Page 99 of Summer Ever After
“I know. She called me right after and ripped me a new one.”
Panic grips my chest. “What did she say?”
“I don’t know. Something about how I can’t be the reason holding you back from falling in love with someone else this summer. Basically, she wants me to leave you alone so you can have a chance with someone else.”
Walker Collins has held me back from falling in love my entire life. Ever since I was in seventh grade, I’ve only had eyes for him. When he moved away from Sunset Harbor, I thought I had put my feelings behind me for good. But the second I saw him, everything came rushing back.
And now that he’s here and I’ve tasted what it’s like to be with him, I’m afraid I’ll never find someone else who makes me feel the way he does.
“What did Capri say to you about the kiss?” he asks.
“That she knows you.”
“You think that would be a plus. I’m her brother,not some serial killer on the street.”
“That’s the problem, Walker. Sheknowsyou.”
“Ouch.”
“I’m not trying to be mean. But we both know our goals are different. I want to fall in love and raise a family. And you want to focus on your golf career.”
“You make me sound shallow.”
“Having a goal and working hard to achieve it isn’t shallow. It’s just different than my goals, and Capri knows that.”
“So if I were ready to settle down, I’d have Capri’s blessing?”
“Are you ready to settle down?” I hold very still, waiting for his answer, until I decide asking that question was a bad idea. Why put Walker on the spot like that? “Never mind. That doesn’t even matter. At the end of the day, you and I are different, and Capri knows that. I promised her that nothing would happen between us, so that’s the end of it.”
“Pretend like I’m not Capri’s brother?—”
“You are.”
“Just pretend like I’m not. Would you have any hesitations about me then?”
My forehead drops into my hand. “You don’t live in Sunset Harbor, Walker.”
“And you’re never leaving that island?”
“I’m never leaving, so why complicate an already complicated situation?”
“Because I like you, Jane, and I can’t stop thinking about you no matter how hard I try.”
My back presses against the wall, and I slowly sink to the ground, hugging my knees to my chest. “I like you too.” My eyes fill with tears.I’ve always liked you.
He laughs, and I hear the smile in his voice. “Then let’s just relax a little, okay? It’s not like we’re planning on getting married. We just like hanging out. I’m sure if we explained that to Capri, she’d be cool with it.”
Therein lies the problem. I can’t justhang outwith Walker. Capri knows me better than anyone else and knows I’d always want more. Her reservations are valid. She’d have to pick up the pieces when Walker leaves.
“I just don’t think something like this is worth going against Capri’s wishes. Especially when we both know it can’t go anywhere.”
“I don’t like that answer.”
I don’t either.
“It is what it is.” I know that statement is a copout and doesn’t solve anything, but it’s all I have. I swipe an unwanted tear from my cheek and stand, infusing my voice with all sorts of peppiness I don’t feel. “So we’re good. Let’s just forget about everything and keep being friends.”
“Friends?”
