Page 60 of Summer Refresh

“Because you have that grumpy tone in your voice.”

“I do not.” Did he?

“Oh, yes, you do. Trust me. I know all about that tone. I heard it all of the time when you would watch me, Jack, and Owen while Mom and Dad went to the store. So what gives?”

A smile pulled at the corners of Kent’s mouth. Leave it to a sibling to know him so well and remind him of times he’d otherwise forgotten. “I’m just going to say that you three were always into something.”

“Uh-huh. But we’re not talking about me. We’re discussing you. I heard you had an interview. Didn’t it go well?”

Why wasn’t he surprised his brother would know about his interview? It seemed as though there were no secrets in Bluestar. “For your information, it was technically three interviews for two different companies.”

“Well, that sounds positive. Was it?”

Kent nodded but when he realized his brother couldn’t see him, he said, “Yes. I just had a second interview this afternoon.”

“And?”

“And I got the job.” He went on to tell him some of the details of the position.

“That’s awesome! Congrats!” After a moment of silence, Liam said, “Congratulations are in order, aren’t they?”

Kent found himself heading toward the beach. He was relieved this conversation was taking place over the phone instead of in person so his brother couldn’t read his facial expressions. Liam already read too much into his words.

“That’s just it. I don’t know.” Kent sighed as he stared at the moon. “I thought I knew what I wanted, and then Sara happened into my life, and now I don’t know what I want.”

Liam let out a laugh.

Kent’s body tensed. “This isn’t funny.”

“Yes, it is. My big brother is in love, and you don’t even know it.”

“I am not.” The denial was quick and short.

“You do realize I don’t believe you, right?”

Kent inwardly groaned. Why did he think talking to his brother was a good idea? He should have just gone home and kept this all to himself.

Liam subdued his amusement. “Kent, relax. So what’s the problem? Doesn’t she feel the same way?”

“I… I don’t know. But it doesn’t matter because if I take the job, I’ll be in Connecticut, and she’ll be here on the island.”

“Then don’t take the job.”

“And then I’ll be stuck in the office of the furniture store with absolutely no say in the business. It’s the reason I started searching for a new job.”

Liam was quiet for a moment. “So that’s the problem. You’re stuck choosing between the new job and the new lady in your life.”

It was as though Liam had finally shined a light on the exact problem. “Yes. And I have absolutely no idea what to do about it.”

“I wish I could give you some sort of advice, but I don’t have any to give you. I’ve already made a mess of my own marriage.”

Liam and his high school sweetheart had gotten married after a long engagement. They seemed so happy at first. And then things unraveled as they sometimes do. Now they were divorced with shared custody of their son.

Kent wrapped up the phone call, not sure if it had helped him with his problem or not. Because he knew if he went to Connecticut, he would always wonder what would have happened if he had stayed here on the island with Sara. And if he stayed here, he would be sentencing himself to more years of the exact same thing at work with no chance to expand the business because his parents were opposed to anything that represented a change.

So what was he to do? He didn’t have the answer, but he had until Monday to give his potential employer an answer to their job offer.

Her world had imploded.

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