Summer Ever After: A Sweet Romantic Comedy

Chapter 34

“So letme get this straight. You were trying to wear Blake Mickelson’s number at the coed softball game?” My laughing eyes watch Jane as she draws circles in the sand beside me.

We’re lying on our stomachs on the beach behind her house. Cut-off shorts and a pastel bikini top are a sight I could look at every day for the rest of my life.

“It’s a total trope.” She laughs. “It’s supposed to bring out the alpha male. “You know,the guy who says, ‘You’re only wearing my jersey.’”

“And I ruined it?”

“Yep.” She nods, still drawing circles.

My eyes rove over her body, admiring the curve of her back and the cute way she crisscrosses her ankles back and forth.

“You actually ruined a lot of tropes for me.”

“Like what?”

“I’m not telling.” Her sheepish smile feels like a ploy, keeping me entranced by her forever.

“Why not?”

“Because if you ever do them again, I don’t want to wonder if you’re being genuine or just acting how you think I want you to act.” Her expression falls as her eyes drop to the sand. “I mean, like, if you do any of them in the next week.”

It’s a topic of conversation we avoid. Each day we spend together puts us one day closer to our last. The ticking time bomb clicks in every single beat of my heart, constantly reminding me of the looming end.

I decide to ask the question that hangs between us. “What’s going to happen with us after next week?”

“What can happen?” She shrugs, keeping her gaze hidden from me. “Both of our lives are set in different places. There’s really no point in pretending otherwise.”

Even though I know what she says is true, it still hurts. I still want things to be different.

“So it’s back to business as usual?” My fingers sift through the sand.

“Yep, especially for you. You have the British Open to think about.”

“If all goes well at that tournament, I’ll finish out the PGA Tour the rest of the summer.”

“You’re going to do great.” Sincerity fills her smile. “You’re ready.”

“How do you know? I taught you everything you know about golf…yesterday.”

“I’ve been listening this past month, and from what I’ve heard you say, it sounds like your golf game is more about the state of mind you’re in than your skill set.”

I shift my body from my stomach to my side, resting my head in my hand. “And you think I’m in a good state of mind?”

“I do.” She eyes me. “I’ve seen the progress you’ve made with your family. When you first got here, you could barely carry on a conversation with them, and now look at you. You’re winning the best uncle award for sure. And it’s not just with Jack and Serenity. You’re opening up to Tala and Capri too. Your relationship with them is only going to get better with time.”

“Unless Capri disowns me for sneaking around with her best friend against her wishes.”

Jane grimaces. “Let’s pretend she won’t.”

“I do feel like I’m in a better headspace than when I first came to Sunset Harbor.”

“See?” She smiles with pride. “I told you fixing the cracks in your family relationships would help.”

“But is it enough to solve golf gut?” I scoop up a pile of sand and funnel it through my fist like an hourglass, dropping it onto Jane’s back.

“I think so.” She glances over her shoulder at the sand pile I’m making on her body. “You needed to heal what was broken when your dad died.”

“I always thought that hanging around my family would make his death more painful, but it’s been the opposite. Remembering him with my sisters eases the pain a lot.”

“I’m glad it’s helping.”

“And what about you?” I cup another fistful of sand, ready to pour it over her skin.

She flashes an impish grin. “What about me?”

“You helped me with golf gut, but I didn’t help you with the Summer of Jane Hayes.”

“Summer’s not over. There’s still time to fall in love.” Her smile goes from impish to cocky. “I wouldn’t count me out just yet.”

Thinking about Jane falling in love with someone else makes me sick.

“So you’re going to keep doing the whole dating thing?”

“Why not?” She shrugs. “I’m having a pretty good time with you, aren’t I?”

My brows rise, and I puff out a laugh. “Is that what I am to you? A pretty good time?”

“It’s better than a bad time, isn’t it?”

“Well, if I’m such a good time, ditch the book club tonight and stay with me.”

