Page 8 of Falling for the Unexpected

Chapter 2

Kyle

Standing in front of the grill with a beer in my hand, I turned toward my buddies, Erik and Trent, who were busy leaning over the deck railing to check out the women passing below. We tried to get together at least once a month, usually on the weekend, and we started out at my house since I lived by the beach. Today was perfect: the early April weather, the mid-spring sun, sand, and calm waves were the reasons the beach was packed this Saturday. The only thing missing was Ian, but that would be changing soon since he was getting out of the service later this year.

“So are you guys coming to dad’s birthday party next weekend?” Trent asked us, taking a swig of his beer. “It’s just going to be a small family get-together.”

When I was younger, I’d spent most of my time at Trent’s house. His parents, Jim and Marla, had always made an effort to make both Addie and myself feel like we were part of their family. The fact that we were almost family by law had seemed like fate, then Brad had ruined it. Despite that, I continued to spend a lot of time with them. My grandmother took excellent care of my sister and me, but it was still nice to spend time at a house with afamily, one with parents and children who loved each other and liked to spend time together.

Although, I thought, briefly checking on the burgers and steaks under the grill hood,Brad oftentimes dampened the mood at their family get-togethers. I hadn’t liked him before I knew he was a cheater and I liked him even less now that he’d hurt my sister. However, he had married Simone, appearing to have done therightthing. Still, I couldn’t stand the guy.

“Of course, I’m going. Did your mom tell you she invited Addie?” I paused, glancing over at Trent again. “Do you think your brother and Simone will be okay being in the same room with her?” I asked.

Not that I really cared about Brad’s feelings if Addie did go. But I didn’t want Simone to feel uncomfortable. It was maddening how Brad lucked out with a woman like Simone. He sure didn’t deserve to have such a loving, not to mention gorgeous, young wife.

Motherhood had somehow made her even more stunning, and whenever I saw her, like at the restaurant a few weeks ago, I’d find myself staring at her for too long. Even Erik looked, though neither of us would ever do more than that—and not openly, that’s for sure. Trent would kill us if he caught us checking her out. He saw Simone as a little sister and was highly protective of her.

She didn’t smile often, but when she did, even a little, it lit up her brown eyes and made you want to return it. Made you want to keep that smile in place for as long as possible. There was a sadness behind her eyes that I found compelling and I wished I knew more about her to understand why; however, we’d likely never get close enough to really know each other. Me being Addie’s brother, she shied away from me.

I looked out toward the ocean, thinking back… I still remember the look of complete shock on Simone’s face two years ago that matched my sister’s. But at least Addie had gotten out of a crappy relationship. Simone had stepped right into one and she was paying the price. She seemed pretty miserable whenever I saw her, which wasn’t often, and I knew from Trent that she could be a little guarded toward the rest of the family. No one could really blame her for that. It’s why we all tried to be extra nice to her and Stella. Brad, well, he could go to hell and stay there.

I shook my head, focusing on not burning anything on the grill, when another thought entered my mind. The idea of my sister and Brad seeing each other for the first time since they broke up was unsettling. I loathed the fact that Brad had damaged Addie’s relationship with his parents, which had waned significantly. She needed that sense of family, especially a motherly bond that only Marla could give since Grandma was gone. I was hoping that the relationship between all of us could be patched up a bit since Addie had moved back home a few weeks ago.

She’d tried to make a new life for herself in San Francisco after her breakup, but she never sounded truly happy when we would talk on the phone. After some discussion, Trent and I offered her a position at our law firm, acting as a legal secretary. It wasn’t what she went to school for, but she’d felt lost at the time, and I figured doing something out of her comfort zone might help her make a decision about what she wanted to do with her future. It had taken a lot of begging on our part and I understood her resistance. However, with more begging, groveling, promises, and a little guilt tripping from me about us being our only family now, she finally agreed.

God knew there were a lot of bad memories for her here, and seeing Simone and Brad wasn’t going to make her feel better. She had confided in me shortly after her breakup that she had worried that things were not going to work out with Brad. Even with those suspicions, it hurt like hell knowing he had cheated on her.

If Addie did attend this party, I hoped it wouldn’t convince her she’d made a mistake moving back here. And if Brad said or did anything… I’d beat the shit out of himagain. He might act tough, but he knew to stay in line when I was around. That thought made me smile a little.

