Brynne
I felt ridiculous being so nervous about this date. This was Theo . There was no reason to freak out, yet my stomach wouldn’t stop flip-flopping, and my hands wouldn’t stop trembling. I paced in the living room, my heels clacking against the wood floor.
Mason lounged on the couch, one hand tucked behind his head.
“You okay?” he asked, and I shot him a look but said nothing. What was there to say? We’d agreed not to tell anyone we were together yet, so it wasn’t like I could admit why I was losing my mind.
But Mason kept staring at me with that sixth sense of his, and I nearly caved.
“I don’t know what to expect,” I said, waving dismissively. “I’m not nervous.”
The corner of his mouth lifted. “No one said you were.”
Before I could say a word, a knock sounded from the door, and every muscle in my body froze. Mason leapt off the couch, laughing. “Should I answer it?”
I threw myself at him, tackling him back to the cushions.
“Do not embarrass me,” I hissed, jabbing my finger into the center of his chest. I didn’t know if he could even hear me over his cackling.
Rolling my eyes, I got to my feet as another knock sounded.
“Stay there and be quiet.” I pointed at him, and, in true little brother fashion, he ignored me completely, rolled over the back of the sofa, and beelined for the front door.
Before I could register what had just happened, he yanked the door open. “Hey, man.” He leaned against it casually, blocking Theo from view.
What was he wearing? Was I overdressed? Underdressed?
“Hey,” Theo chuckled. “Your sister home?”
Mason straightened his shoulders as he stood taller—which was my cue to hurry across the living room. Dropping his voice, he said, “What are your intentions with my sister?”
“Oh, my god,” I groaned, shoving him out of the way. “Go away.”
“I just wanted to know what his?—”
“Go. Away.” I pointed at the couch. “Use my Wi-Fi, watch my Netflix, keep an eye on my raccoons.”
“You really have raccoons?” Theo asked. “I thought Trin was fucking with me.”
“I’ll explain later,” I said, brushing him off. “Try not to burn my house down.”
“I burned one dish towel and she never lets me forget it,” Mason said with a huff.
“To be fair, it was my mom’s dish towel. I had no idea her house had so many fire alarms,” Theo said.
“She does have a lot.” Mason nodded a few times, then shooed us out the door.
“Wait. My purse?—”
He grabbed it from the side table and shoved it at me. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” he said before shutting the door in our faces.
I blinked. “I can’t believe he just did that.”
“You look beautiful,” Theo said softly. Heat rose into my cheeks as I turned around, finally getting my first glimpse of him.
He looked incredible in his white button-down, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and the first few buttons casually undone, and light khaki pants.
His hair and beard were shorter than they had been a few days ago, and styled in that perfectly messy way he’d invented.
But it was that look on his face—that casual charm, the way he undressed me with his eyes but somehow looked classy doing it instead of like a creep.
I shifted slightly, tugging on the puffy sleeve of my white dress. “Not too Jack Sparrow?” I laughed.
“Not at all.” He rested his hand on my lower back, gently guiding me forward. “Ready? Everything should be set up for us.” He pressed his lips to my cheek, and I leaned into his touch, savoring it. Savoring him.
A calmness settled over me as he led me to his car. How could he do that? Take all my anxiety and melt it away into nothing?
Opening the door, he watched as I slid into the little car, chuckling as I grumbled under my breath about how stupid I still thought it was. He rounded the hood, his shoulders rising as he took a deep breath.
Was he as nervous as I had been?
The engine rumbled to life, and he rested his hand on my thigh as we took off toward the ocean. My stomach was a tight knot as he stroked his thumb back and forth. Not sexually, but in a way I thought calmed him.
I wrapped my fingers around his hand, and a gentle smile spread across his face. For a moment, we drove in silence, nothing but the soft hum of the tires against the road and the blur of golden trees around us.
“Opaline is catering our dinner,” he said.
“I haven’t been there in forever.” I squeezed his hand slightly. “With what happened to Willow, I haven’t wanted to go.”
“I can’t believe that happened.” He shook his head. “I hope that won’t happen to anyone again.” He glanced at me, chuckling as he said, “Do you have a stalker I don’t know about?”
I tried to peel my lips into a smile, too, but couldn’t. Thoughts of those messages for the last few months filtered through my mind, but I shoved them away.
I knew they were likely from Sean, and I didn’t think he was a threat. Even if he apparently hated Theo and was mad at me for ignoring him, I didn’t think he’d do anything as crazy as Braydon had with Willow.
