Page 48 of Come Break My Heart Again

KEIRA: What do we think of Tucker Franklin?

KEIRA: He’s kinda cute?

JULIET: I’m with Fleur by the fireplace.

ARCHER: Whare r u?

I skip over the rest of the unread messages, only responding to Juliet, Keira, and Archer.

ELLE: Felt sick. Left early.

I power my phone off before any responses can come through, sick of the nonstop buzzing. Drop it in the cupholder and glance toward the playground.

Ryder is standing by the swings, talking to the group of kids. He towers over the tallest by a couple of feet.

I’ve never met Ryder’s little brother before. He’s five years younger than us, so he’s still in middle school.

I tilt my head back to stare up at the night sky, tracing patterns in the stars above and enjoying the lingering buzz of vodka. Rather than regret leaving Maddie’s party early, I feel relieved.

A couple of minutes later, I catch motion out of the corner of my eye. My head turns to track the two figures headed this way.

Cormac stops walking when he spots the car. Or sees me. Glimpses something. He glances at Ryder, who has a resigned look on his face as he continues toward the driver’s seat.

“Well,hellothere,” Cormac drawls.

Ryder’s confidence seems to be hereditary. The brothers look alike, too, even though Ryder told me they have different fathers. I can’t tell what color Cormac’s eyes are, but his hair is the same shade as Ryder’s. Several inches longer, the style similar to the way Ryder used to wear his freshman year. I doubt that’s a coincidence.

I smile. “Hi, Cormac. It’s nice to meet you.”

Cormac starts walking again as I climb out of the passenger seat and pull it forward to access the back. I forgot about my bare feet until they kiss cold concrete, too buzzed to care about the chilly temperature or the hard texture.

“Verynice to meet you.” His grin grows.

“Cormac,” Ryder snaps, “get in the back.”

“This your ride?” Cormac ignores Ryder and stays focused on me.

“Sure is.”

“Wickedcar.” Cormac shoves some of his shaggy hair out of his face to get a better look at my red convertible.

“Thanks,” I respond, smiling at his blatant admiration.

“Are you hooking up with Ryder?”

“Cormac, shut up and get in the fucking car.”

Cormac groans, but he listens to Ryder this time. “You should watch your mouth, dude. It’s rude to swear in front of pretty girls.”

I don’t quite manage to smother the snort that wants to come out as I climb back into the passenger seat. I wasn’t expecting Ryder’s little brother to be this entertaining. Bossy big brother is a side of Ryder I’ve never seen before.

“You’re grounded,” Ryder says.

“Yeah. Sure.” Cormac sounds unbothered by the prospect.

Ryder pinches the bridge of his nose before turning the car on.

I glance at the kids still on the playground. “What about them?”

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