Page 25 of Passions & Peonies

“Now your smile looks like his from this morning.”

“Yeah, but right when he walked me back to the hotel, his friend called. His mood changed instantly.”

“Sawyer?”

I jerk my head back. “How did you know that?”

She tosses clothes over to one side of her bed, sits cross-legged, and hugs a pillow. “Josh told me about him and his wife. I can’t even imagine how he feels. Josh thinks Will is taking it almost as hard as Sawyer. He says Will wears his emotions on his sleeve and takes on other people’s problems as if they’re his own. Being here in St. Thomas is a distraction for him, but when Sawyer calls, reality sets in.”

“Yeah, when he answered just now, his face completely changed. One second, we were happy, making out like teenagers, and then,bam, gone. He just said he needed to go and left me standing there. But I can’t be angry when I know why.”

“Did Will tell you about their mom too?”

“Yes.” I sigh. “That poor family.”

“Two important women in his life died tragically. It’s got to fuck with your head. And Sawyer’s his best friend, so of course, he wants to be there for him whenever he calls.”

“But Will made it sound like Josh is close to Sawyer too. They grew up together.”

“Yeah, but it seems like he’s the opposite of Will. Not that I know him that well… or at all. But it’s almost like Josh faces it and it’s done. It’s life. He gets it out of his system and keeps going. That’s the only way I can explain it when I listened to him describe what happened. I don’t want to say he’s cold. But maybe he hides his emotions like most men, and Will doesn’t.”

“It’s amazing how identical twins can have such different personalities.” I wave my hands in front of me. “But we’re getting way ahead of ourselves. We’ve known them for like a day. So how long did you hang out with Josh? Did he behave?”

“I caught him staring at my boobs a couple times, and I smacked him upside the head. Then we just laughed it off. He’s harmless. He’s funny too. I didn’t expect it.”

“I’m surprised he told you all this when you just met.”

“Well, I had to drill him a little bit about Will. Hello, my friend walked off with his brother. I had to know if he could be trusted.”

“Is there any attraction there?”

Her head drops forward and the towel falls off. She looks up and ruffles her hair. “Nah. He’s handsome, but that’s about it. I got a brother kind of vibe from him. I think he felt it too. But he’s great to have around because the crazy guys stayed away. We hung out in the lobby and analyzed people. He also told me they went to college in Boston, so that gave us something in common. But enough about me. I want all the juicy details about this crush. You’re so smitten.”

“Smitten is an understatement, and that’s what scares the shit out of me.”

Maybe I’m only meant to be his distraction this week. I’m good at making people happy. But willIbe happy when I leave on Saturday?

Or will things get complicated, like Will said?

Yes.

Chapter 11

Will

I’m sitting at my favorite spot on the dock again with a cup of coffee, looking out at the tranquil turquoise water. I’m such a dick for leaving Lacey the way I did last night. As soon as Sawyer called, reality kicked in. I’m not on vacation like Lacey is. I have a life down here and other things going on back home. Sawyer keeps telling me I should never fall for anyone because they’ll just be taken away from me. Why does that make me think of Lacey?

I keep thinking about Dad, too, and how hard it was for him to move on without Mom. He’s only just started getting back into the dating scene after so many years. Is it worth it to love someone that much? Why am I even thinking about Lacey when I ask myself this question?

She’s a good distraction for one week, that’s all. A distraction who makes me horny as hell, though. I could’ve taken it further with her last night, but she’s not the type and neither am I.

“Hey, bro.” Josh sits down next to me. “You were up bright and early this morning. I didn’t hear you come home last night or even leave this morning. Wait,didyou come back last night? You sly dog.” He punches me in the arm.

“I’m not in the mood, Josh. Sawyer called, and I left Lacey in the lobby to talk to him.”

Josh moans. “Will, I know Sawyer is going through something that I hope we never have to experience, but you can’t just drop everything for him. He needs to mourn, with or without you. I know you want to be a good friend, but you can’t be there for him all the time. You’re sad yourself; hell, we’re all sad about what happened.”

I give him a dirty look. “That’s where we’re different, Josh. You deal with these things for five minutes, and then you’re good to go. I don’t know how you do that. One of our best friends just died. Don’t you think we should still be grieving?”

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