The Summer Deal (Wildstone #5)(83)

Kinsey looked down at her own shoes, like she needed a moment. They were pretty great shoes: strappy high-heeled sandals in a label Brynn couldn’t afford. Kinsey didn’t have that much more money than her; she just shopped like a pro when Brynn couldn’t be bothered. Brynn preferred the easy route. Kinsey wouldn’t know easy if it hit her in the face.

Her sister looked up then, her eyes suspiciously shiny. Which was odd, because Kinsey didn’t often show her true feelings. “Fine,” she said. “I lied to you. I didn’t want to do this. I wanted to never have to do this. But don’t stand there and say you’ve never lied.”

“We made a pact to be honest with each other,” Brynn said.

“No, that was you, not me. I never promised that. I couldn’t have promised that. Because this is bigger than whatever you think of me right now, Brynn. I’m a walking, talking expiration date. Do you realize that? I try to stand back, keep myself distanced so I don’t hurt someone when my time’s up.”

Brynn’s chest tightened unbearably, and hell if her own eyes didn’t well up. “That’s bullshit. People want to love you, Goddammit. It’s not fair of you to hold back from the people you care about when those fears of yours about the future might never happen.”

Kinsey stared at her, shook her head, and turned to Eli. “Talk some sense into her. Tell her.”

He gave a slow shake of his head. “She’s right, Kins.”

Oh, no. Hell no. He didn’t get to side with Brynn now. Taking a big step back from them, she said, “I can’t do this. I came back to Wildstone to . . . heal. I’d been naive. Stupid. And so I made a pact with myself. I would still try to see the best in people, but only until they revealed otherwise, and then poof, I’d be gone. But once again, I failed myself. You lied and I stayed. Twice. So really, this is my fault. I mean, I can’t even remember why I’m doing this, fighting for these relationships. And I sure as hell don’t know why I moved in, or why I wanted to make this work. Coming home was the biggest mistake of my life, and believe me, I’ve made some doozies.” And with that, she turned and started walking.

ELI JUST MANAGED to catch Brynn at the back door of the restaurant, barely. He put a hand over her head on the wood and held it shut with one hand, using his other to turn her to face him.

She leaned back against the door and glared up at him from eyes broadcasting pain and betrayal and a sadness that grabbed him by the throat.

Oh, and fury. So much fury, she almost blew him back from the force of that anger alone.

Which made two of them. Because she was going to walk away like everyone else. She’d just said coming home was her biggest mistake—which clearly included him. She was more concerned about storming out and being mad at Kinsey than dealing with the fact that she was blowing him and her up as well when, as far as he could tell, his only sin had been attempting to stand between someone he considered his sister and the woman he loved. “So what, you’re just going to walk away?”

“Yes.”

“Coming home was your biggest mistake?”

She yanked free. “I need to be alone. I’m tired of this fight.”

“You’re not even in this fight.”

“I am,” she said. “I’m totally in it.”

“Babe, you’re not even in the ring.”

That must’ve been true because she wouldn’t even look at him. “Let me go.”

“Brynn—”

“Good-bye, Eli,” she said, then whirled and slipped out the door.

Gone.

He stood there, his hand on the door, not even sure what the hell had just happened. Then he slowly turned back to Kinsey.

She raised her hand for a waitress. “I’d like the special, please.”

A waitress hurried over. “The double-double pancake special, the triple-triple pancake special, or the quadruple?”

“Yes,” Kinsey said.

The waitress looked at Eli.

“Nothing for me.”

“You used to be in my corner,” Kinsey said when they were alone.

“I’m always in your corner. But not even you can make me choose between you two. I love her.”

Kinsey dropped her head to the table. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry I ruined it for all of us.”

“It wasn’t all you,” he said, looking at the door where Brynn had gone. “Each of us made some questionable choices.”

“Think she’s coming back?”

“No.”

Kinsey nodded. “Which probably makes her the smart one.”

That might be true, but it didn’t make the hole in his heart that she’d left in her wake any easier to take.

KINSEY WAS SITTING on a bench outside the restaurant, waiting for Eli who was paying for the food they’d not eaten—and hopefully leaving the waitress a big, fat tip—and frustrated.

Brynn had vanished.

Well, not completely, because Kinsey had that stupid Find Your People app now, so she and Eli had opened it and stared at the screen.

Brynn had gotten into either an Uber or a Lyft, and was heading for their dad’s place. When the phone in Kinsey’s hand rang, she jumped and looked hopefully at her screen.

Not Brynn. But her heart still took a big old leap.