Page 74 of Beach Vibes

Jana stared at him in confusion. “Because they’re dating.”

“Teddy and Beth?” He stared at her, obviously clueless about their status. “What are you talking about? They’re not dating. They can’t be.”

Now it was her turn to not know what was going on. “She didn’t tell you? They’ve been going out for a few weeks now.”

He rose and crossed to the window. His shoulders were tense, and a knot of worry formed in her stomach.

How could he not have known? Beth had mentioned she hadn’t talked to him in a while, but surely she would have mentioned the new man in her life. Although looking at Rick now, she would guess Beth hadn’t mentioned anything.

“Rick?”

His body relaxed, and he turned to face her, then walked back to the sofa.

“Sorry,” he said, then shrugged. “I’ve been so busy with work, Beth and I haven’t talked much. Or I guess at all.” He looked away, then back at her. “I was, ah, I was hurt that she hadn’t said anything. I didn’t think she’d seen anyone since Ian, so this is a big deal, right?”

Her heart melted. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“It’s okay. We’re both busy. And it’s not like I told her about dating you right away.” He reached for his plate. “Teddy, huh? I didn’t see that coming.”

“You remember when they met, right? At his place when you two came over?”

He nodded. “I figured that was it. I didn’t notice anything between them.” He gave a self-deprecating smile. “Not that I would see that sort of thing.” He looked at her. “So we’ll have a big family barbecue. I finally get to meet Linnie. I can’t wait, Jana.”

“I’m excited, too.”

* * *

About four in the afternoon, Rick walked into Surf Sandwiches. Beth was helping out with the post–high school rush.She started to smile at her brother only to realize from his stark expression that something was seriously wrong.

She immediately stripped off her gloves and motioned for him to follow her into the break room, where she closed the door before asking, “What’s going on? Are you okay?”

He glared at her. “What the hell, Beth? You’re dating Jana’s brother?”

The words were so unexpected, she had to take a second for them to sink in. Once they did, she didn’t understand his attitude any more than she had before.

“We’ve been going out for a few weeks now. Are you upset about that?”

“Upset?” He offered a cold laugh. “Pissed is more like it. You didn’t think to say anything?”

“We haven’t talked. You’ve been busy with work. I don’t understand. Why are you mad? You’ve never cared about who I dated before.”

“You don’t date,” he said, his voice loud. “And it’s Jana’s brother. That’s information I should have.”

“Why? How does my dating Teddy affect you? Rick, what’s going on? You’re acting strange. Who I go out with shouldn’t matter to you.”

He turned away. “It does this time, and a little advanced notice would have been helpful. I still don’t know how it happened.”

“Us dating? He asked me out.”

He spun back to her. “Why? What did you do?”

Nowshewas starting to get annoyed. “Thanks for the compliment. You were there when we met. We talked, we liked each other and he asked me out.”

“Just like that? There’s nothing else going on?”

She threw up her hands. “What else would there be? Are you asking if I drugged him with a love potion because there’s no other way he’d want to date me? I mean it, Rick. What’s wrong with you?”

Her brother ignored the question. “You can’t keep seeing him. I’m with Jana. We were together first. You have no right to do this.”

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