Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Summer Returns to Pick Up the Pieces
Fresh back from her “jilt-cation,” Summer Landry was spotted with Chicago Rebels player Lars Nyquist outside her former home with Dash Carter, directing the packing of boxes into the flatbed of a pickup.
Insider sources tell us that Dash left orders for the boxes to be “disposed of” while he went on his honeymoon-for-one.
But someone must have been looking out for the quick-footed bride because they were set aside for safekeeping.
Rumor has it that Summer is staying with Adeline Kershaw, daughter of Rebels captain Theo Kershaw and girlfriend of Lars, as well as Adeline’s BFF Rosie Burnett-Moretti.
It looks like certain players have picked a side in the latest episode of this R-drama—though Adeline might want to keep an eye on her man now that Summer is back on the market.
(She and Lars looked very cozy during the boxes pick-up.) It’ll be interesting to see how the other players respond.
Will they come out for Dash, or is Summer working overtime to keep certain players in the “divorce”?
Only time—or one hot Chicago summer—will tell! !
-@HotGoss
Hatch
Landon
Just what we need, more Rebels drama.
Conor
Well, Adeline got her claws into Lars and caused World War 3 all of nine months ago, so we’re kind of due.
Addy
I like how they hinted that Lars is probably going to hook up with Summer because “boxes”. LOL.
Conor
We need to start taking bets on who else Summer will get in the “divorce.”
Landon
She does have the inside track on the players, access to HR records, perfect blackmail material, from her time in the front office. Time to use it.
Speaking of players, H is being pretty quiet.
Conor
Probably too busy with his coffee shop hottie.
Me
Just waiting for you to get the verbal diarrhea out of your systems. So, what’s the plan for Tilly’s birthday party?
Conor
Mom’s got it under control. And the adults are talking here … about your coffee-drinkin’ cutie.
Addy
Which you’ve already mentioned. Two million times.
Landon
If you have any pertinent information, Con, spill it. Otherwise, quit with the hints.
I threw the phone down on the sofa. I had yet to talk to Conor properly, and anyway, what would I say? You think you know what you saw, but you know nothing. And if you do, keep it zipped.
Just fuel to the fire for my shit-stirring brother. I was amazed that no one else had figured it out.
I sent Summer a text.
Hey, are you okay?
Sunshine
Fine. Except for the fact there is a photo of us in the wild from that coffee shop in Saugatuck.
Me
You know about this?
Sunshine
Adeline told me. And that it’s a hot topic of conversation in your family group chat.
Me
About that. Conor knows it’s you.
Sunshine
What?!
Me
You wore the hat in the Sunny Side Up and he put two and two together. You need to burn it. For multiple reasons.
No response.
Me
Can you talk? On the phone?
Sunshine
I’m kind of busy right now. Maybe later.
Which sounded like code for “never.” Fuck.
Halfway through my misery stew, my intercom phone rang. “Your grocery delivery is here, Mr. Kershaw.”
“Oh, thanks, Hank. Send it up.”
I opened the door and waited for the delivery person to exit the elevator. I was not expecting Summer.
A familiar pattern these days. This girl certainly knew how to surprise me.
Still wearing Aurora’s Motors cap, she turned toward me, sighed with her entire body, and moved forward with a couple of shopping bags. I’d ordered a gallon of milk and a ton of fruits and vegetables, so I rushed forward to take them from her.
“Sweet Lord, put your shirt on!”
Not what I usually heard from the mouth of any woman of my acquaintance (except Addy when she was fourteen and I spent the summer of my sixteenth year downing protein shakes, working out, and showing off my newly-muscled body).
Now I was sent back in time to my horny teenage years—and in my own home as well.
“Lovely to see you, too. You’re working for Kennedy now?”
“Just temporarily.” She looked a little tired, and I couldn’t blame her. Her life had undergone a lot of upheaval recently.
“We were texting a few minutes ago.”
“Yeah, I was parked downstairs, psyching myself up. And then you texted, like it was a sign!” Sign sounded like sa-hn. Her attitude made me chuckle. Also, psyching herself up to see me? Was that good or bad?
“It’s not funny,” she added.
