Chapter 16 Enemies to Frenemies
Chapter 16
enemies to frenemies
Overtly aware of Wes in bed— her bed—on the other side of the door, she opted for a cold shower, which did nothing to ease her problem. With a quick rinse and dry, she pulled her hair in a high ponytail, threw on her running outfit, and released a sigh of relief when she opened the door of the bathroom to find the room empty.
Grabbing her running shoes, she went into the kitchen, where the family was gathered around the table. Upon her entrance the room went silent, and every eyeball turned her way.
As the silence grew, dual chimes from the RoChance app on their phones signaled that there was a soulmate in the surrounding area. She felt Wes’s grin zero in on her.
“Good morning,” she said with the sunniest smile, meeting everyone’s gaze except for one. “How did everyone sleep?”
“Like a baby,” Wes said. “Dreamt all night and straight through the morning. Care to know what I dreamt about?”
She ignored this. “Anyone else? Mom?”
“Lonely,” Blanche said with a dramatic pout in Frank’s direction. He took his wife’s hand and brushed a kiss across her knuckles.
“I’m sorry about the CPAP machine.”
“You’ve already apologized. But maybe tonight you can cuddle me while I fall asleep.”
Frank smiled the smile of a man deeply in love. “It’s a cuddle date.”
“Speaking of cuddle dates...” Wes said, and Summer narrowed her gaze at him.
“Auntie?” she said while walking to the espresso machine. “How did you sleep?”
“The real question is how did you sleep?” Cecilia asked with an accusatory grin.
There were other grins. All around the table. Amused and aimed at her. “Look, I don’t know what he told you, but we only slept together—”
“He didn’t tell us a thing, but this is juicy news,” Blanche said. “Did you use protection? You know that there is always a box of condoms ,” she whispered the last word as if the whole table couldn’t hear, “in the medicine cabinet for just such a situation.”
“Good to know,” Wes mumbled.
“We did not use a condom!”
Frank’s expression was one of scolding dad. “Do we need to have the talk again?”
“God no!” Summer took a seat and felt her cheeks turn to flames. “The first time was traumatizing enough. What I meant was we just slept together. In the same bed. Nothing happened.”
“Well, there was the cuddling,” Wes said, ever so helpful.
“Which was an accident. You take up nearly all the bed.”
“Like I said, I’m a big guy.” He winked.
“It sounds like a happy accident,” Blanche said, and Summer could tell she was already picking out their ship-name.
Wummer? No, that rhymed with “Hummer . ”
Sesley? That was even worse. Sesley rhymed with “What a messily.”
Another reason they were incompatible. Their ship-name options were terrible—or accurate. Because this was a messily. In her vulnerable and natural state of mind, instead of repelling him she’d cuddled him. Waking up in his arms wasn’t as abominable as she’d imagined. Which was a different problem all together because, if she were being honest with herself, she had imagined how it would feel to wake up next to him. More than once.
It was that stupid, ill-timed, mistake of a kiss. He’d caught her at a vulnerable moment when she’d been thinking of all her past dating mistakes and there he’d been, looking at her like he wanted to devour her.
Well, it wouldn’t happen again.
“It was no accident,” Auntie Cecilia said. “And Mr. Gentleman over here didn’t say a thing. He didn’t have to, I already knew.” She turned to Wes, pride in her posture. “My guides came through strong this morning. It was no mistake.”
Summer dropped her head into her hands. “Can we talk about something else, anything else, before I have at least one cup of coffee in me?”
“Then we can discuss the cuddling?” Wes asked.
A throb started behind her right eye.
Cecilia turned to Wes and became very serious. Third-eye serious. “About your plumbing, dear.”
Wes spit out his coffee. “My plumbing?”
“Yes, I need to warn you. You have a, uh, plumbing problem ,” Auntie whispered the last two words, “that will make things difficult. If you know what I mean.”
Wes looked at Summer for help, but she left his ass hanging in the wind. Even snorted out loud.
“My plumbing is just fine. I assure you,” Wes said, sounding ever so the head of a billion-dollar company.
Cecilia stared off into the distance and began to hum. Her gaze went hazy and then, just like that, she was back to earth. “My guides say differently. But plumbing isn’t really breakfast talk, now, is it?”
Summer reached for a doughnut and found a single maple-glazed—her favorite—left on the plate. She went to take a big bite, turning to rub it in Autumn’s face, and that’s when she noticed her twin was mysteriously absent—on doughnut morning!
“Where’s Autumn?” she asked, setting the doughnut down.
There was a silent exchange of glances at the table that made her belly hollow out. “What?”
“She took Buttercup for a walk when she heard you come down the steps,” Randy said.
“Family business,” Wes whispered to his brother.
“I am family,” Randy argued, and the ladies cooed their reassurance. “See, bro.”
Summer wasn’t sure what Wes’s expression meant, but she felt a sudden pinch in her heart. Was he upset that Randy would have a whole new family, a welcoming family that absorbed him into their fold, just as he was reconnecting with his brother?
You okay? she mouthed to Wes.
His response was a barely visible nod, which likely meant he was far from okay. Her first instinct was to reach across the table and take his hand. Reassure him that he wasn’t on the outside. That he wouldn’t lose his brother. That a heart had the capacity to love many people at once. Then she remembered, Hummer . And yes, what a mess indeed.
Then he mouthed, Are you okay?
She could have nodded—should have nodded. But she found herself sharing with him another vulnerable moment and shook her head.
Can I help?
Immediately she remembered the steady beat of his heart, the safe vibes that had come off them that morning when they’d snuggled. Strike that: when she’d snuggled. Had he snuggled her back at some point during the night, or had he merely endured the raw affection?
