Chapter 1
Three Years Later
Halloran Island was situated off South Carolina’s southern coast, accessible only by boat, and considered the Martha’s Vineyard of the South.
And out of the five small towns that made it up, two were known for their nightlife: Bayport Cove and Burchester.
And in Bayport, there was no better nightclub than Agora.
It was the spot I could always count on for a good time and finding a fling. I needed the latter now more than ever. I’d been in one hell of a slump lately, and the girl I had my eye on to potentially have some fun with…well, a little thing called bro-code got in the way of that.
So, here I was, sitting inside Agora on a Friday night, mid-conversation with a girl I’d met a few months back that I’d hit up earlier to meet for drinks.
“So…you’re telling me your dad married a twenty-year-old? I don’t see a problem with that.” I smirked. “I say good for him.”
“The problem is that she’s twenty…I’m twenty-six. And I don’t know how I feel about him marrying someone younger than his own daughter. It’s weird.”
I could see why it might be a little weird for her. “Well, does she have a dad? Because you could always fight some fire with fire.”
She offered a confused laugh. “Why would I do that when I’m with you?”
My eyes widened, and I waved my hand. “Whoa, whoa, pump the brakes there, Tiffany. We’re just having some drinks. You’re not with me. So, if you wanna take a shot at your new stepmom and fuck her hypothetical dad, go for it. I’ll be cheering you on.” I held up my fist and shook it.
Her brow arched. “That wouldn’t make you jealous?”
“No,” I answered with a scoff. “I’m not the jealous type. Never have been.”
It was the truth.
I’d never been interested in relationships, and not because I had some tragic love story in my past that left me brokenhearted.
I simply didn’t get the appeal of being exclusive and all of the drama and baggage that came with feelings and commitment.
That didn’t mean I was against dating, per se.
I didn’t mind wining and dining a woman, but any dates were made with the understanding that it was casual and wouldn’t be anything serious.
I’d never had a serious relationship by choice, and at twenty-eight, I still wasn’t looking to have one. So, I’d never been the jealous type because, one, I had nothing to be jealous of, and two, that would make me a hypocrite. And I hated hypocrites.
It’s why the girl I had my eye on would have been perfect. When we first met, it was obvious she had no desire for a relationship. She was laid back, easy to talk to, had a good sense of humor, and she was gorgeous.
Sure, she happened to be a client of mine at the firm, but in my defense, I didn’t know she was a client when we first met—she showed up at my office a few days after our broken-down car meet-cute, and I was the lawyer handling her mom’s probate.
That put a wrench in my plans for the time being, but what took it completely off the table was the fact that she turned out to be my best friend’s long-lost love… or some shit like that.
Ever the good and loyal friend I am, I had no intention of pursuing anything outside of friendship with Callie Bennett once I learned the truth. Plus, they seemed to have an awful lot of shit to work out—and that was just one example of the drama and baggage I wanted no fucking part of.
“Seriously?” Tiffany said, seemingly annoyed.
“We’ve hung out a few times here and there, and it’s been great, Wes.
More than great.” I flashed a smirk at that.
“But I’ll be honest, I’m kind of in the market for something more serious or, at the least, something I know is going to go somewhere eventually. ”
I sighed. There went my Friday night down the drain.
“And I’ll be honest…if that’s what you’re looking for, I’m not your guy, Tiff.
” She scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Look, I’m not going to placate you with words I know you want to hear just to get you into bed.
I’m not that guy, either. I’m just trying to be straightforward with you.
Yeah, we’ve had fun together, but if something serious is what you’re looking for, you’re not going to find it with me. ”
“Wes, I think you need to grow up a little bit.”
My brow furrowed. “When we first met a few months back, you weren’t looking for anything serious or long-term either, so you said. So, it wasn’t a problem then, but now that you’ve seemed to change your mind, I’m the bad guy and need to grow up because I don’t feel the same? Make that make sense…”
Her jaw tensed, and she downed the rest of her drink and set the glass down with a little more force than necessary before grabbing her purse. “Lose my number, asshole.”
My brows rose as I watched her get up and walk away. “What the fuck just happened?”
Had I lied and told her what she wanted to hear, I would have been an asshole.
That was something the old me would have done.
I used to not care how I got it as long as I got it, and if that meant leading someone on, then so be it.
However, I’d matured quite a bit over the years and realized that I got absolutely no enjoyment in toying with a woman’s feelings and hurting them for my own pleasure.
It made things more fun, less messy, and less complicated when I knew we were on the same page.
That’s why I was upfront and honest just now with Tiffany, but I was still an asshole.
Damned if I do, damned if I don’t.
I shook my head, tossing back the rest of my drink.
“Hey…”
I glanced up when I heard the familiar voice and grinned when I saw Lucas. “Hey, man,” I shook his hand before he sat down.
“I thought I’d find you here.”
“And I thought you’d be holed up inside your house with your favorite container of ice cream, watching sappy romance movies while crying in the dark.”
He cracked a small smile. “You’re such a dick.”
“But you love me.” He stopped a passing waitress and ordered a drink. “But really…how are things? Have you talked to Callie yet?”
“No.” He sighed, shaking his head. “I plan to. I’m just…trying to figure out how to go about it. I’ve spent the last couple of days trying to work on getting Morgan to have mercy on me and maybe help me out. To say that’s not going well would be an understatement…”
“Yeah, good fucking luck with that. That would require her having a heart, and, well”—I shrugged—“demons don’t have those.”
That was another kicker with the whole Callie situation.
Not only did she have a past with Lucas, but of course, out of every damn person in Bayport Cove, Morgan Hayes happened to be her very best friend in the whole wide world.
But she was still cool in my eyes, even if she had questionable friend choices.
And I knew it pissed Morgan off that Callie and I were friendly, which made me want to be friends with her even more.
If there was one thing I found enjoyment and satisfaction in, it was pissing Morgan off without even having to try.
“Listen, you can’t rely on someone like Morgan to help you with this.”
“I’m not banking on her help. I plan to talk to Callie either way. I just know that having Morgan on my side could make things a hell of a lot easier.”
“Again, good luck with that. You have a better chance of hell freezing over before that happens. And if hell does ever freeze over, it’s because Morgan—Satan herself—is dead.”
Lucas chuckled. “She’s really not that bad, Wes.”
“How can you even say that? She’s treated you like shit for the last three years, is refusing to help you with Callie, and you’re really going to sit there and say she’s ‘not that bad’?”
“Was she cold a lot of the time? Yes. But I wouldn’t say she treated me like shit. And at least now I know why she’s always given me a bit of the cold shoulder, which is the same reason she won’t hear me out now. She’s just being loyal to Callie. I can’t fault her for that.”
“The fuck you can’t. Stop being so goddamn nice.”
He snorted. “This is why I need Blake around. He’s more level-headed.”
I pressed my hand to my chest, feigning offense. “I reject that notion. I’m extremely level-headed.”
“Not when it comes to Morgan.”
He had me there. As much as I loved pissing her off without trying, she could do the very same to me. I didn’t know what it was about her, but I’d never met anyone in my life who got under my skin the way she did. She irritated the living hell out of me.
“I almost went to Bravo Lounge tonight,” Lucas said.
“Why?”
“Because I was talking to Gabe on the ferry, and he told me Morgan was headed there tonight, but then he said it was for a date. I’m not going to crash her date over this whole thing with Callie because if I cockblock her, she definitely won’t want to help me.”
I scoffed through a laugh. “You’d probably be doing the poor guy she’s with a favor.”
“No. I’ll let her get hers. At least one of us should have an enjoyable Friday night.”