Before I could answer, we pulled into the marina parking lot, and he shifted the car into park. The huge sailboat sat in front of us, the sunlight reflecting off the white sail. He tapped my thigh before opening his door.
“Ready?”
He slipped out, and a few moments later, my door opened and my hand was wrapped around his once more. I stared up at the boat, but I felt him staring at me.
“Have you been on one before?” he asked, leading me toward the docks.
“Not a sailboat. I’ve gone to Italy with Mason a few times and one of his friends has a yacht he lets us use.”
Theo’s brows lifted. “Yachting in Italy?” He hummed. “I can’t picture it.”
“I taught one of the deckhands how to shotgun a beer,” I said, and Theo’s head fell back on his shoulders as he laughed.
I loved that sound—the warmth of it, the way he laughed with his entire body, the way his whole face lit up.
“You don’t remember when those photos leaked?
No one knew I was his sister at the time, and they thought Mason Hughes was dating a new girl. ”
“Oh, god.” He scrubbed his hand over his jaw. “I remember that.” His face reddened, and I tilted my head to the side, my suspicions rising.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“ What ?” I asked again.
We paused in front of the boat, and he turned to face me. “This was when you and Trin first got close,” he said, and I nodded a few times.
It was before I told her who my brother was. We’d been friends for a little over a year, but we were still in that fragile place, and I was worried that telling her about my famous brother would shatter it. But after the photos of us on the boat came out, I had no choice but to tell her.
“I’m going to sound like a fucking creep.” He groaned, rubbing the back of his neck. “I used those photos of you as jack off material for…a while.”
My mouth fell open. “The ones of me in that bikini?”
“You looked so fucking hot in it,” he said, his face turning red. “I could barely look at you the next time I saw you.”
“Oh, my god!” I playfully shoved his shoulder. “That’s why you were so weird? I thought it was because you found out about Mason and were uncomfortable with it.”
“Excuse me.” A male voice cut through our laughter, and we turned toward the man standing on the boat. “Caldwell?”
“That’s us.” He rested his hand on my lower back, gently guiding me forward. “Watch your step, Red.” Theo helped me step onto the boat, the water making it shift underneath me. I gripped the railing, my heart in my throat.
Don’t fall.
Don’t fucking fall.
But then my feet hit the deck, and I let out a relieved breath, watching as Theo effortlessly pulled himself onto the boat as if he’d done it a million times before.
“I’m Dom,” he said, resting his hand on his chest. His blond hair was pushed away from his face, and he wore an Opaline server uniform. “I’ll be your server tonight.”
“Are we staying docked?” I asked, and he shook his head.
“The captain is ready to go out whenever you are.”
He waved, gesturing for us to enter the cabin. Theo laced his fingers with mine as we stepped inside, my eyes adjusting to the sudden dimness. Glass flutes sat on a table, a bottle of champagne sitting in an ice bucket between them.
We sank onto the long couch, watching as Dom popped the bottle and poured our glasses.
As soon as we were comfortable, he disappeared deeper into the large ship.
Theo rested his arm along the back of the couch, one ankle propped on his knee.
I sank into his side, sipping my drink as I scanned the interior.
The walls were white-paneled, the floor a dark, shiny wood. The sofa we sat on was a deep navy blue, accented with white throw pillows. It was quintessential New England nautical, and I loved every bit of it.
“I can’t believe we’re doing this,” I murmured, shifting my gaze out the window. The sun was still high enough that it wasn’t quite sunset, but soon it would be. Theo’s thumb stroked along my bare shoulder.
“Good or bad?” he asked, pressing his lips against my head.
I didn’t have to think about it. “Good.” Twisting, I looked up at him. “Did you ever think we’d be here?”
“On a boat together?”
I rolled my eyes. “Dating, I mean. Did you ever think we’d be together?”
He took a long sip of his champagne, his foot bouncing on his knee. Seconds stretched into minutes, and when it was clear he wasn’t going to answer, I shifted my gaze back to the long window on the other side of the room.
“I didn’t think I’d ever date anyone,” he finally said, his voice quiet. “I’ve never wanted a relationship.”
I knew that. We’d teased him about it for years. But there was something so concrete in the way he’d said it, almost like he longed for that life again. The life without commitment, the life of freedom.
And who wouldn’t?
I didn’t blame him for missing his simple life. He was free to do anything he wanted, anytime, with anyone. And now, he had Scout to take care of, and…me.
I understood it. But it made my stomach sink all the same.