Chapter 32
Chapter Thirty-Two
BOWEN
A half hour later, I wasn’t still sitting in the library because I was trying to decide if I should pursue Magnolia.
I’d made that decision the moment I realized my family would be okay with it.
No, I was still there because I was paralyzed by fear.
I could hardly get her to look at me. There was no way I would convince her to go out with me.
Not after everything I’d put her through.
Well, you'd better do something before Liam charms her into a relationship and she ends up with the last name Dupree anyway.
I growled at the thought.
“He wouldn’t,” I told myself. Wouldn’t he? Liam acted like a playboy—blowing through girls faster than I blew through felt tip pens—but the truth was, he was perpetually on the hunt for The One.
He wanted what his parents had. Talked about it all the time. No doubt, if he found the right woman, he’d snatch her up and never let her go.
What if he decides Magnolia’s the right woman?
Jealousy raged inside of me like an angry sea. Liam posted everything on social media. So I tapped on the Instagram app and went to Liam’s profile, hoping not to find Magnolia there. The very first reel made my molars grind so hard my jaw cracked.
“Are you kidding me?” I breathed. “What kind of moron takes his phone on the water?” The kind who has enough money to buy a brand new phone every day of the year and not even notice the damage it does to his bank account, my snarky brain retorted.
I pressed play on the reel of him and Magnolia paddleboarding.
It was a boomerang-style video, no words.
He stood behind her, arms looped around her tiny waist, grinning for the camera.
Then he pressed a kiss into the center of her velvety cheek.
All while she closed her eyes and leaned into it, smiling like she was the luckiest woman in the world.
Over and over and over. The worst part was that Liam had the camera angled down, giving the entire world a close-up of her very ample cleavage.
Fantastic. Now I had to murder my cousin.
The description on the reel read:
Perfect day back home in Seddledowne, visiting the fam. Too many blessings today. BOTD: Got to spend the afternoon with this cutie.
BOTD stood for Blessing of the Day. Liam was as good at social media as he was at juking defenders. I usually loved catching up every evening to see what he’d been up to. But the fact that he’d made Magnolia his BOTD was just hateful.
I scrolled through the comments, wondering if Griff had seen.
I caught these two going at it online all the time.
Sure enough, five comments down was Griff’s ‘Finsta’ handle: 22Shades_ofAverage.
He’d made the account for the sole purpose of heckling Liam.
Liam’s jersey number was twenty-two, so basically, Griffin was giving him a one-two punch every time he commented.
First with his handle, second with his hurtful words.
22Shades_ofAverage:
Real classy—dating your best friend’s ex. Guess she’s all that’s left since you’ve blown through every eligible woman within a five-hundred-mile radius.
Liam had already replied with the Finsta handle he’d made just to respond ‘anonymously’ to Griffin’s jabs.
all.smoke.no.show:
Ex best friend.
“Wow.” Their animosity was getting worse. But I was jealous of Liam. At least Griff responded to him.
I scrolled back up, ready to head out of this mess, when a snarky comment at the very top of the post caught my eye. It was from Liam’s favorite sports reporter—a big blue check mark next to her name.
Sariah_Morgandale :
A shirtless boomerang? Bold choice. Did the middle school girls you’re marketing to eat it up?
Dang. We needed to make sure she and Griff never met. Together, they might destroy Liam online.
Liam responded to her with his public handle, which was saying something. He never did that—just posted and jetted out of Instagram, only to return with his fake account if Griffin made an appearance.
LiamD_22:
Nah, just the bitter reporters who watch it 17 times before commenting.
Oof.
I watched the boomerang again, the fury I felt at Liam’s hands and lips on Magnolia, returning full force.
I shot to my feet and checked their location through the window. “No loyalty whatsoever,” I growled. He and Magnolia were on the ‘beach’, feeding each other grapes like they were auditioning for a Bridgerton spin-off. “All right,” I seethed. “Time to shut this down.”
I jogged through the house and outside. When I got to the top of the hill, Liam had one arm around Magnolia’s shoulder, toying with the ends of her damp hair. My cousin had a freaking death wish.
Jaw set, I strode in their direction, a growl ready in my chest. My uncles and Blue golf clapped when they saw my purposeful walk and determined expression.
Charlie fought back a smile and gave me a covert thumbs-up.
Cash, still solidly Team Griffin—because, as Charlie said, somebody had to be—looked seriously worried.
