Chapter 6 – Lee
Ishifted, holding back a groan. My ankle throbbed.
But something else throbbed more.The smell of popcorn lingered, mixed with a soft floral scent.
I had hazy recollections of the night before, flirting with Vi while we watched a movie.
I must have drifted off, because I couldn’t remember the ending.
I certainly didn’t remember gathering Vi close and snuggling in to sleep with her.
She lay stretched alongside me, one hand beneath her cheek, looking angelic in the combined glow of my desk lamp and the early morning sun filtering through my office window. Her dark lashes lay like shadows against her cheeks. She was flushed and rosy, her lips lush like Sleeping Beauty’s.
Her left hand twined with my right, nestled on the sheets between us. Like we couldn’t bear to part, even in sleep.
I released her like I’d been burned, scooting hastily back on the mattress. The sudden shift jostled my ankle, pain lancing up my leg, and I winced. Maybe that pang was my punishment for letting my thoughts stray where they shouldn’t. For flirting with my best friends’ little sister.
Gritting my teeth, I slipped from the bed, hobbling toward the bathroom.
The light overbright to my sleep-roughened eyes, I washed my hands, avoiding my reflection.
Guilt curled in my gut. Even though I hadn’t done anything unforgiveable, I hadn’t done the right thing either.
Vi was gracious enough to help me out. Putting her life on hold to take care of me.
She hadn’t signed up for me to blur the lines between us or take advantage of the situation.
To teeter on the edge of something I had no business feeling.
Violet stirred as I fumbled my way back toward the pullout couch, her lashes fluttering. She yawned, stretching long. The move only emphasized the generous curves beneath her yoga pants and top as they slipped across the sheets.
“Good morning, sleepyhead.” My voice sounded gruffer than I intended, my throat dry.
Vi blinked, seeming uncertain about where she was. She pushed to her elbows. “Hey. How are you feeling today?” Her dark eyes shadowed with concern.
Last night was a little hazy. The pain pill hit me hard. Something about the indulgent turn to her mouth made me think I’d been a little loopier than I realized. More honest. More pathetically needy.
“Like an asshole if you spent the night down here instead of upstairs in a comfortable bed. You didn’t have to stay with me.”
She lifted one shoulder. “It wasn’t intentional.” She yawned, the movement somehow elegant. “Give me a sec, and I’ll brew some coffee.”
“Don’t.” My gruff denial landed harder than I meant it to. Half punishment, half a weak attempt to keep a boundary I wasn’t even sure I wanted. The flash of hurt that crossed her features hit like a sucker punch. “I need space to work. You usually meet up with the girls on Saturdays, right?”
She gave a brittle smile. “Right. I’ll be out of your hair before you know it.”
She shuffled to the edge of the bed, leaving me to stare at the ceiling. I didn’t trust myself to say anything further.
A few minutes later, she returned with a mug of black-as-sin coffee in my “please don’t annoy me or I might have to kill you” mug. She didn’t say anything as she handed it over. Just turned and padded away.
I stared after her like a coward. “I don’t deserve you, Vi.”
She paused, one foot on the bottom step, and looked back over her shoulder. “You don’t. Keep remembering that, and we’ll do just fine. Any plans for the day?”
“Me and my laptop are going to spend some quality time together.”
“If you’re okay on your own, I promised Anya, Rae, and Lucy I’d pick them up for our Saturday hike at ten.”
“Go. Have fun. Just don’t get hurt.” I gestured to my boot. “If neither of us can manage stairs, we’ll really be in a pickle.”
Vi fixed us a quick breakfast of scrambled eggs over my protestations that I’d be fine with a protein bar, then showered and slipped out in fresh clothes.
The taste of guilt was stronger than the coffee. My leg throbbed as I stared at my laptop, pretending I had any interest in work. My phone buzzed, and I reached for it, glad for the distraction.
Drew: Ignoring me won’t help you.
Drew: What’s this I hear about Vi being at your place?
A smart man would have texted his best friend before he found out from other sources. Or texted him back yesterday when he first commented. Everything about the last twenty-four hours had proven I wasn’t that man.
Lee: She offered to help out until I can handle stairs.
Drew: Stairs better be all you’re handling.
Drew: I’ll pick you up in 15.
I could refuse, but Drew was difficult to budge on the best of days. When it involved his precious sister? It was best not to argue.
Struggling into yesterday’s clothes took ten of the allotted fifteen minutes, leaving me precious few to use the bathroom and brush my teeth. Drew honked from the driveway, and I shuffled out with my crutches, locking my door behind me.
“Hey,” I greeted, sliding into the passenger seat of his truck. “Where are we headed?” If he said Dead Man’s Cove, I’d have to dive out of the moving vehicle, ankle be damned. We’d long joked that it was the best place on the island to dump a body.
“Harbor Brews,” was his gruff response.
I relaxed. If he was taking me to his brother’s coffee shop, I had at least a few more hours to live. He wouldn’t kill me there. Too many witnesses.