“Kind of is. The universe is throwing us together.”
Cue a not pleased Summer. “You’ve got these?”
“Sure, but could you come in and chat for a second?”
Without waiting for a response, I headed to the kitchen to unpack the groceries. If (a) I remained shirtless and (b) she didn’t say “kthanxbye,” then we had a chance at a conversation. I looked up over a Whole Food shopping bag to find her hovering on the threshold.
“I’m still on the job. I have to pick up dog food for Noah Boden’s Great Dane.”
“Snoopy can wait. Just a couple of minutes.”
She inhaled, muttered something under her breath, and followed me into my apartment.
As I worked, I watched her checking my place out.
It was a decent-sized two-bed condo in a nice building but probably had nothing on the luxurious penthouse where she once lived with Carter.
She seemed especially interested in the photos of my family on the walls in the entryway.
“Need something to drink?”
Her eyes flashed. “Why? Do you think I’m suddenly parched at the thirst trap you’ve laid for me?”
“Maybe.”
“Oh, please provide me with electrolytes to replenish all the energy I’ve expended just looking at you, Hatch Kershaw!”
There was the Southern twang again. It came out when she was mad, stressed, or close to orgasm, which I knew because I’d witnessed all three.
I filled a glass from the Brita and handed it to her. Her gaze over my body was appreciative, so yay for shirtless.
“Thanks.”
“How are your new digs?”
She brightened. “Great. Your sister and Rosie are so kind. I don’t know where I’d be without them.” She peered up at me. “Without all the help I’ve had so far.”
I wasn’t looking for thanks. I wasn’t sure what I was looking for exactly. The word “everything” came to mind.
“Is Conor going to say something?” she asked.
“No. My brother is a lot of things, but he’s loyal to the family. He knows that mentioning our connection would cause ructions. He’d prefer to hold it over my head to piss me off.”
“Typical brother stuff, then.”
“Classic.” I smiled, and she smiled back. My heart did a zig-zag around the rink of my chest.
“How’s the hockey camp going? I heard Dash is doing it too.”
“Yeah, it’s good. Could you sit for a second?”
She looked at the sofa like it might swallow her up, then took a seat in one corner, telegraphing a clear signal that I should sit at the opposite end and not try anything. She placed the glass on a coaster on the coffee table.
“Carter seems to think ignoring you will make you sweat. And that somehow, he’ll … get you back.”
Her eyebrows slammed together. “He said that?”
“More or less. The fact that you ran out on him means you’re either playing hard to get, which he likes, or the ultimate game of chicken, which he also likes. But he also wants to make you suffer, which is why he’s not answering your calls.”
She considered that for a moment. “He must be really hurting.”
“Sure, so bad.” Women would employ the weirdest mental acrobatics to construe the best in a guy’s motives.
She narrowed her eyes. “Some people manifest their hurt by acting out. Dash is used to getting what he wants and when he doesn’t, he constructs narratives to cover what he’s seeing.
Me leaving him doesn’t make sense, so he’d rather invent reasons that show him in a better light.
I’m indecisive, flighty, unpredictable. Resistant to his charms, but not really.
Playing games to get an edge. It’s a form of gaslighting, and I won’t be falling for it. ”
Her intuition surprised me. I had thought she’d feel sorry for him, but she moved on from that quickly to a nice deconstruction of Carter’s behavior. I had no idea if she was right, but it sounded right.
However, her next words sounded the opposite of right. “I need to talk to him.”
Everything in me rebelled at this outlandish notion. “Not a good idea.”
“He might be a jerk, but I behaved like one, and I have to apologize.”
She stood and headed to the door. I chased her down.
“Now?”
“Yes—well, after I walk Cody Jacobs’ basset hound. That’s also on my list. The sooner I talk to Dash, the sooner we can both move on. If I can convince Ryder that Dash and I are capable of being civil, then I could get my job back. Or an internship.”
That made a twisted sort of sense. But I hated—hated—the idea of Summer spending any time with Carter. Maybe I should talk to Ryder. Take any leverage away from Carter.
“He wants you back.”
