Page 46 of Two Is Better Than One

"Did you guys see this whole table thing out there?" Allie asked Casey. "That's such a weird mistake for somebody to make."

He pretended to be fooled. "I know," he said, nodding his head. "But I'm thankful. The food was delicious. We enjoyed that."

"They delivered you guys food?" Allie asked, sounding shocked.

"Yes, steak, and it was delicious. I probably need to pay somebody back." He glanced at Allie, and it was so much like looking at Summer. It almost pained him to see her. "If you find out who that dinner was meant for, let me know and I'll pay them back."

"No, I think it's, when it's a mistake like that, it's… covered by… insurance, or something. It's fine. They told me."

"Okay, well, I'm going to go ahead and go home. Thank you for everything. It was nice seeing all of you."

"My stuff is at Uncle Max's," AJ said.

Casey nodded. "You can come by the apartment, if you want, since it's my last night in town."

"Yeah," AJ nodded. "I'll stop by Uncle Max's to get my stuff and then I'll be there in a little while. I'll call when I'm on my way to see if you want me to stop and get some food, a midnight snack."

Casey touched his stomach and shook his head a little. "Oh, no, I'm still full from earlier. We had a lot of food tonight. There's still some in the fridge if y'all want some of it."

He told them goodnight and went on his way.

Casey went through the motions.

He went home, and AJ eventually got there. They were both night owls, and they went for a walk. Casey would go straight to Arkansas this summer when he was done in London, and by that time, AJ's visit in Miami would be over. They would meet up at the lake house in July. Casey would go home to Miami and AJ would leave for Chicago afterward.

It was late, and Casey would be leaving in the morning, so it was the 'goodbye' section of their speech where they said a few sentimental things and checked in with each other about future plans. Casey hadn't been upset about getting injured, but his life felt changed as a result of it. He felt close to AJ. He wouldn't have been able to spend so much time with his cousin if he would've been working.

He was also forever changed by meeting Summer Stockton. He honestly thought he would never meet a girl who made him think about giving up everything. He thought he loved his life and didn't want it to change at all, but now he was faced with knowing that a different life was possible—maybe a better one.

"Were you?"

"Was I what?" Casey asked.

"Did you not hear the whole question?" AJ asked.

"I'm sorry, I was thinking about something else," Casey said. "What'd you say?"

"I said some other things, but basically I was asking, were you fond of Summer?"

"Summer Stockton?" Casey asked.

"Yeah," AJ said stiffly since it was obvious. "Did you like her?"

"Of course I liked her. Who wouldn't like her? She's got fans all over the world. I have no idea why her sister would spend all that money to get that stuff brought up to the suite for us, though. It's cute to think she would want to set me and Summer up, but we just can't. Neither of us can do that with our jobs. She has a publicist who forbids her from having a relationship."

"Well, last I checked, Summer pays her publicist. That person can't tell her what she can—" AJ stopped himself. "It doesn't matter. I get it. You have to leave for work."

They walked straight off of the beach, across the street, and toward Casey's apartment building. They had been silent for a minute, but then Casey glanced at AJ and casually said. "Do you like Allie?"

"Yes."

"Whoa."

"What?" AJ asked.

Casey shrugged. "You were quick with that."

"Well, I knew the answer. I like her very much."

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