Page 35 of All Our Nevers

“I didn’t say anything about you, but if the debit card charges for Rubinoff fit...”

Amelia opens her mouth to respond, but Nolan doesn’t give her a chance.

“Lia, shut up.” He chucks his sunglasses at her, hitting her square in the forehead.

“Ow!”

“I’m trying to get to know him.”

“Whatever. You guys have your bro bonding moment,” Amelia says. “Sophie, wanna go in the water? Andy?”

“Yeah, I’ll come!” Sophie says, standing and pulling her coverup over her head.

Andy stands too, but waves them off. “I’m gonna find a bathroom. I’ll join you in a bit.”

I try not to watch the two women as they head down to the water—try not to lock onto the light copper tone of Amelia’s legs, the sway of her ass, the chestnut locks trailing down her back. Try not to think about how it would feel to tuck my fingers into those long curls and—

“So how do mergers work?” Nolan’s voice breaks into my filthy fantasies about his sister and wow, I really am an asshole. “Can you tell me about a case you’re working on?”

He seems to be genuinely curious about it. I think I like him.

“Well,” I clear my throat, “the matter I’m working on right now is still confidential, so I can’t tell you who the companies are, but I’m basically there to provide legal representation through the entire sale of a corporate enterprise. So there’s some risk analysis, negotiations, regulation adherence...” I lean towards him and whisper loudly, “Don’t tell your sister, but it’s actually very boring. And stressful.”

“Then why do you do it?” Nolan asks with almost childlike innocence, like he can’t imagine any reason someone would take a job they don’t like.

I shrug. “The money’s good. And I do like law in general. Plus, I’m on track to make partner at my firm, so it seems like I should probably see that through.”

“Woah. Congrats, man.” His bottle touches mine with a clink. “Is it hard to become a partner? How soon will you find out?”

“Hopefully in the next few months, actually. That’s why I transferred to Boston. Easier to get promoted in the central office.”

Nolan nods. “That’s awesome. Good luck with it.”

My gaze shifts back to the water and it shouldn’t have, because there’s nothing but temptation there. Amelia half-submerged, Sophie dutifully taking photos of her from shore. The banshee cycles through infuriatingly seductive poses, long hair blowing in the wind, sun sparkling on the water behind her. I’m mesmerized by the serpentine motion of her arms, the confidence in each pose—a work of art in human form.

That’s when her gaze shifts in our direction.

From this distance, she probably can’t tell I’m staring at her, right? It seems probable enough that I don’t look away.

Then she raises her middle finger.

Shit. My eyes drop to the sand. I need a fucking distraction. Something to think about other than how badly I want Amelia, now that I’ve seen the smallest glimpse.

“How’d you guys all become friends, anyway?” I ask Nolan. My voice is tight, unnaturally high, but he doesn’t seem to notice.

“The four of us?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, you know Andy and I were assigned to be freshman roommates, plus our buddies Jaiden and Rick,” he says. “That was just random.”

I didn’t know that, and it’s a slice through the heart. A reminder of my absence, what a horrible brother I’ve been.

“And Lia and Sophie were assigned roommates too. And obviously Lia’s my sister, and we’ve always been pretty close. And then Sophie and Andy ended up both being on campus one summer and neither of them really knew other people who were around, so they started hanging out and became friends. And after that, if Lia was coming over to see me, then Sophie could come see Andy, or vice versa, and we just kind of ended up always being together.”

“That makes sense, I guess. You’re just such different people. If I met you separately, I would never guess you’d be as close as you are.”

“We have more in common than you’d think,” he says. “You should see us at karaoke. We go ham. You have to come next time, man.”