She placed a hand on my arm. “Unlikely. But more important, I don’t want him. I’m not sure I ever did.”
I moved closer, needing to be near her. Craving a moment breathing her air. She was here in my home, a bed, a sofa, a kitchen counter all within range, and I was supposed to let her go to talk to her ex and suffer through his mind games?
She turned the knob on the door and pulled it ajar.
I shut it. “What I said at the diner—”
“In the utility closet?”
“With the paper towels and the toilet paper and the light bulbs as my witness. I meant it. I want to see you. Properly.”
“You’ve seen me properly. On the hood of your car at the lake.
Then again in the no-pool pool house. Good Lord, you’ve seen every inch of me, but Summer is now closed for business.
” She waved over her body in case I didn’t get it, which just made me crave that body more.
“I have to piece my life together and starting up something with you cannot be part of it.”
She opened the door a few inches and I placed my hand on her hip, pulling her close.
“I thought you were all about honesty these days. Be honest and tell me you’re not feeling anything here.”
Her hand touched my chest. Burned a hole into my soul. She peered up at me with glossy eyes, blazing with emotion.
“You’re right, I can’t tell you that. But it doesn’t matter. We can’t all be acting on animal instinct and doing whatever the hell we want. I need the space, and I’d appreciate if you gave it to me.”
Only a dick would refuse a request like that. Was I a dick? Where Summer was concerned, maybe. But I could also be a dick who respected his woman.
I pulled open the door and saw the flicker of gratitude in her eyes. She was close to giving in, and she needed me to be on board with the assist.
My uncle Jason stood in the corridor. He divided a shrewd look between us. “Am I interrupting?”
Yes, you fucking are.
“I’m just going,” Summer said airily.
Jason offered his hand. “Don’t think we’ve met. I’m Jason, Hatch’s uncle.”
“Oh, I know who you are. I’m Summer and also, a fan. Big fan.” She took his hand and shook it. “Welcome to the Rebels!”
“Thanks.” He stepped aside to let her pass, then cast a quick glance after her as she briskly walked down the corridor, all sass and cheese-made curves. Annoyed as fuck, I yanked him inside and closed the door.
“Careful, y’asshole!” My grasp had gratifyingly found chest hair.
“How did you get up here? I have a doorman for a reason.”
“Hank and I go way back. I used to live in this building, remember?”
He leaned against the door, rubbing a palm over his chest.
“What was the Bride doing here?”
“Delivering my groceries. She’s working for Kennedy.”
I turned to head back into the kitchen, conscious of Jason’s eyes boring into my back. I wished now I’d put on a shirt because my lack of one looked incriminating.
“You gonna tell me what’s going on?”
“Nothing to tell.”
He snorted. “I’ve seen the photo.”
I stilled with my hand mid-grab of a bunch of carrots. Fuck.
“I didn’t recognize her immediately, but the minute I saw her now and the vibe you two were giving off, I knew. Start at the beginning.”
Making light of it was my best chance of surviving this convo with my dignity intact.
“Funny story. I was hanging around outside the church before a recent wedding, minding my own business, when the bride dropped out of the sky like the house in The Wizard of Oz.”
“No shit.”
“Yes shit. She was making her escape and used me as a mattress.”
“So naturally you took her to Saugatuck.”
“She needed a place to collect her thoughts, away from all the drama.”
That yielded another snort. “How in all that is fucking fucked did you think that was a good idea?”
I shrugged, leaned against the counter, and said with all the stubbornness I felt, “She needed my help.”
He looked like he was about to explode. My uncle was a bit of a hothead at the best of times. “Who else knows?”
“Conor guessed from the photo, but I can manage him. And you won’t say a word, will you?”
“Sounds like you have it all worked out.”
The sarcasm was strong with this one, but I could take it. Jason and I were close. I confided in him more than I did my dad, so I got the impression he was masking with snark his hurt that I hadn’t shared this thrilling life update.
“And what happened in Saugatuck?”
I didn’t say anything, and he lifted his hands jazz-style.
“Cool, cool. So you don’t have a freakin’ clue. Any chance she does?”
“About what?” Though I knew. Of course I did.
“That you’re head over skates in love with her.”