Page 91 of Beach Vibes

He’d been in over his head, she thought. Charmed by the attention of a beautiful woman. She could see it happening. Rick didn’t have the experience to see what he was doing was wrong. After a lifetime of being the guy women overlooked, suddenly he was sought-after. That would be heady stuff.

He sighed heavily. “At first we were just talking. You know, like friends. But then one thing led to another, and suddenly we were seeing each other.”

“Seeing as in…” She stared at him. “Holy crap, are you sleeping with both of them?”

Rick nodded slowly.

Beth stood and walked the length of the living room. Her heart was pounding, her head hurt and she was barely able to breathe. Rick was having sex with two different women? No, it was so much worse than that. He was having sex with her friend/her boyfriend’s sister and with another woman.

“This can’t be happening,” she whispered. “It can’t. After all the shit I’ve been through, I finally have everything I want. A friendship that matters and a wonderful man. I’m going to lose both of them because my brother suddenly decided to get an ego and act like a dick?”

She spun to face him. “You’re going to ruin this for me, aren’t you? My friendship with Jana is on the line and I’m falling for Teddy, and you’re going to make it all go away.”

“I’m not, Beth. I swear. I wouldn’t do that to you. And I’m not a bad person.” He drew in a breath. “It just happened.”

“Then it has to unhappen. Jana is my friend. I can’t not tell her what you’re doing. The guy she’s excited to go away withis sleeping with someone else. That’s not okay.” She crossed to him and glared at him. “Ignoring the whole moral ‘this is wrong’ aspect of what you’re doing, you in no way have the emotional experience to be juggling two women. You were bound to get caught and have it blow up in your face. The question is, what do you do now?”

He stared at her blankly. “What do you mean?”

“You can’t keep seeing them both. Your actions are wrong, and you’re hurting people by what you’re doing. Just as bad, you’re hurting yourself. Either you tell Jana or I will.” The third alternative was that he broke up with Galaxy and they never spoke of this again, but Beth wasn’t sure she wanted to be responsible for keeping that kind of secret.

Rick stared at her for several seconds, then nodded as he came to his feet.

“You’re right. I got caught in something, which isn’t an excuse, Beth. I was wrong. I’ve hurt Jana, but I’ve also hurt you, and I never wanted to do that. I’m going to break up with Galaxy. Jana’s the one I want to be with. She’s the miracle.”

Beth felt tension ease inside of her. “You swear?”

He made an X over his heart. “I want Jana to be the one.” He pressed his lips together. “Are you going to tell her?”

Beth’s stomach sank as she realized what he was asking. Was she going to tell her friend what she’d seen? Was she going to tell her boyfriend that his sister was dating someone who’d cheated on her? Didn’t she owe them the truth?

She stared at her brother. Rick stood there, watching her, not saying anything. He seemed ready to accept whatever punishment she demanded, even if it meant losing Jana, because that was what would happen. Jana would dump him and Teddy would dump Beth and everyone would be hurt and nothing would be right again.

She thought about how when Rick had been a scrawny kid, she’d been the one to take on the bullies who tormented him.How on the nights when their mother was gone and they were alone and scared, he climbed into bed with her and hung on while she promised she would protect him forever. She thought about how she’d brought him food when he’d been cramming to pass classes in medical school. How when she walked into his tiny apartment, he would be so lost in his homework that he would stare at her blankly for a second, then give her the smile she knew so well. She thought of how proud she’d been when he’d graduated from medical school.

He was her brother, and she’d always been there for him. He was her responsibility. They were family, and she loved him more than anyone in the world. She always had. Her gaze settled on the faint scar on his cheek. The reminder that when he’d been only ten years old, he’d risked his life to save her.

“Give me your word you’ll break up with Galaxy,” she murmured.

“You have my word. I’m doing it today.”

She drew in a breath. “Then I won’t say anything.”

He rushed toward her and hugged her tight. “Thank you, Beth. Thank you. I’m sorry for what I did. It was wrong. So wrong. I’ll never do anything like that again. I swear.”

She hugged him back, already regretting her decision. Because although Rick wasn’t a natural born cheater, she wasn’t someone who lied comfortably. She also knew that in some deep, dark place in her soul, she’d made the most expedient decision rather than the moral one. If she kept quiet, Jana stayed her friend and Teddy remained in her life. But at what price? And what would happen if the truth ever came out?

* * *

While Beth had been dreading Teddy’s weeklong health seminar, she had to admit that it couldn’t have come at a better time. His long hours speaking and his drive in from the Valley every day meant they couldn’t see each other, and their daily conversations were limited to quick late-night check-in calls. Althougheven those had been perilous—at least from her end. She was constantly worried that he would hear something in her voice and want to know if she was okay. Answering that would mean lying yet again, because she was about as far from okay as it was possible to be.

She felt awful. Guilty, confused, angry. Yes, Rick had been remorseful and had broken things off with Galaxy. In fact, he’d texted her that it was done the morning after he’d come over. But somehow that wasn’t enough. She was still having trouble reconciling the man she knew with the player who’d been sleeping with two women at the same time. Ignoring the ick factor, when had he learned how to do that? It required a certain confidence, not to mention logistical planning. The brother she knew could barely keep food in his refrigerator.

She remembered Agatha telling her that Rick was far more capable than she was willing to see. Back then she’d brushed off the comment, but now, lying in her bed and waiting for Teddy’s late-night call, she wondered if she should have listened to her aunt.

Her phone rang. In the second before she answered, she pressed a hand to her chest, assessing her own emotions. She was two parts excited and one part racked with guilt about speaking to Teddy.

“Hi,” she said. “How exhausted are you?”

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