Total pages in book: 162
Estimated words: 158872 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 794(@200wpm)___ 635(@250wpm)___ 530(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 158872 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 794(@200wpm)___ 635(@250wpm)___ 530(@300wpm)
A steady thwack, thwack, thwack from the backyard echoes as I enter the kitchen. I stop at the sink and fill a glass of water, take a few sips, then head outside.
Remy’s in the back corner of the yard—where our grandmother used to keep her most prized flowers.
After she died, no one had the skill or heart to maintain the garden. Remy keeps saying he wants to clear it out, but he never has the time.
I stop a few feet away and watch him wrestle with an overgrown hydrangea bush. “Remember Grandpa used to say the garden was so pretty because the flowers were afraid to disappoint Nana?” I say softly.
Remy chuckles and snips a brown, hollow sprig. “I think he was onto something.” He stops messing around with the bush and sets the clippers on a large rock Nana used as a bench before she got so thin sitting on it hurt her “old bones,” as she used to say.
“How are you doing, kid?”
The stubborn part of me doesn’t want to confide in Remy about my fight with Griff. And maybe a little bit of me also wants to protect Griff from my brother’s wrath. Or I want to protect our relationship from Remy’s criticism.
I shrug and don’t say anything.
“You can tell me.” Concern and patience shine in Remy’s blue eyes. Of course, he already knows Griff’s plan. He’s known for a while.
And never said anything to me.
“A heads-up that my boyfriend was planning to get beat up on television all summer would’ve been nice.” I cross my arms over my chest and glare.
He releases a slow breath and wipes the back of his hand over his forehead. “It wasn’t my information to share.”
“That’s a weak excuse, Remy.”
“Did you have fun at prom?” he asks. “Until all the stuff with Kyla later.”
“Why does it matter?”
“It matters. It’s something you were looking forward to.”
“Prom was great. We had a lot of fun.” Especially after the dance. Alone in our hotel room. My skin warms, and I look away from Remy. “But now I find out the whole time he had this big secret he was hiding.” How long has Griff actually known?
“He wasn’t hiding it,” Remy says. “He was trying to find the right time to tell you.” He lifts his gaze to the sky. “As much as it nauseates me to admit it, you’re the only person that could stop him.”
“Is that why he waited until he’d already signed a bunch of papers and couldn’t back out?”
Remy shifts his gaze to me again. This time his eyes are wide with surprise. “I didn’t realize it was finalized. I think I’ve been hoping he might decide not to do it myself.”
“Oh.” For some reason, that admission steals the wind out of my anger at Remy. “Really?”
“Of course.” He forces a cocky grin onto his face, but it doesn’t quite sit right. “I depend on him for a lot of stuff.”
As if he won’t miss Griff. “That’s it?”
“No,” he says with exaggerated patience. “But I can’t even guilt him about abandoning me because he went behind my back and asked Dex for help while he’s gone. Before he even told me he was considering this.”
If I wasn’t still stung over everything, I might laugh at Remy’s indignant tone. “Good.”
“You two will be fine,” Remy says.
I sniffle, hating this so much. “It feels like we just…we barely got to be a couple out in the open—”
Oh, shit. Too late, I realize what I just admitted.
“You think I didn’t know you two were up to something?” Remy chuckles.
Oooh, that’s right. Griff said Remy tried to set him up with those girls on purpose. I should be furious with him, but it seems insignificant now.
“I don’t care,” Remy continues. “But I wish he hadn’t felt like he had to sneak around. You’re not a secret to be kept.”
“He didn’t make me feel that way.” Not too much anyway. “You’re important to him, and he didn’t want to wreck your friendship if you went all crazy big brother.”
“Yeah, I know,” he answers in a dry tone. “Am I really that awful?”
“You’ve been surprisingly chill.”
He runs his hands through his hair like he’s having some internal battle. “He doesn’t want to be away from you all summer. You realize that, right? He’s not running away from you—he’s trying to run toward a future for the two of you.”
I sniffle, hating how pathetic I sound. “What do you mean? How?”
“He didn’t tell you?”
Shame crawls over my skin. “We didn’t get into a lot of details.”
“There’s a cash prize if he makes it to the final four.” He frowns and cocks his head. “Or final two? I don’t remember.” He waves it off as if it’s not important. “It’s a lot of money, though. More than he can make restoring cars in Johnsonville.”