“I’m sure Simone will be fine,” Trent answered, then continued with a slight grimace, “but Brad will probably act like a douchebag.”

“You know, Brad’s actually a talented mechanic, but if he wasn’t your brother or had a family to support, I would’ve fired his ass by now,” Erik said with a snort. He shook his head, eyes scanning a small group of women playing beach volleyball. “Dude’s been acting strange lately; showing up to work late, making stupid mistakes. Always on his phone, openly flirty with female employees and clients, and being ruder than usual. Hopefully he’ll be on his best behavior since it’s your dad’s birthday.”

Erik owned his own auto shop where they made modifications on cars to enhance their performance, specifically for street racing. When Brad decided to marry Simone, Erik had done him a huge favor by offering Brad a full-time position with benefits. We all knew how lazy he was, spending more time on his video games than looking for a job and taking care of his young family. Out of friendship and loyalty, Erik had gone out on a limb for him. And did Brad act like he appreciated it? Nope. Granted, Brad did have some talent with cars, but how Erik put up with him on a daily basis I would never understand. We were all hopeful that the punk kid we’d barely tolerated growing up had finally changed his ways for the better. Unfortunately, spending any time with him only proved that he hadn’t. If anything, he seemed to move further into the asshole category—especially recently.

“I wouldn’t hold your breath,” Trent added, dryly. “If not for Simone and Stella, I’d say, go for it. Fire his ass.”

Erik and Trent had a laugh, but I think Trent meant every word—especially the ‘fire his ass’ part. I couldn’t help but agree with him. I pulled the meat off the grill and the three of us moved over to the table to eat. The pub-styled table allowed us to continue looking over the railing toward the beach below.

I would never get tired of this view. My house was pretty badass, especially the rooftop deck where we were currently relaxing with panoramic views of the beach and pier. I’d found this three-story gem within a month of house hunting and couldn’t pass it up. It had four bedrooms and three baths. That might be considered overkill for a bachelor like myself, but I figured one day, in the very distant future, I would have a family and this house would be perfect for that. Although, the cynical part of me wondered if that was really in the cards for me. My own father surely hadn’t been a great role model on how to be a husband or father. After my parents divorced, their combined actions had destroyed our family with little thought to the consequences—including how it’d affect Addie and me. I often wondered if I would ever feel confident in taking on a parenting role myself. Would I be a better man than the one I shared DNA with?

Being able to afford this house so early on in my career was a little bittersweet. Sadly, my grandmother passed away a year ago, and she’d left a large inheritance for Addie and me. While I made a great living practicing law with Trent and his father, I would never have been able to afford this place without the money from my grandmother.

“Dude, check out the view over there,” Trent said as another group of bikini-clad women walked by. “Buying this house was the smartest decision you ever made.”

I laughed. Trent sounded like an excited kid who just saw a shiny new toy.

“There are a couple of girls over there I wouldn’t mind getting to know a little bit better,” Erik added, still gazing at the volleyball girls. He’d hardly touched his steak. Trent, too.

I smirked at Erik’s wistful tone. I think all the jumping and sand all over their sweaty bodies was really what was on his mind. We were all in swim trunks and T-shirts, and had plans to use my beach access later. The whole point of today was about relaxing, in whatever form that came.

Plus, none of us had a girlfriend, and were in no hurry to change that, so we could look all we wanted. We all had our fair share of casual hookups, but none of us were ready to settle down just yet.

Erik had been pretty serious with his high school sweetheart, Willow, back in the day. They continued to date for a year after we graduated but when Erik started focusing on street racing, she was out. She said it was too dangerous and that he had no time left for her after spending all day at the shop and the evenings at the races. She probably had a point, but racing was his passion. She moved out of state shortly after they broke up and he hadn’t heard from her since.

I thought about Ian as Erik and Trent continued to eat while discussing how to approach the women playing volleyball. Ian had an off and on relationship with his high school girlfriend, Jenny. They finally called it quits for the last time about three years ago. Since then, he’d been fairly quiet about who he was dating. The fact that he lived across the country made it harder to razz him about any of his hookups.

Trent checked his phone when it wouldn’t stop pinging. Erik deftly plucked it out of Trent’s hand and held it back. “Seriously, man? What did we all agree on when it came to our guys’ weekend?” he asked, disgruntled. He chucked the phone back—at Trent’s head. “No work, all play, remember?”