Page 13 of Wanting You
I nod, but my thoughts drift back to Brett. The way he and Jake were holding each other—Jake with tears in his eyes—twists something in my stomach. I want to march back inside and demand answers. From the look on Emily’s face, she agrees with me. She demanded that River tell her everything. Instead, he told her to usher June and me away.
And she did it. Emily fucking did it!
Heather nudges me. “You look like you’re about to explode. What’s wrong?”
I don’t answer. I’m not even sure what the answer is.
Darby studies me for a beat and then tilts her head. “Iknow we just met, but she’s right. You look sort of angry.” She turns to Emily. “And so do you. What’s going on?”
Emily sighs. “We’re fine,” she says quietly, as if she doesn’t want Sebastian and June, at the bar, to overhear. “Apparently, Jake was their childhood friend. But as far as Brett and River knew, he was dead.”
Heather’s brows shoot up. “And now, surprise, he’s not?”
“That about sums it up,” I say. That uneasy feeling in my chest expands. I can’t deal with this anymore. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to get a drink.”
“That’s the most brilliant thing anyone’s said today.” Emily grabs my arm and we walk the several yards to the bar where June is talking to Sebastian.
Sebastian’s eyes light up when he sees Emily. “Hey, English Rose.”
“Sebastian,” Emily says without emotion, not meeting his gaze. “Kir royale, please,” she says to the bartender.
“Make it two,” I say.
“That’s a haughty drink for my rose,” Sebastian says.
Emily turns to him, this time with a gorgeous smile on her face. “You think so?”
June’s jaw goes rigid. Can’t say I blame her. Here she stands, clad in only a towel, and Emily is taking Sebastian’s attention away from her.
The bartender mixes our drinks and hands them to us. “Cheers,” I say, and clink my flute to Emily’s.
“Right,” Emily says and takes a sip.
“What are you two ladies up to?” Sebastian asks.
“We were banished,” Emily says dryly. “Didn’t June tell you?”
June flashes a smile. “We were talking about more pleasant things, like a naked walk on the beach.”
But Sebastian isn’t stirred by her words. He’s focused on Emily. “Banished? By whom?”
“River,” she says. “He and Brett are out front with the new guy.”
Sebastian brings his glass to his lips and raises his eyebrows. “New guy?”
“Yeah,” I say. “Apparently there’s a new kid in town. His name’s Jake.”
EPISODE 196
I’M STILL STANDING
Sebastian
My glass slips from my fingers and clatters onto the redwood deck, shattering. A cube of ice skates across the floor and lands at Heather’s feet. She drops her gorgeous lips into an O and stares at me.
Jake?
The name still conjures up images of summer days and shared secrets, of midnight adventures and laughter that echoed through our youth. Jake was—to all of us—a brother in all ways but blood. That’s what we all were to each other.