“Go get ‘er, Tiger,” Sophie teased as I sauntered by. My uncles must’ve told everyone I planned to make a move. Everyone but Liam, that is.
Even with all of them rooting for me, my confidence was iffy at best. But I rolled my shoulders back like I’d never felt more sure of myself.
Still wearing nothing but that scandalous bikini, Magnolia’s navel piercing winked in the setting sun, telling a different story now—reminding me that at one time, Magnolia had liked me so much, she’d crashed and burned an entire relationship just to kiss me. That had to mean something.
My head turned when I heard my best friend angry-snort.
Well, would you look at that. Fletch finally showed up.
Oh. So did Magnolia’s bestie, Abilene. They were standing by the food table, bickering.
Like Magnolia, she was wearing a bikini, but at least she had the decency to cover her lower half with a pair of shorts.
“A plague upon you!” Fletch flicked his hand like he was a priest, throwing holy water at Abilene. “Out of my sight! Thou dost infect mine eyes.”
“Hey, nice use of Shakespeare,” Aunt Tally clapped from her chair.
Fletch bowed. “Thank you, my good lady.”
Abilene rolled her eyes. “I’m not the one with a plague.” She eyed his flip-flopped toes like they were covered in flesh-eating maggots. “I can’t believe you still haven’t done something with those feet.”
“Like what?” He thrust both hands downward. “These are the feet I had when I came out of the womb.”
Behind me, Magnolia giggled. I turned to see Liam now feeding her…cheese doodles. The most white trash food you could pick up at any hole-in-the-wall gas station. And he was doing it all fancy and flirty, like they were truffle-stuffed profiteroles, instead of neon-orange tube cheese.
“Enough,” I ground out and headed in their direction.
Unfortunately, Nova spotted me. “Bowen!” she squealed. I groaned under my breath. “There you are!” She ran over, blocking my path, and wrapped her arms around my waist, head pressed against my chest like I was her favorite stuffed animal. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
I did not hug her back. I couldn’t, even if I’d wanted to. She’d pinned my arms to my side. No matter. Magnolia skewered me with a furious gaze, like she could not believe I had the audacity to hug Nova in front of her.
Nova glanced up through her lash extensions. “Are you ready for our talk?” She murmured the last two words in her sultry actress voice.
I pulled one arm free, then the other. Then I grabbed her shoulders and forced her back. “Hey,” I said quietly. “There’s nothing to talk about. We’re not getting back together.”
She slapped me playfully on the chest. “Don’t be silly. We always get back together.”
“Not anymore,” I said with just enough force that she’d know I wasn’t kidding.
She stomped her foot. “Yes, we are!” she yelled. “We break up, we date other people, we realize it’s always been us, and we get back together!” She stomped her foot again.
Magnolia rolled her eyes and headed for the lake.
“Magnolia!” I called. “Come back!”
She pretended not to hear and strode toward the water, hips switching side to side, like she was about to own this lake. Like the Benedict Arnold that he was, Liam followed right behind her.
“Why are you going to the trampoline?” I hollered at him. “You’re not allowed on that.”
“Shut it!” he shot back. “I do what I want.” But he didn’t and he wouldn’t.
He might swim out there, but there would be no jumping happening on his part.
He’d had at least fifty literal trampoline nightmares since signing with the Fury.
A broken femur, a shoulder popped out of socket, a busted ankle.
Said he woke up in a cold sweat every time.
When Liam and Magnolia surfaced, they launched into a synchronized breaststroke. Liam was so going down.
Nova huffed. “Why are you worrying about her?” She grabbed my cheeks, forcing me to give her my attention. “Look at me.”
I hated doing this in front of everyone.
I’d tried to tell her repeatedly over text but she wouldn’t believe me—and that was my fault.
We’d broken up at least seven times over the years, always followed by the same cycle.
She’d wear me down until I gave in, we’d pick up where we left off, date for six months, and break up again.
Rinse and repeat. I’d trained her like one of Pavlov’s dogs, without ever meaning to.
But it had been almost ten months since our last breakup. I meant it this time.
“Hey,” I whispered, patting her shoulders just to be nice.
So, of course, Magnolia turned to look at us right then.
I groaned and let my hands fall to my side—but she didn’t see.
Now she was climbing the trampoline’s ladder.
I looked back at Nova. “We’re not getting back together,” I whispered. “Not this time.”
Her bottom lip quivered and her dark eyes welled.