Page 72 of This Could be Love

“I don’t have anything against that,” she said, before quickly adding, “It doesn’t have anything to do with me. But”—she fixed her eyes on me—“please don’t give him any false hopes.”

“What do you mean?”

She let a little time pass. “Vince is just coming out of a pretty hard period and—” She bit her lower lip as if she’d already said too much. “This here is a new start for him. Oahu. The hostel. He’s happier than he has been in a long time.”

Unable to follow, I blinked several times.

“The last thing he needs right now is someone breaking his heart.”

I froze. “Breaking his heart? Laurie, I… That’s not how things are between us. We’ve…we’ve just made out a little.”It sounds too trivial.I pushed Vince’s voice aside. “Nothing more than that.” I paused. “Or…has Vince said otherwise?”

“He hasn’t said a thing.” She sighed. “Because he goes through the roof the second I bring it up. That was the case the other day when you all got back from Kahuku.”

“Well, maybe he just isn’t all that interested in sharing his love life with his little sister,” I suggested carefully. Hadn’t those even been his words?

“I don’t expect anything of the kind. But I have the feeling he likes you. A lot. And this time I’m not going to just stand around on the sidelines when…” She broke off and pressed her lips together. “Just don’t hurt him, okay?”

My mind continued to lag behind, so I just nodded. If Laurie was asking me not to break her brother’s heart, that meant…did that mean that she thought… And could that be true?It sounds too trivial.I frowned.

“Hey, maybe I’m wrong, and he sees things just as chill as you. If that’s the case, then it’s all good.”

“Hmm,” I muttered, miles away. I couldn’t get rid of his voice.It sounds too trivial.

“But if not, then…”

“Yeah. I understand.”

She looked relieved. “Please don’t mention our conversation here, okay? I mean, that I talked to you about all this. I don’t know how he’d take it.” She looked at me, and I nodded and mumbled something affirmative.

She smiled thankfully. For a few seconds we were both lost in thought. Then Laurie asked, “How are you doing anyway? You look a little beat.”

“I think I overdid it a bit today,” I admitted. “I lost so much time with that intestinal flu. And that’s put me under pressure. Not in a good way.”

“Isthere a good way?”

It was just a cast-off statement, yet it really struck me.

“Can someone watch? You training, I mean. Is that allowed?” Seeing the surprised look on my face, she added, “I’d love to see you play sometime.”

“Of course. You can come by whenever you want.”

Laurie made an ambiguous gesture toward the house. “You think she’d mind?”

“After having invited you into her home and offering you something to drink?”

Laurie laughed at my overly impressed tone.

“I don’t think she’d have anything against it, but I can ask her beforehand, if you like.”

Once Laurie had gone, I reread the text Vince had sent me in the morning.

Hey! You busy tonight? I still owe you a sunset on the beach…??

What if she was right? Maybe Vincereally likedme. Maybe he was hoping for more? I looked into the distance. I replayed every one of our conversations. Every glance. Every gesture. Every touch. And then my fingers began to move.

Sorry. I can’t tonight.

Chapter 31