“I should go . . .”
I nod. “Yes, before it gets too late.”
We kiss again, and the knot in my stomach grows. I don’t want her to leave. I want to pull her into my arms, carry her to my bed, and make love to her again. I want Maren with me all the time. It’s just not the reality we face.
She sighs and then gets in the car. We wave to each other one more time, and I watch her taillights fade away down the driveway.
I have no idea how much time passes before I feel a hand grip my shoulder. “And how is the blushing groom and his new bride?” Grayson asks.
“Fuck off.”
“Glad to hear the honeymoon was fun.”
It was more than fun. It was perfect. However, I know how my asshat siblings are, and I’m not giving them anything they can torture me about.
“How’s the resort?”
Gray sighs. “It’s been fine. We had a few small issues, but we handled them. We have two rooms booked, but the guests won’t be here for two more weeks. It isn’t great, but it’s something.”
“It’ll take a little time, we knew this.” It’s hard to open a new business and getting people to spend a night in a new establishment is harder. It doesn’t help that Melia Lake isn’t well-known on the map yet. The Firefly Resort is the first real lodging opening. Our hope is that more stores or restaurants follow our lead, and we can build the town up. After all, Willow Creek Valley was only popular after The Park Inn inspired the town to be eclectic.
“Yeah, but I hoped for a bit more for opening week. I guess we’ll spend this time making sure those two families love it.”
I shrug. “We built it, they will come.”
He laughs at my botched quote from the movie we all loved. “I sure fucking hope so. Otherwise, my daughters are going to be in trouble when it comes to college.”
We all risked a lot financially, and for Grayson, sometimes it feels like too much. “Do you regret it?”
“Not a single second. I worry, but that’s par for the course.”
“Yeah. I think this will all work out.” I’m not just talking about the resort. I mean with Maren too.
Gray tilts his head. “All kidding aside, what happened with Maren?”
I look at my older brother, who has always been there for me. He and I had a different relationship from what I had with my other siblings. Where Josh was the father figure, always bossing us around, Grayson was the brother who would hand me a beer and tell me not to say anything. He’s who I talked to when things were bad and when our father fucked up, he came to my aid without hesitation.
He’s been my best friend, and I know I can tell him, but I’m not sure what this is or how to explain it.
“I think I’m falling in love with her.”
“You think?”
“It’s too fucking soon. We didn’t even decide to date until last night.”
He grins, and we make our way toward the entrance. “I think it’s funny that you think you have a choice of when it happens or how fast. You were falling in love with her before the wedding. All of us saw it. Also, I won the bet.”
Great, another fucking bet. “What was it this time?”
“That you’d be in love with her before you got back.”
“Who lost?”
“Josh.”
Of course he did. “What did he bet?”
“That it would take her leaving for you to admit it.”
“So, you all thought it was going to happen?”
He nods. “Yup. Even Alex, and he hasn’t even seen you two together.”
Alex can keep his stupid opinion to himself in Egypt. “He doesn’t get a vote.”
Gray laughs. “You tell him that. Anyway, Stella said it happened already and that she wasn’t going to bet because she’s not an infant.”
“We don’t deserve her,” I say as the doors open.
“No, but we need her.”
This is true. Stella comes around the check-in desk, rushing toward me. “Ollie!”
My sister pulls me in for a big hug, and I wince when she hits my side. It doesn’t hurt, but she slammed into it at just the right angle.
“Tell me everything. How is my sister-in-law? Is her dad doing okay?”
Since my siblings all know we signed the license, they have apparently claimed her.
“We don’t know if we’re actually legally married.”
“Semantics. There was a wedding, vows, and you two had sex, so . . . sister-in-law status is acquired. How is Patrick doing?”
I give her the G-rated cliff notes of our trip and let her know that, as of this afternoon, Patrick was still holding in there.
She’s planning to fly down to Georgia tomorrow if everything is okay at work.
“Are you going too?” Stella asks.
“No, I have to work.”
“Right, but she needs you.”
“So does the resort.”
I’m not sure why she thinks I can just head off again.
Stella crosses her arms over her chest. “Oliver Parkerson, do you really think you’re so needed here that you can’t go? I mean, sure, you’re important and all, but that doesn’t mean some things don’t trump work.”
“Maren didn’t ask me to go.”
Gray laughs. “Dude . . . you know women.”
“What does that mean?” My sister turns her fury on him. “Women?”
“It means that you all think we should have the power to read minds. How the hell is Oliver—or any man, for that matter—supposed to know what goes on in your heads? Half the time I don’t even think you know what goes on in your head.”
I nod in agreement, loving that Grayson is always so willing to stick his foot in his mouth.
“Excuse me?” Stella’s head does that weird swirl that I swear only women can do.
“Don’t act like you’re confused. You know you do it too. I know you do because your husband has complained to me about it.”
Oh, Gray, now you brought Jack into it. Bad move, brother.
“Jack has said this?” There’s now a thick layer of frost around us.
Grayson, the idiot he is, starts to sputter as his error starts to become clear. “No. Yes. I mean, he hasn’t said it so much as maybe agreed when I said it.”
Stella slowly turns to look at me before going back to him. “I see. So, you were complaining about your own wife, who is a very lovely woman, I might add.”
He throws his hands up. “Stop making this about you. I’m saying that if Maren wants Oliver to go with her, she should ask him to.”
“Maybe she is afraid of being rejected.”
I raise my hand. “I don’t think so.”
“Oh? And you’re supposed to be the expert on women?” Great. The anger is back on me.
“I never said expert.”
“Yes, because you don’t have a vagina, therefore you can’t be.”
“Thank God for that or this conversation would be strange,” I say under my breath.