The Summer Deal (Wildstone #5)(58)

He gave her a “get real” look. “We both know it needs to come from you. And besides, it’s not about me, remember? It’s actually not about you either, princess. It’s about her right now. You need to step out of the center of your universe for a minute and see the bigger picture.”

“The bigger picture is that you’re falling for my sister.”

“Guilty,” he said, and knew he shocked her by admitting that because her eyes widened. And it was true. He wanted to stay up late and eat chocolate chip pancakes at midnight with her, talking about everything and nothing at all. He wanted to kiss that spot behind her ear, the one he knew drove her crazy, then work his way to her lips, watching them curve for him. He wanted to watch her sleep in his bed. She was a bed hog. She slept on her stomach spread out wide, and he didn’t care. He wanted to kiss that spot along her tailbone where her shirt rode up in her sleep . . .

“You really are falling for her,” Kinsey said again, slowly this time, not a question, but a statement of fact.

He nodded just as the front door opened.

Brynn stood there in her denim sundress with her beat-up white sneakers on her feet. She took in the three of them with one sweeping glance and then her eyes landed on Eli, and she smiled like maybe he was the best thing she’d seen all day.

She was certainly the best thing he’d seen all day.

“Hey,” she said softly.

He smiled. “Hey.”

Behind him, Kinsey made a sound that spoke volumes. He could almost hear her eyes roll as she brushed past him and headed inside. “Smooth,” she whispered. “Real smooth.”

Brynn’s moms were sweet, easygoing hosts, taking everyone into the backyard, which was a wide, open grassy area, broken up by a tetherball and a bocce court. They plied everyone with drinks and set them all off to play a tournament.

Brynn shocked the hell out of Eli by beating him at bocce.

Olive beamed proudly. “She doesn’t have an athletic bone in her body, my sweet baby, but she’s got a lot of luck.”

“Hey,” Brynn said. “I’ve got plenty of athletic ability.”

“Is that so, honey? In what?” Raina asked sweetly.

Brynn pointed at her with her drink. “I can play a mean game of volleyball.”

Kinsey laughed.

“What?” Brynn said, looking offended. “I beat you, didn’t I?”

“Barely.”

Brynn narrowed her eyes. “If you’re going to rewrite history, at least make it believable.”

Raina stood to refill everyone’s glass from the wine bottle, looking confused when she saw that Kinsey hadn’t taken so much as a sip. “Honey, would you like a different kind? Red? I’ve also got vodka.”

“No, I’m good, thanks.” Kinsey shook her head. “I already had my quota of alcohol this week.”

“Me too,” Raina said. “But that’s not stopping me.”

“Mom, she’s on dialysis.”

“Oh, so sorry,” Raina murmured. “I had no idea.”

“I don’t like to talk about it,” Kinsey said, sending a glare at Brynn.

“I can understand that, but it’s not good to hold these things in,” Raina said. “It only makes things worse.”

“No worries there,” Kinsey said, and Raina looked relieved. But Eli knew that Kinsey had said that because she knew things couldn’t get much worse.

A fact he hated.

BRYNN LOCKED HERSELF in the downstairs guest bathroom. She needed a few minutes. She hadn’t meant to bring up Kinsey’s illness, hadn’t even realized that’s what she’d done until she saw Kinsey’s expression just before she masked it.

Anxiety.

Kinsey, who by all counts seemed on top of her world at all times, who wanted everyone to know she was in control and didn’t give a single shit, was upset. Maybe scared.

And that killed Brynn.

Kinsey had never been her favorite person. But she’d been in Brynn’s life far longer than most. Other than her moms and Eli, Kinsey was one of her oldest relationships. And whether she liked it or not, they were in a relationship.

She hadn’t let herself understand or come to terms with what Kinsey was facing, but it hit her now, hard. Kinsey’s life wasn’t her own, not really. And the implications of that, realizing how much her own life would have to change if she were in Kinsey’s shoes, was . . . well, terrifying and devastating.

Kinsey’s health crisis was serious, and Brynn wanted to get tested to see if she was a match. If she could help, she wanted to. Needed to. Because the thought of Kinsey not beating this thing . . .

She put her hands on the counter and counted to ten. When that didn’t work, she kept going. She’d gotten to a hundred when she heard Raina calling for her.

She swiped under her eyes and went into the kitchen.

“You okay, baby?” her mom asked.

“Sure. Of course.”

Raina gave her a “get real” look and reached for Brynn’s hand, pulling her closer. “Try again.”

Brynn shook her head. “I feel . . . discombobulated.”

“You care about Kinsey. And Max. And maybe especially Eli.”

“Mom—”

“It’s a good thing, Brynn. Such a good thing.” Raina paused. “Look, I know something big happened with Albert.”