“I need to be there for Capri. We read Secret Crush this month.”

“I can’t believe I didn’t know the truth about Capri and that book. When I saw you with it in town, I never would’ve thought my sister wrote it.”

Her lips pucker. “It’s been the biggest secret of Capri’s life.”

“Did you know she was going to tell me about it at dinner last night?”

“Nope. That was news to me.”

“It’s weird because I saw the book at Tala’s house and took it home to read it because you said it was your favorite. I thought it was a little over the top and cheesy. But I liked it, and now I know why.”

Jane sits up, staring at me with an open mouth. “You read Secret Crush?”

“Is that a problem?”

“Oh my gosh.” She swings her legs around, tucking them under her butt. “That’s another trope.”

“What is?”

“Reading the woman’s favorite romance book.”

“Seriously? I think you’re just making tropes up to go along with everything now.”

“No, it really is.” She laughs. “And it’s also crazy that you read that book because…” Her words stall as she crinkles her nose.

“Because what?”

“Okay, this is super embarrassing, but when we were younger, I had a massive secret crush on you.” She cringes, waiting for my response.

“I know.”

“No, you didn’t. I never once acted like I liked you.”

“I still know.”

“How?” Her mouth falls open. “I never told anyone. Not even Capri.”

“You told me.” Smugness rolls off my smile. “When you got your wisdom teeth out.”

“No, I didn’t!” She pushes my chest, causing me to fall to my back.

“You did.” I sit up again. “I believe the words you said were, ‘I’ve loved you my whole life.’”

“No!” She hunches over, burying her face in her hands.

“I thought it was cute.” I pull on her shoulders, trying to get her to straighten.

“I’m so embarrassed.” Her words are muffled.

“I liked you, too, back then.”

That statement jolts her upright all the way to her feet. “You did not. Don’t lie!”

“I’m not lying. I just never could get anywhere with you. I thought you weren’t interested.”

“I was good at hiding it, wasn’t I?”

“Really good, actually.”

“I had the same problem back then that I do now.” Her shoulders drop. “I didn’t want to hurt Capri by liking you.”

“You’re a good friend. Capri is lucky to have you.”

“No!” She marches back and forth in front of me. “Right now, I’m a terrible friend because I’m sneaking around with her brother behind her back.”

“We could sneak around in public if that makes you feel any better.”

“Are you crazy?” She stops pacing and faces me. “We can’t be seen together.”

I tip my smile to her, leaning back on my hands. “I think it would be nice to go out on a date with you. Maybe I could hold your hand, open your door.”

“Golf carts don’t have doors.”

I smile. “You know what I mean.”

“You could take me on a date, and people would just think it’s part of my summer plans.” She saunters over to me, straddling my legs when she sits. Her arms link around my neck as she rewards me with a sultry smile. “But you couldn’t touch me, and I don’t trust you to keep your hands to yourself.”

“I don’t trust myself either.” I lean in, dropping a kiss on her mouth.

Her lips peel back, but I want more. I always want more when it comes to Jane. I sit up, hands gripping her hips. A thrill of desire floods through my chest as her fingers weave deeper into my hair. I tilt our mouths, intentionally upping the passion. My thumbs slowly track back and forth over the soft skin above the waistband of her shorts. I feel her ribs expand and contract with each touch.

The warmth of her skin feels electric. I shift my position, splaying my fingers against her bare back, and turn her body over so she’s lying under me.

“Don’t go to book club tonight,” I say in between kisses.

“You know I have to.” She lifts her chin, making my mouth chase after hers. “You’ll be fine. You don’t even need me.”

That might’ve been true a month ago, or even two weeks ago, but at this moment, I’ve never needed anything more.

I’ve always been good at playing games with women—strategically saying whatever they needed to hear to fit into my agenda, keeping them an arm’s length away so they’d never know the real me.

But with Jane, everything is different.

All my walls are down.

She’s the one person I’ve let see the real me.

How can I let that go?