Page 62 of Summer Ever After
Exasperation puffs over her pretty lips. “The reason I have a list of romance tropes and single men on the island is because I’m trying to fall in love this summer. That’s the Summer of Jane Hayes.”
A small smile develops on my mouth. So many things make sense now.
“Happy? You found out my big secret.” She squirms in my arm, trying to free herself, but I’m not done with her just yet.
I feign a frown as I look over the list of men once more. “What I want to know is why my name isn’t on here.” I shift my gaze to her, feeling her chest rise and fall against my arm. “I’m single, aren’t I?”
“Because you don’t live in Sunset Harbor.” She bumps her hip into mine, momentarily creating space between our two bodies until I pull her back to my chest. For the first time in this position, I’m keenly aware of how warm her bare skin feels against mine.
“And if I did live here?”
Her brown eyes narrow, and her chin lifts. “You still wouldn’t be on the list.”
I love Jane’s defiance, especially how it puts her lips closer. Everything that was fun and playful about our keep-away game has shifted to hot and electric. My heart pounds, and something exciting stirs inside.
“Why not?” My voice is breathy, a consequence of her closeness.
“Because you’re like a brother to me.”
“Are you sure about that?” My eyes dart to her lips, and the slight way her tongue barely brushes over the top, moistening them.
“Jane?”
We snap our heads to the back door where Capri stands.
There’s a look of disappointment on her face as she darts her eyes back and forth between us, making me feel like I’ve been caught doing something wrong.
“What are you guys doing?” The hurt in Capri’s eyes doesn’t soften.
Jane pushes away from me, and I let her go. She grabs the papers out of my hands and rushes toward Capri.
“Your stupid brother stole my lists and wouldn’t give them back. I had to wrestle him for them.”
Capri’s gaze shoots to me, then back to Jane. The furrow in her brow lessens. “Oh. I was wondering what you guys were doing. The whole thing looked strange.”
“Well, the cat’s out of the bag!” Jane throws her arms up in the air. “Now everyone knows about the Summer of Jane.”
“Not everyone.” Capri shakes her head. “It’s just Walker.”
“Yeah.” I nod. “I was just messing around.”
Capri opens the door, escaping inside the house. Jane follows but not before she glances over her shoulder, meeting my gaze.
And I don’t like the panic in her expression.
Jane
Summer Before Tenth Grade
Dear Diary,
Today was such a crazy day. I went to the beach with Capri and her family. Walker was really flirty—like touchy-flirty. At one point, we were all playing keep-away in the water with a football, and Walker was in the middle. He was ALL OVER me, trying to get the ball. And when it was my turn to be in the middle, I did the same thing, trying to get the ball from him. It was incredible until it was terrible. Capri was so bugged at us. I’ll never forget the look of hurt in her eyes. She went quiet for the next hour. I finally got her to admit that she felt like the third wheel with me and Walker. I hate myself for making her feel that way. I know Walker is a sensitive subject for her, and I completely disregarded her feelings. I apologized over and over. Luckily, things are fine now. It was just a brief lapse in judgment. Never to be repeated again.
And it’s not like I think Walker likes me or anything like that. To him, I’m just Capri’s friend, and I’m sure that will never change. Plus, he kissed Cat Keene last weekend. Technically, I think someone dared Cat to kiss him, and I heard it was just a peck, but still.
Walker is not kissing me on the weekends.
Jane