It looked as if he were about to stand, so Summer stretched out her foot so that their toes touched, and she gave him a tap that she was okay. She wasn’t sure what surprised her more, that she’d initiated contact again, or that he received it and gave a tap back.
She smiled to let him know he was part of the group and that his concern meant something. His eyes shot to hers and gratefulness flickered in the soft blue depths. He tapped back his thanks. And they sat there for a moment, just like that, with their feet touching and a million words silently passing between them.
“I’m sure Buttercup just needed to use the restroom,” her dad said, breaking the hold Wes had on her.
She turned to Frank. “You don’t have to lie. I know she’s mad at me.”
Summer hadn’t taken the news well and had ruined her sister’s moment. Still, she was taken aback. Her sister had left the room on doughnut morning to avoid seeing her. This hadn’t happened since they were kids and they’d had an argument over who was the biggest Shawn Mendes fan. For the record, it was Summer.
“Maybe you should go talk with her,” her mother said. “She was pretty upset last night.”
“You both were,” Wes whispered, and her heart tripped over itself at the verbal support.
“He’s right,” her dad said, always having her back. “But I think it’s time to talk this through.”
She thought back to what she’d promised Wes last night—that she’d give his family a chance.
“You’re right.” Summer grabbed the doughnut and headed out the kitchen door.
It didn’t take long to find her sister. Autumn was sitting in their favorite spot, the porch swing, with Buttercup at her feet, panting. The dog couldn’t be bothered to lift her head for a hello, but she did wag her tail in greeting.
“Can I sit?” she asked Autumn, who was still in her PJs, which she noticed matched Randy’s. “I come bearing gifts.” She held out the plate as proof.
“There’s a bite taken out of it,” Autumn pointed out.
“I got hungry between the kitchen and here,” she said, taking a seat and handing over the maple-glazed olive branch. “I saved the rest for you.” Her sister didn’t budge. “It’s the last maple one, you know, and instead of fighting you for it, I’m offering it to you. That’s love.”
“I guess we can split it,” Autumn said. “Since we both said some hurtful things last night.” Autumn put up a hand to her ear, like I’m ready to hear what you have to say .
Not getting caught up on why she had to go first, Summer took a deep, cleansing breath. “I’m sorry.”
“And?”
“And maybe I’m a little jealous because everything comes to you so easy.”
“And?” Autumn prodded, but her expression softened slightly.
“Maybe I judged Randy too harshly.” Man, that one was hard to say. Especially after she’d found out he was a serial proposer. But now wasn’t the time to say anything.
“And?”
“And it is kind of romantic, if you’re into grand gestures like that.” Summer sighed. “I was wrong to jump to conclusions. I’m really, really sorry. I just don’t want to lose you too. First Auntie and Uncle moved to Florida, then Mom and Dad followed, and these past few months you seem to be slipping away too. And now you’re moving.”
“Possibly moving.”
Hope flickered. “What do you mean possibly ?”
“If you’d given me two seconds to speak for myself, you’d know the answer, but you were so busy trying to be right that you didn’t give me a chance to respond. Or use our twinning powers to sus out how I was feeling in that moment.”
“I haven’t felt twinning this entire trip,” Summer admitted quietly.
“Because you’re too focused on getting under Wes’s skin.”
“He gets under my skin, not the other way around.”
Autumn lifted a questioning brow. “Why does everything happen to you? You accused me of not making my own decisions, but it seems that life is running you too.”
Summer’s wrist itched. “What does that mean?”
“No one is asking you to work yourself to death. Between the bookstore and helping Mom and Dad and going on all these meet-cutes that you know will lead nowhere. Where in all that is you standing your ground?”
It reminded her of when Wes had said that he was all logic and she was all emotion. Maybe there could be somewhere in the middle.
“I came here to apologize. How did this get on the topic of Wes?”
“Alright, subject change. What’s going on with you and Wes?” Autumn said around a mouthful of doughnut.
“The only thing going on between Wes and me is a war.” And cuddling and kissing.
“You looked more allies than enemies kayaking, when you were pressed against his sculpted, muscular, wet body.”
“I was trying to keep him from drowning.”
“And when you announced to the room that you’d slept together you went bright red.”
“You weren’t even in the room!”
“I heard you out here. As for the blushing, I’m your twin, remember? I feel what you feel, know you better than anyone. I mean, I had to visit RandyLand after that intense interaction last night.”
Summer put her fingers in her ears. “RandyLand? Seriously? I can’t unhear that.”
“So you’re saying there is absolutely, positively nothing going on between you two?”
No, she wasn’t saying that, because it would be a lie and she didn’t lie to her sister. But admitting that they’d kissed and snuggled would turn her sister into Autumn the Match Maker. Between her mom, Cleo, and the app, she had enough matchmakers in her life.
“It’s complicated. Is he hot? I’d be a liar to say no. But we are mortal enemies. This whole ceasefire thing is temporary.”
Autumn waggled a brow. “Temporary could be a lot of fun. And from the confident swagger, I bet he’s a fun master.”
“Need I remind you that, if things go how you want them to go, he’s going to be your brother-in-law.”
“Need I remind you that you haven’t had any fun since Ken. So what if he’s your enemy? Angry fun is freaking hot.” Autumn gave Summer’s shoulder a gentle bump. “And isn’t that what this week is all about? Leaving our regular lives behind and having some fun.”
Could she do that? Could she be enemies with bennies and then go back to the real world, where one of them would likely lose their dream in order for the other to capture theirs? She wasn’t sure.
And the lack of clarity scared her.