Chapter 10
Ten
NOAH
“One double date.”
“Absolutely not.” Vee digs into the soil, apparently replenishing the nutrients and organic matter before she’ll begin transferring her indoor plants outdoors.
What she refers to as her cool-season vegetables.
I know entirely too much about gardening because of Vee, and yet I wouldn’t be able to keep a single plant alive if I tried.
Panic bubbles in my gut. If I can’t convince Vee to go on this double date, Summer will know I lied.
Turns out stalking someone is way harder than it sounds.
Summer is supposed to be completely oblivious to my eyes on her while I watch through her windows. Instead, she was instantly on alert as if she could sense my presence. How am I supposed to stalk someone with psychic powers? That wasn’t in any of the stalker manuals.
When she caught me and screamed, I scrambled to come up with some excuse beyond consensual stalking. Now, I’m facing the consequences.
“What if I help you plant your whole garden?”
Vee narrows her eyes at me, gloves covering her hands up to her forearms and a wide-brimmed hat shielding her skin from the sun like a mini umbrella. My sister went from twenty-eight to sixty overnight. “You know how much work goes into planting a whole garden? You’re not cut out for it.”
I’m tempted to roll my eyes, but now is not the time to give my sister any sass, which she will surely use as yet another excuse not to help me lie to my fake girlfriend. “A dozen favors then. Whatever you want. I’ll even move a dead body if necessary.”
“Why is this so important to you anyway?” She pats the soil down, but it’s more of a punishing smack. “We both know this girl is only a rebound.”
“Her name is Summer. And she’s not a rebound.” I clench my jaw. I’ve told Vee her name at least five times, but Vee still refuses to use it. Like somehow not using her name will prevent me from getting too attached.
Too late.
“You shouldn’t rush into anything serious. You and Naomi just broke up, and we both know that was toxic as hell. You need to take time to heal—not jump into a relationship with the next random girl you meet.”
While Vee’s older-sister protectiveness has often benefitted me throughout my life and kept me from accidental death more than once, it’s starting to irritate me now. She hasn’t even met Summer, and she has no idea how good we are together.
Fake together. Technically, I guess Vee is right to be suspicious. Just not for the reasons she believes.
“I’m fine. I don’t even think about Naomi anymore.
” This much is completely true. The only time Naomi crosses my mind is when someone else brings her up.
“I don’t want to work in a clinic right now, and I’m happy to be boarding and pet sitting.
If you had my job, you’d get it. It’s way more fun to play with animals all day than deal with their asshole owners. ”
Vee sighs and stands, wiping the soil off her gloves. “I just want to make sure you don’t get your heart broken again.”
At last, my walls of defense come down. Vee has spent her whole life protecting me and my brother.
From bullies when we were kids, from teachers who yelled at us before they knew all the facts, from girls who wanted to date us to make their boyfriends jealous, and most often, from ourselves.
Killian climbing onto the roof, me thinking it was a good idea to put aluminum in the microwave, and us racing each other on plastic lids down the stairs.
Vee couldn’t save us from every concussion, bruise, or nosebleed, but she tried her hardest.
Now that we’re adults, not much has changed.
Just the dangers. Killian and I might have learned some lessons the hard way, but one of Vee’s college roommates once called us himbos and we’ve long since accepted that she was right.
We still make plenty of dumb decisions. Like Killian, who is prone to injuring himself, becoming a fitness trainer.
And me, accidentally breaking into a woman’s apartment and then stalking her.
Trying to, anyway. Failing miserably is more accurate.
Pretty sure the consensual stalking thing is only a turn on to Summer if her stalker knows what the hell he’s doing.
“You can’t protect us from everything, you know,” I tell my sister.
Vee grimaces, but she can’t argue. “Just promise me you’ll keep your walls up, all right?”
“You can’t get close to someone if you won’t let your walls down.” I’m not sure my sister has ever let her walls down with any guy. Not even her fiancé. “You know you don’t have to marry Carson just because he proposed, right? You can still call off the wedding.”
I love my sister. She’s always been rough around the edges, but ever since she met Carson, she’s become a movie villain.
Snapping and lashing out at everyone around her, and I can’t remember the last time she actually smiled at the guy.
Vee used to be the person who laughed the hardest at my jokes, her boisterous, jovial laugh echoing loud enough to hear her from opposite corners of the house. Not anymore.
We’ve all tried convincing her to break things off with Carson, even Mom and Dad, who rarely get involved in any of our relationships. But for whatever reason, Vee is determined to stick it out with him.
She narrows her eyes at me. “This isn’t about me and Carson.”
No use trying anymore. Vee knows where I stand. She has to make the decision for herself. I’ve learned the hard way that I can’t protect her from everything either.
My phone vibrates in my pocket, and I scramble to check it. A smile spreads across my lips. A notification from the GPS tracker on Summer’s car.
Then my smile drops.
She’s at the mechanic. Either she’s getting routine work done or something happened. She could be hurt.
Heart hammering, I type out a text.
Unknown
Everything all right?
Her response comes seconds later.
Summer
Perfectly fine.
A breath of relief rushes past my lips. She’s okay. No need to panic.
But if they put her car up on the lift and get under it, they might spot the magnetic tracker on the undercarriage.
Do I play it coy? Or make it obvious? She knows I’m tracking her by now. How else would I know her location at all times?
She said she wanted a stalker, so I’ll lean into it.
Unknown
Did the mechanic find anything interesting?
Summer
Actually, yes.
They found a GPS tracker.
I hold my breath until my lungs start to ache, bracing myself for her anger or defiance. To threaten me with a police report.
Summer
Which is convenient because if my car ever gets stolen, the police can track it.
Thank god. She’s playing along. She knows I planted a tracker on her car, and she doesn’t care. She’s practically thanking me.
Summer wants to be stalked. She’s inviting me to keep going. That much is clear now.
I’m happy to indulge her.
Unknown
Very convenient. Sounds like someone thoughtful must’ve put it there.
Summer
So thoughtful. They obviously care about my safety.
Unknown
Very much.
“You’re still here?” Vee drawls, aiming a hose at me like a weapon.
I back up slowly toward the sidewalk where my car is parked, hands raised in surrender. “So about that double date.”
Vee sighs like I’ve asked her to shovel cow shit. “Fine. But you owe me two dozen favors. And I get to pick where we eat. And when. And you have to be nice to Carson.”
“What if he starts it?”
“Noah.”
I laugh and wave her off. “I’ll be nice. But if you break up with him before then, I’m sure Aries will be your date.”
I’d have to bribe him, of course, but Aries would gleefully antagonize Vee for an evening if I asked.
She shakes her head, dropping the hose and marching inside. “Our deal is for a double date, not a bloodbath.”