn’t Catherine’s daughter…?”

“Yes,” James confirmed before I could finish the sentence.

With that little connection, his reaction made infinitely more sense. “Did you see her when you went up there?”

He shook his head. “Nope.”

There was a definitive tightening in his jaw that was always there when the woman who broke his heart was brought up. We didn’t know much about their relationship besides that it ended when he moved to Austin for college. Not that any of us would tell James, but we all believed there were unresolved feelings, at least on his end. It probably would have been easier to know for sure if he’d told us more of the story, but getting him to open up about her was his version of the seventh circle of hell.

“Ivy, right?”

He gave me a side-eye that said I was nearing my quota ofIvytalk. “Yes,” he said in a voice so low and strained that it was difficult to hear him over the music and commotion around us.

I let the subject drop as Josh jumped off the side of the boat.

FORTY-FIVE

Amanda

Hours later,the fire Reed made after dinner had dwindled to a few glowing embers. We were all gathered around it, talking about nothing and everything all at the same time.

Our laughter surrounded us and having us all together was my happy place.

James was reclined in a deck chair to my left, and Devon was across from him. But it was the two men across from me I couldn’t keep my eyes off of—Reed and Josh were close on the small bench. Every so often, their legs brushed, or I’d catch one glance longingly at the other from the other side of the flames. I enjoyed watching them struggle to not touch or stare too long.

A smile tugged at my lips when their eyes found mine, and a desire similar to the fire burning behind their eyes flared.

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