Chapter 11 #2
While she bustled off to her office, Dex and I stood, suddenly awkward again now that we had a task completed.
“That wasn’t so bad,” he said.
“No. It wasn’t.”
“We make a good team.” His voice was careful, like he was testing the words. Like he was talking about more than just cake.
“We do.”
Our eyes met and held, and I felt it again. That pull, that want, that absolute impossibility of this situation. Only this time, it made me sad. Because it felt magical and it also felt like something I’d never get to have.
Marie returned with paperwork and we spent the next twenty minutes going over all the details for delivery time, setup, and the display table for photos.
But I was hyperaware of Dex standing beside me, close enough that I could feel the heat radiating from him. Close enough that when he reached past me to point at something on the form, his arm brushed mine and electricity shot straight through me.
This should be so much easier at our age. We were teenagers anymore. I’d thought the whole unrequited infatuation years were behind me.
Finally, we were done. We thanked Marie, promised to pass along her regards to Trace and Delaney, and walked back out into the afternoon sunshine with a bag of cookies for Cade which were apparently his favourites.
“Well,” I said as we reached his truck. “That went well.”
“Yeah.” He unlocked the doors but didn’t open them yet. “Want to grab coffee? Or do you need to get back?”
The question hung in the air between us. We both knew what he was really asking: Do you want to spend more time together, even though we shouldn’t?
“Coffee sounds good,” I heard myself say. “Unless you have to get back to the garage?”
“No, I’m good.” His hand moved away from the truck door and a caught a look of relief on his face. “There’s a place a few blocks over. You haven’t been there yet.”
“Lead the way.”
We both knew we shouldn’t be doing this, and yet, it seemed so inevitable that fighting this thing between us seemed pointless really.
We ended up at a small café I’d never noticed when I was exploring the town. It was tucked away on a side street, the kind of place you’d only know about if you were a local. It was quiet inside, just a handful of people scattered at tables, soft music playing.
We both ordered black coffee, no sugar, which made us smile, and sat at a corner table by the window.
For a moment, we just drank in silence.
Then Dex said, “So. This is weird, right?”
I laughed, relieved he’d said it first. “So weird.”
“We’re trying really hard to pretend nothing happened. That first night at the bar.”
“We made a truce,” I objected, already realizing how ridiculous that sounded.
“Yeah.” He wrapped both hands around his coffee mug. “How’s that working out for you?”
I met his eyes. Decided to be honest. “Terribly.”
His laugh was rough, surprised. “Same.”
We sat there for a moment, the truth finally between us. No more pretending. No more careful distance.
“I don’t know what to do about this,” I admitted. “About us.”
“There is no us. Can’t be.” But his voice lacked conviction.
“I know.”
“But…”
“But,” I agreed with a sigh.
He ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. “This is impossible. You’re their sister. I’m their... I’m their brother, basically. We can’t…”
“I know we can’t, but I also… don’t.”
“And you’re leaving at the end of summer anyway.” The words sounded like they hurt him. “You have a business in Blue Point Bay. A life there.”
“Right. Of course.” I traced the rim of my coffee cup. “So this is just... temporary. Whatever this is.”
More silence. Heavy, loaded, miserable.
But also... wasn’t it? Temporary?
The thought crystallized in my mind, dangerous and tempting.
“What if…” I started, then stopped, unsure.
“What if what?”
I took a breath. I couldn’t believe I was about to say this. “What if we stopped fighting it? Just for the summer.”
His eyes snapped to mine. “What?”
“I’m leaving anyway at the end of August. You live here. There’s an expiration date built in.” I was talking faster now, trying to convince myself as much as him. “We could just... see what happens? No pressure, no expectations. No one has to know. Just us.”
“Leigh…”
“I know it’s crazy. Forget I said anything….” The burn in my cheeks was enough to set this place on fire. I’d completely read this situation wrong.
“No.” His hand shot across the table, covering mine. Stopping me. “It’s not crazy.”
I looked at our hands. At the way his fingers curled around mine, warm and solid and right.
“It’s not?” My voice came out smaller than I intended.
“It’s probably the worst idea either of us has ever had.” His thumb brushed across my knuckles, and I shivered. “But I can’t stop thinking about you. Haven’t been able to since that first night.”
“Me either.”
“The brothers…”
“We don’t have to tell them. Not yet. Maybe not ever.
” I turned my hand over, lacing our fingers together properly.
“It’s just the summer. Just us. And then I go back to Blue Point Bay and we both move on.
We don’t need to let whatever is happening between us be a thing.
We can just be adults and enjoy ourselves. ”
He stared at our joined hands for a long moment. I could see him working through it, weighing consequences, calculating risks.
Then he looked up at me, and the heat in his eyes made my breath catch.
“Just for the summer,” he said.
“Just for the summer,” I agreed.
“No expectations after that.”
“None.”
“And we keep it quiet. From everyone.”
“Absolutely. Just because it’s easier that way,” I quickly added, not wanting to even consider that it was because we might have been doing something wrong.
Because we weren’t. Not really. Dex wasn’t my brother.
He only had that relationship with Trace and the others because they’d basically grown up together.
