Page 1 of Only Ever Yours
Prologue
Seven Years Ago
I hate the way he looks at her.
I hate the way he takes every opportunity to be near her. Like tonight, squashing in next to her around the campfire.
I hate how he leans over and whispers something into her ear that makes her giggle.
Fuck, how I love the sound of her giggle, though.
“Jase, do you want another beer?” A cold can was tossed into my lap without me giving an answer, dragging my attention back to the present.
“Thanks, mate.” I grinned at Finn, my best friend, and popped the can open.
We’d had the most glorious week staying at a huge house near the beach in Princelake, owned by the grandparents of our friends Barney and Liam. It was the precursor to going back to college after the summer break, as well as a chance to celebrate Finn’s twenty-first birthday a few weeks early. There were eight of us in total: me, Finn, Barney, Liam, Neil, Chris, Finn’s little sister, Hollis, and her friend, Kirsty. We’d made the most of being away from our parentsand having the holiday we wanted, sleeping late, getting drunk, having adventures and barbeques on the beach, and generally enjoying ourselves. No responsibilities, no deadlines, no pressure.
Except, during the week, I’d watched Neil getting cosy with Hollis on more than one occasion. The more the week had worn on, the more I’d noticed how I wasn’t okay with it. Somehow, he’d always managed to nab the seat next to her at meals or laid his towel down right by her when we’d been sunbathing and swimming. A couple of years younger than Finn and me, Hollis should have been the annoying little sister I’d never had. But she was far from being that, and I was starting to see her in a different way.
“I can’t believe it’s our last night.” Liam sighed and blew a smoke ring in the air, watching it disperse and evaporate. “I don’t want to go home.”
“Me neither.” Hollis nodded in agreement. “This week has been bliss. I’ve almost forgotten about all the essays that are due on my first day back at uni.”
Finn wagged a finger at her. “You told me you’d finished them. It’s the only reason you were allowed to come.”
“Sucker.” She poked her tongue out at him, and instantly, Neil was at her side, murmuring something to her that none of the rest of us could hear, his fingers brushing over her bare thigh, lingering a little too long for my liking. Her giggle sounded again, cheeks reddening at whatever he’d just said.
The sun started to dip down, signalling the end of our last evening.
“Come on, who’s up for one last swim before we have to go home?” Barney laughed as he stripped off his shirt and started running towards the water.
Finn, Liam, Chris, and Kirsty followed, laughing andscreaming as they hit the waves, splashing water at each other. I glanced over at Hollis and Neil.
She shook her head, taking a sideways look at Neil. “I think I’m going to stay here.”
Neil slung an arm around her shoulder. “I’ll sit with you. Wouldn’t want you getting lonely.”
I bit my tongue, wanting to say,she doesn’t need you; I can stay.But I stayed silent. It wasn’t my place to interfere, no matter how much I wanted to. Reluctantly, I pulled off my T-shirt and tossed it onto my towel, heading down to the shore to join the others.
The week’s weather had been unbelievable: beautiful sunshine, rarely a cloud in the sky, and a lot of hot, hot heat. But as we messed around in the sea, the sky began to darken, and threatening clouds emerged. Less than a minute later, a total deluge of rain lashed down, sending us scampering back to grab our stuff before it got too wet.
As we got closer to Hollis and Neil, I saw they were standing, his hands resting on her shoulders, her face upturned. We weren’t close enough to hear what they were saying, but Neil shook his head, mouthing something I couldn’t make out. Hollis stood on her tiptoes andtried to kiss him,but he gently pushed her away. She hesitated for a moment, then swiped a hand across her face and ran off.
What the fuck?
We reached him, and I watched as he shook his head and laughed.
Finn frowned. “What’s going on? Why did Hollis try to kiss you, and why did she run away?”
Neil puffed out his chest. “Seems your sister has a littlecrushon me. Asked me if I wanted her to be my girlfriend.”
“How did you answer that?”
“How do you think? Come on, she’s just a kid. Why would I be interested in her?”
“You’ve spent a lot of this week looking like you’re interested in her.” I squared up to him. “You’ve barely let her out of your sight.”
He tilted his head, a sneer crossing his face. “And you noticed that? Sure you aren’t the one who has a thing for Finn’s little sister?”
