Page 43 of My Brother’s Best Friend

“And he’s best friends with your brother.”

“Oof.”

“Yeah.” I nodded. “Oof. Suffice it to say, if he didn’t know I had a crush on him before this, he definitely does now. And since I really don’t want to make things more awkward than they already are, I need to get out of here as soon as humanly possible. I just need to let hookup guy down gently, first.”

“This feels very unfair,” Aiden said. “I mean, I get it, you have to follow your heart or whatever, I guess, but I was expecting lots of slutty stories from you, and now I feel robbed.”

“And if you’re moving, we don’t get to know you better either,” Nolan said. “Which is a bummer.”

“Oh. Yeah. That too.” Aiden grinned impishly. “Do you think you’ll be a slut back in New York? You could still get that CamFans account, you know.”

I laughed again. He was irrepressible. “I promise, if I do, I’ll let you know.”

After exchanging numbers and reiterating that promise five more times, I waved goodbye to them. It was kind of sad. If I’d stayed on Summersea, they could have become actual friends—something I desperately needed.

But I couldn’t stay now, could I?

I was just counting out the cash register for the night when Levi came in with a grin on his face.

“We all set in here?”

“Just about,” I said, casting a questioning look in his direction. “What are you so excited about? I don’t remember you getting this hyped for the Founders’ Festival dance before.”

“I’m not excited for me,” he said, his grin spreading. “I’m excited for Cam. He’s bringing someone to the dance tonight, and I’m dying of curiosity.”

“Oh. Right.”

From the way Levi sounded, I didn’t think Cam had told him about this afternoon, but that might change after they saw each other. Though if what Cam had told me yesterday was true, he hadn’t actually gotten around to asking anyone to come with him tonight.

Unless he’d asked someone in the past few hours. Ugh, the only thing worse than imagining Cam telling Levi what I’d done was Cam telling Levi what I’d done with some gorgeous woman on his arm.

“Well, have fun,” I told my brother.

“You’re not coming?”

“I think I might stay home tonight,” I said. “Feeling a little under the weather.”

Feeling a little humiliated and lovesick was a more accurate description, but under the weather would have to do. I did need to go down to the harbor tonight—the whole area would be shut down for the dance, filled with tents and stages and lights—but with any luck, I could get there and back without running into anyone I knew.

I waved Levi off and finished closing up slowly, giving him plenty of time to get down there and collar Cam. He was the last person I wanted to run into. At six-fifty, I wiped the counter down one more time, slipped out the front door of The Roastery, and locked it behind me.

The air outside was honey-like, warm and thick, and the smell of the ocean hung heavy over everything. Our block was calm, all buttoned-up for the night, but the closer I got to the water, the more the streets and sidewalks filled up. By the time I reached the harbor, I was pushing through throngs of people.

The Port Hole was open, but practically empty, all of its usual patrons outside in the tents. A lone old man sat at the bar, watching golf reruns on TV, and two women huddled together in the corner, looking at something on their phones. The bass beat from the music outside made the floor shake, but other than that, it was quiet.

I nodded at the bartender, then slipped down the hall to the men’s room. I took a deep breath and pushed the door open.

It was empty again.

My stomach dropped. I was right on time, but maybe Quincy was running a few minutes late? Or maybe I was being stood up. In some ways, that would make things easier.

After a moment, I walked down to the farthest stall. Better to wait there than out in the main part of the room, where anyone could see me. What if that old guy came back and wondered why I was loitering? Hell, for all I knew, that guy was Quincy.

I stepped into the stall and closed the door, then looked at the opening in the adjoining wall. A shame I’d never get to test it out. Some things just weren’t meant to be, I supposed.

I brought my hand to my back pocket, but before I could pull out my phone to check the time, the bathroom door opened. A pair of brown work boots stepped inside. Not the older guy, then. He’d been wearing Tevas with socks.

I sucked in a sharp breath of air as the boots headed in my direction. They stopped right outside my stall. The owner of the boots cleared his throat, then spoke.