“Get out.”
Caught up in my own thoughts, I’d failed to notice him draw up to the door of Harbor Brews. With parking sparse this close to the harbor, he was being kind. Even if it sounded more like he was trying to get rid of me.
“Thanks. See you in there.”
He grunted, pulling away from the curb as I slowly made my way inside. We’d caught the crowd in between ferries, so I nodded to the few locals I recognized and got in line behind a woman wearing a backpack.
“Hey. It’s our conquering hero. What’ll you have today?” Zach asked as I reached the front of the line.
“Black coffee. Two, please.”
“You got it. Go grab a table. I’ll bring the coffees out in a sec.” He turned to his counter helper, Isa. “I’m taking a break. You got this?”
A few minutes later, Zach brought over our coffee, and Drew slid into the seat across from me.
Part coffee shop, part bar, part bookstore, Harbor Brews did triple duty for our tiny town.
It was always busy in the mornings thanks to ferry traffic and its location on the waterfront.
Readers took over in the afternoons, leaving it to the after-work crowd in the evenings.
The Fenwick family was well-known, mostly for their eccentric grandmother and thriving businesses. We’d been part of each other’s lives for years. Gone to school together. I counted Drew as one of my closest friends. Zach too. Which made it difficult to meet Drew’s gaze over my coffee.
Drew sipped from his cup, glowering at me. Zach took his cue from his older brother, holding his silence. I imagined that hurt. He was usually the gregarious one, full of jokes. He was probably dying to roast me over my fall from grace.
“Out with it,” I said when the silence had stretched longer than my patience. My fingers curled. I caught myself mid-knuckle-pop and pressed my hands flat to my thighs.
Drew arched a brow. “So. Vi’s staying at your place.”
It was a statement, but clearly also a question.
One I couldn’t answer. My original intentions were pure.
But they’d been shot to shit thanks to one ill-timed painkiller.
I couldn’t even tell Vi’s brothers that we hadn’t slept together.
Because, while all we’d done was sleep, that wouldn’t matter to them.
“You have nothing to worry about. Vi and I are just friends.”
Drew leaned back, his gaze cutting sharp. “I just don’t want Vi tangled up in more trouble than she can handle. Between you and… well, Anya’s family mess, there’s enough shadow hanging over this island.”
The mention of Anya’s parents landed heavy between us. I didn’t need reminding how dangerous the Genters and her ex could be. If anything, Drew should be pleased Vi was out of the house she used to share with Anya. At least I could protect her.
“We’re just friends, Drew.”
“You don’t believe that,” Drew scoffed.
My feelings on the matter were complicated. But I doubted Vi’s were.
Zach shook his head slowly, dropping his chin to his chest. “Buddy, you have a tell.”
I froze, taking stock, eyes darting between them. My injured ankle stretched out in front of me. Nothing unusual about my posture. I kept my expression calm.
Zach’s gaze dropped to my hands, catching me mid-knuckle crack. Damnit. It’d become so habitual, I barely registered I was doing it. Like I had to bleed off the tension somehow, and my fingers became the conduits. My thumb moved down the line, pressing each joint in turn.
Drew’s jaw flexed, and something unreadable passed between him and Zach.
“It’s clear you two have become close,” Drew said.
Denying it would get me nowhere. “Then it should be equally clear that I respect your sister’s decisions. You should too.”
Drew’s shoulders relaxed, a hint of a smile creeping into his expression. I exhaled, a long, slow breath expelled from deep in my chest, my guard relaxing. Too soon. His eyes flickered, sharp again. Every muscle in my body tightened, ready for the blow.
“That doesn’t sound like us,” he said.
“Nope,” Zach added with a low whistle. “Not the Fenwick way. We’re meddlers from birth. We love Violet enough to do real damage if someone hurts her…” He said it ominously, exchanging a meaningful glance with Drew.
“But we also respect you,” Drew finished. “Too much to hassle you if you really want to be with each other.”
It took a beat too long for me to process his words. Was that … approval? I blinked, thrown. My brain lagged behind, maybe the leftover effects of the pain pill.
“But she’s still our sister,” Zach said.
“If you hurt her, you’ll answer to us.” Drew frowned. “It doesn’t matter that we’ve been friends for decades. If anything, that should make you more scared. We know your weak points, Murphy.”
The threat lingered in the air. I’d been party to enough of their pranks over the years to know they meant business. If what they did for fun was the tip of the iceberg, a real enemy would lose everything going up against them.
“Why me?” I’d expected the threats. But not the green light. “Who are you, and what have you done with the older-brother stick up your asses?”
Zach chuckled, the sound muffled as he drained his coffee. “That’s enough break time for me.” He pointed at my face. “Make good choices, Murphy.”
He strode away, leaving me in silence with Drew.
Sure, I had a green light of sorts, but what kind of loser hit on the woman helping him through an injury? I wouldn’t take advantage of Violet that way. Brotherly threats or not, I’d be keeping my distance.