Page 18 of Sweet Caroline
“Uh, it’s calledThe Wash,” Jude says as I open the link. “It says:Airing the dirty laundry of Washington state elite.” His sigh whooshes static through the phone. “Who reads this shit, man?”
Jude’s one to talk; he reads landscaping blogs.
The site finally loads and my stomach drops when I see the photo of me outside the gym yesterday. With Caroline.
“Who the fuck took this?” I wonder out loud, zooming in. More importantly, why?
I quickly zoom out and scroll down, my eyes tripping a scattered path through the article.
Caroline Brennan, daughter of… Pete Brennan?Jesus.Engagement called off…
What the fuck is going on?
My mind races to make sense of this. The thought of a paparazzo type lurking around town is laughable. Nothing ever happens in Lennox. Definitely nothing that would qualify as celebrity gossip. That’s part of the reason I moved home. It’s slow here. I need slow.
“Alright, out with it,” Jude says.
I roll my eyes.
My older brother has a bad case of BDE: Big Dad Energy. Though I guess he comes by it honestly, having basically stepped into the role after our parents died eleven years ago. “What’s the deal?”
“Okay, look, I met her at the gym. There was this asshole talking to her and— Y’know what? It doesn’t matter.” I balance my phone on my thigh and start the truck, too hungry to go down this particular rabbit hole right now. “Anyway, I walked her outside and helped her with her bag. That’s it. Haven’t seen her since. Some creep obviously snapped a photo of us.”
“Miles, how the hell do you, of all people, get tied up in a scandal with the daughter of some blowhard politician?”
“Scandal?” I echo through a skeptical chuckle. “Fuck off.”
But also…shit.So much for trying to keep my head down here. I pull out into the street and head for home. “It was, like, a five-minute conversation. And I had no idea her dad was a senator.”
Pete Brennan. Of all fucking people.
It does explain the rich-girl vibe I got at the gym, though. She probablyisrich. Elite, like the blog title said. In other words, nothing at all like me. I exhale, already kicking myself for the way the thought deflates me. Disappointment is pointless; she might be way out of my league, but I’m not even playing ball.
“It says she was engaged or something?”
“I guess? Maybe?” I catch my shoulders creeping up to my ears and consciously lower them, shifting in my seat. “I don’t know anything about her.”
“She’s pretty!” Olena calls out in the background, audibly enjoying the whole situation. “Did you get her number?”
“No,” I say, but I can’t help but admit it: she’s not wrong. Carolineisgorgeous. Those long, toned legs… those perfect tits—on the small side, the way I like them. There’s a reason I couldn’t stop staring at her Tuesday morning—why I skipped showering before work so I could spend every last second with her. “Still not dating anyone. Not until I get my one-year chip, at least. Tell Olena to cool it.”
“Alright,” Jude says with an amused-sounding sigh. “I think I’ll find some way to distract her.”
Olena lets out a delighted shriek and I grimace. Ever since they got engaged, they’re all over each other.
“Gross. Can you two please save your weird sex stuff for after you hang up?”
“Fucking relax, would you? I don’t want you on the phone for that, either.” There’s a shuffling sound like he’s sitting down on the couch. “Hey, I was gonna ask if you wanted to plan anything for your one year.”
“Aw, c’mon, man. Don’t jinx it. It’s like two months away.”
“Not trying to jinx it, Miles. You’re getting there, though. It’s an idea, anyway. Sober for a whole year is a huge milestone. So we should, y’know… celebrate.”
“Celebrate?” I frown, turning onto my street. Jude suggesting a party is not exactly his style. “Did Olena put you up to this? Or Nat?”
That, or my brother really does think this is a pretty big deal. And… fair enough. He’s probably the one who deserves a party—for keeping me alive for over a decade while I put us both through hell with my drinking.
“Uh, there might have been a nudge,” Jude admits. “But they’re right. We gotta do something.”
