Page 49 of Must Have Been Love

“Let’s get one thing straight,” he murmurs. “You don’t owe me anything. You don’t owe me sex, you don’t owe me a drink, you don’t even owe me a date. But I’d very much like to come over and spend some time getting to know you tomorrow.”

I can feel the tenseness relaxing in his muscles as he holds me. And for some reason that makes me feel stupidly soft inside.

“I’d like to see you too,” I whisper.

“Good,” he says. “Now have a good evening. Try not to let my sister get too drunk, and I’ll see you tomorrow.” He kisses my brow and it sends my fireworks into overdrive, before he releases his hold on me and walks down the veranda to his sports car.

I watch until he’s sitting inside of it, then he gestures at me to go inside, shaking his head because I’m so obviously shivering again.

And of course, he doesn’t start his engine until I do exactly as I’m told.

By the time I walk back into the bar, it seems like girls’ night is already in full swing. The Jukebox has moved on from Stevie Wonder to Hotel California, and Jesse is singing along with Don Henley, using his beer bottle as a microphone, while Autumn is pouring out what I hope is only their second cocktail.

“How long was I gone?” I ask. Though I completely suspect that Autumn and Francie had a few drinks before they even arrived. They’re super giggly right now.

“Too long. You’re playing catch up. What’s your poison?” Autumn asks me, holding up an empty cocktail glass.

“Actually, I think I’ll just go for a beer,” I say. The cocktails look far too dangerous. She pops the lid from a bottle of Bud and passes it to me. I take a sip and grin at her. “You seem awfully at home behind the bar.”

“I grew up pouring drinks for my dad and his gambling buddies.” She shrugs. Then she passes Francie another cocktail and holds up her glass. “A toast. To new friends.”

I feel my heart clench. If I’m not careful my eyes are going to go misty. “To new friends,” I repeat, clinking my bottle against hers and Francie’s glasses, followed by Jesse’s bottle, which he’s stopped using as a mic for a second.

“What did Hudson have to say?” Autumn asks me. “He wasn’t giving you a hard time was he?”

I shake my head quickly. The last person I want to talk about right now is Hudson. I’ve never been great at hiding things, and I certainly don’t want her to know that we have a… whatever it is… planned for tomorrow. “He’s fine. Grumpy, but fine.”

She laughs. “He’s been in a bad mood ever since he got back to the island.” She wrinkles her nose. “In fact all my brothers have.” She looks over at Francie. “What did Asher say to you earlier?”

Francie blinks, like she’s been caught in the headlights. “What?”

“I saw him say something to you then storm off. I meant to ask you earlier.” Autumn lets out a breath. “Brothers can be such assholes,” she murmurs. “I swear they don’t want me to have any friends.”

“That’s because you keep stealing theirs,” Jesse says, grinning.

“I didn’t steal Parker,” Autumn protests. “He came willingly.”

“In more ways than one,” Francie quips, making me giggle.

“Stop changing the subject. What did he say?” Autumn has Francie in her sights now. And I actually feel sorry for her. I get the feeling it’s hard to hide anything from Hudson’s sister. But whatever is going on between Francie and Asher, she clearly wants to keep it quiet.

“He was just annoyed at the fact we were going out tonight, I think, when he’s leaving for the mainland tomorrow.” Francie shrugs. “Anyway, let’s ignore him. You’re right, brothers are idiots.”

“You should know.” Autumn grins. “Did you know Francie has six brothers?” she asks me. “I thought I had it bad with four until I met her.”

“Six?” My eyes widen. “Where do you come in that birth order?”

“Last. By far.” Francie wrinkles her nose then takes another large mouthful of cocktail. “Believe me, it wasn’t fun.”

“Remember your eighteenth birthday party?” Autumn asks, clearly enjoying herself now. “How they tried to stop you from kissing anybody?”

“I remember.” Francie lets out a sigh. “Let’s face it, they haven’t stopped trying since.”

“You’re making me glad I only have one sister,” I say, taking a sip of my beer. For a second there’s silence, then Autumn lets out a little noise.

“Let’s stop talking about our families,” Jesse suggests. “How about we play a drinking game instead?”

Autumn’s face lights up, and she claps her hands together. “Never have I ever!” she suggests. “That’s my favorite.”

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