Page 68 of Fight For Me

Her face remains completely impassive—a danger sign Fox must miss because he shrieks in surprise when she grabs his board and flips it.

“Ha!” River calls obnoxiously, pointing at his younger brother.

I meet Wyatt’s eye and he nods. We each grab a side of River’s board and down he goes to join us in the water. Will grabs Eva from her board, cradles her to his big, burly chest, and does a cannon ball right next to River, splashing him all over again.

“Bunch of babies,” Rose says. She’s the only one still on her board—which doesn’t last long, obviously. Will grabs her foot and has her flying into the ocean in about three seconds. Then we’re all in the water, splashing and dunking each other, shrieking and laughing like little kids. It’s silly and fun and I’m enjoying myself so much that I can almost forget about the heat that is still sparking on my skin from where Wyatt touched me.

Almost.

Wyatt

“What you drinking?”

I hold up my beer bottle to show my brother. “Red Stripe. Feels like the thing to drink on a beach vacation.”

“Sounds good.” He gestures to the bartender, indicating he’ll have the same, then leans against the bar and looks out over the party scene in front of us.

“Where’s your girl?”

He gestures to the other side of the dance floor, where Eva is standing with Rose, Everly, and Alex. That would explain why I hadn’t noticed her. I’ve been doing my very best to keep from looking anywhere in Alex’s vicinity all night. The black dress pants she’s wearing are painted-on tight and completely dangerous to my mental health.

Will turns back to take the beer the bartender offers, using the edge of the counter to flip the top off. It’s a very Cash Ransome-trying-to-look-cool move, and I hide my grin by sipping my own beer.

We drink in silence for a few moments, watching the scene—which even I have to admit is pretty sweet. The production team arranged for us to spend the evening at this beachfront bar and restaurant. The venue’s outdoor patio goes right up to the sand. It’s a warm night and the sound of the ocean crashing only a few feet away is loud enough to hear over the music. Last night we’d gone to a more typical South Beach dance club, and I’m liking the vibe at this place much more.

Still, I can’t imagine why viewers would find this entertaining. Why is it fun to watch other people going out and partying? By my count, this is at least the fifth time they’ve filmed at least one of the trio at a club or bar. But Everly assured us it’s very par for the course for this kind of show. I’ll take her word for it. What the hell do I know about reality TV?

The best part of the night, in my opinion, is the lack of microphones. The crew had shoved a boom mic over our table while we were eating, and the trio had been told they’d need to turn their mics on later, plus the cameras are still trained on us, but it’s definitely nice to lose the mic on my lapel. I feel more comfortable and free than I have the whole trip so far.

I lean back against the bar, taking a long swig of my beer, and watch the crowd. The dance floor is packed, the music loud. Still, I hear it clearly when Alex laughs at whatever Rose is saying.

“She seems like she’s having fun,” Will says, and I jerk a little in surprise, assuming he’s talking about Alex. “I love that she gets along with the girls so well.”

Eva,I remind myself.He’s talking about his fiancée. Not the woman you can’t stop creeping on.

“Yeah, she obviously fits in with the family really well.”

“I knew they’d all be crazy about her. I mean, come on. Look at her.” There’s so much pride in his voice, love for his girl written all over his face. My chest throbs. It’s official—I’m jealous of my little brother.

“You’re a lucky man.” I do my best to keep the ache—and the bitterness—out of my voice.

“I am definitely that.” He takes a sip of his beer. “We’re talking about setting a date. For the wedding.”

“Yeah? I thought you were going to wait for a while. Isn’t she going on tour soon?”

“She is. But there’s a break in the fall, before she goes to Europe, and we don’t really want to wait much longer than that.”

“Wow, man. I guess I don’t blame you. You need to lock that shit down before she realizes how out of your league she is.”

“Hilarious,” he mutters, but he’s grinning as he takes another pull from his beer. “I wanted to ask you something, actually.”

I wait, watching his face from the corner of my eye. All of a sudden, he looks strangely nervous.

“We’re thinking we’ll keep it pretty low key. Just the family and close friends. We don’t want a huge fuss.”

“Don’t tell Aunt Paige. She’ll throw a fit.”

He snorts. “Mom is definitely assigned to handling Paige duty.” He clears his throat. “We’re going to keep the wedding party pretty small. I don’t want Eva to feel like she has to ask a dozen Ransome cousins to be bridesmaids.”