I didn’t have that with him and when you thought about it, it was crazy to hold ourselves to that standard.
Or maybe that was just a convenient lie because I didn’t want to admit the truth to myself.
Because even if he wasn’t my brother, he was their best friend and if this all blew up it would make the already strange and awkward relationship I had with this new side of my family even more strange and awkward.
He squeezed my hand as if he could sense the rapid fire thoughts firing through my head. “This is a terrible idea,” he said, even as the smile started to form on his lips.
“The worst,” I agreed.
“We’re going to regret this.”
“Probably.”
“When do you want to start?” His voice dropped lower, intimate, and my stomach flipped.
“Now?” The word came out breathless.
His smile was slow, dangerous, the first real smile I’d seen from him since that night at the bar. “Now works.”
Neither of us moved to pull away. We just sat there, hands intertwined, coffee forgotten, the world outside the window continuing on while we made possibly the worst decision of our lives.
And I didn’t care.
For the first time since arriving in Willowbrook, since meeting my brothers, since everything got so complicated… I didn’t care about doing the right thing or being careful or protecting myself.
I just wanted this. Wanted him.
Even if it was temporary. Even if it ended in August. Even if it was destined to hurt.
I wanted this one thing that was mine because someone had chosen me.
Not because someone had done something years ago that had tied our fate together.
Not because I was the outsider people were trying to find a place for in their lives.
Just because I was me, Leigh. And maybe that could finally be enough.
“So,” I said finally. “What now?”
His eyes were dark, intense. “Now I take you home before I do something inappropriate in this café.”
Heat flooded through me. “Inappropriate?”
“Like kiss you the way I’ve been wanting to for days.”
“That would be inappropriate.”
“Very.”
“We should probably go then.”
“We should.”
But neither of us moved.
Finally, Dex stood, pulling me up with him. We walked to his truck in charged silence, the air between us thick with anticipation.
He opened my door but didn’t step back. We were close enough that I could feel the heat of him, see the pulse point in his throat.
“This is really happening?” I whispered.
“Unless you’ve changed your mind.”
“Have you?”
“No.” He reached up, tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. The touch was gentle, but his hand lingered. “But you should know… I’m not good at casual.”
“Neither am I.”
“So this might be messy.”
“Probably.”
“And when summer ends…”
“We figure it out then.” I looked up at him. “Or we don’t. We just... let it be what it is.”
He studied my face for a long moment. Then nodded. “Okay.”
“Okay.”
He helped me into the truck, his hand on my elbow, and closed the door. When he got in the driver’s side, the space felt smaller somehow. More intimate.
The drive back to Jasper’s was quiet, but it was a different kind of quiet than before. Anticipatory. Electric. Like the air before a storm.
When he pulled into the driveway, I turned to him. “So. I’ll see you at the florist meeting?”
“Monday, yeah.” He looked at me, and there was something in his eyes that made my heart race. “Or... I could see you before that.”
“Yeah?”
“If you want.”
“I definitely want.”
“Tomorrow night? Dinner?”
“Where?” I asked, practical despite the butterflies in my stomach. “We can’t exactly go out in Willowbrook without everyone knowing.”
He smiled. “Leave that to me. I’ll pick you up at seven?”
“Okay.”
We sat there for a moment longer, neither wanting to break the moment.
Finally, I opened the door. “See you tomorrow, Dex.”
“See you tomorrow, Leigh.”
I walked to the house on shaky legs, feeling his eyes on me the whole way. At the door, I turned back.
He was still there, watching.
I waved. He waved back.
Then I went inside, closed the door, and leaned against it, my heart pounding.
What had I just agreed to?
A summer fling. A secret relationship. Something that couldn’t last and would probably end badly.
I couldn’t stop myself from grinning at the thought. This really was a terrible idea, and I absolutely couldn’t wait to get started.
My phone buzzed with a call. Wren.
Wren: How was dress shopping with the girls?
I blinked. Right. That was this weekend. Tomorrow was Friday, and Saturday was the dress fitting trip to Riverside.
Leigh: That’s tomorrow. Saturday.
Wren: Oh right. Well, how was today then? Weren’t you doing something for the wedding?
I looked at the text, then at my reflection in the hall mirror. My cheeks were flushed, my eyes bright.
Leigh: Just cake tasting. Boring wedding stuff.
Wren: Boring, huh? That sounds awfully defensive. Have you been a naughty girl today, Leigh? Tell me everything immediately!
Leigh: I have to go.
Wren: No, wait! Was he there? Garage guy? At least give me something!
Leigh: His name is Dex.
Wren: That’s not an answer.
Leigh: Goodbye, Wren.
Wren: YOU LIKE HIM. You better tell me everything tomorrow.
I put my phone on silent and went upstairs to my room.
Lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling.
Tomorrow night. Dinner with Dex. Our first real date.
A secret date.
The beginning of something that had an ending written into it from the start.
I should be terrified.
Instead, I was smiling. Grinning like an idiot in love and then I immediately balked at the idea.
It was just for the summer, I told myself. Those sort of feelings weren’t even coming into the picture. It was a fling. A summer thing.
That was enough.
It had to be.