by Elle Kennedy
I make a mental note to visit the Avalon Bay library. I don’t really believe in ghosts, but I do like history, and now that I own a hotel here, I’m even more curious to learn about the history of this town.
“I’m gonna ride with you guys, if that’s cool?” Evan says, then wanders out of the kitchen before I can answer. I guess it was a rhetorical question.
Sighing, I stare at the empty doorway. I think there’s only one person I really need to “win over” at the moment, and that person is Cooper’s twin brother.
Cooper’s friend Chase has a split-level house in town with a massive yard backing onto a wooded area. The moment we get there, I’m slightly overwhelmed by the number of people. There’s a ton of them here. Inside playing beer pong. Outside around a fire pit. Music blasting. Raucous laughter. We make the rounds as Cooper makes the introductions. It’d be fun if I didn’t notice everyone staring at me. Meanwhile, an oblivious Cooper keeps one arm around my waist as he talks with his friends. Everywhere I look are side-eyes, over-the-shoulder glances, and conspicuous whispers. I don’t usually get self-conscious in social situations, but it’s hard not to when everyone is making it clear with their eyes that they think I don’t belong. It’s nerve-wracking. Suffocating.
I need more booze if I’m going to survive tonight.
“I’m going to get another drink,” I tell Cooper. He’d been chatting with a tattooed guy named Wyatt, who’s complaining about how his girlfriend won’t take him back. Nearby, a small crowd is watching a game of bikini-and-briefs Twister in the backyard.
“I’ll get it for you,” he offers. “What do you want?”
“No, it’s okay. Stay and chat. I’ll be right back.”
With that, I slip away before he can argue with me. I wind my way through the house and end up in the kitchen, where I find a lone, unopened bottle of red wine and decide it’s the least likely to give me a raging hangover in the morning.
“You’re Mackenzie, right?” asks a gorgeous girl with long hair and a dark complexion. She’s in a bikini halter top and high-waisted shorts, mixing a drink at the counter. “Cooper’s Mackenzie.”
“Yep, that’s me. Cooper’s Mackenzie.” It sounds like a ’70s cop drama or something.
“Sorry,” she says with a friendly smile. She puts a lid on the cocktail shaker and vigorously shakes it over her shoulder. “I just meant I’ve heard a lot about you from Coop. I’m Steph.”
“Oh! The goat girl?”
Her lips twitch. “I’m sorry—what?”
I laugh awkwardly. “Sorry, that was random. Cooper and Evan told me this story about rescuing a goat when they were preteens at the behest of their friend Steph. That was you?”
She bursts out laughing. “Oh my God. Yes. The Great Goat Robbery. Totally my idea.” She suddenly shakes her head. “Except did they tell you the part about abandoning the goat in the woods? Like, what the hell!”
“Right?” I exclaim. “That’s what I said! That poor thing totally got eaten by mountain lions or something.”
She snickers. “Well, we live in a seaside town, so maybe not mountain lions. Definitely got mauled by some predator, though.”
I set the wine bottle on the counter and open a drawer in search of a corkscrew.
Steph pours her concoction into two red cups then offers me one. “Leave the wine. That stuff’s terrible. Try this.” She pushes the drink at me. “Trust me. It’s good. Not too strong.”
No sense in offending the only person to speak to me all night. I take a sip and am pleasantly surprised by the slightly sweet taste of orange and botanicals.
“This is good. Really good. Thanks.”
“No problem. Don’t tell anyone where you got it,” she says, tapping the side of her nose. As if to say, if the cops raid the party and catch you underage drinking, don’t snitch on me. “I was hoping Cooper would decide to share you soon. We’ve all been anxious to meet you.”
“We?”
“Just, you know, the gang.”
“Right.”
Evan had also used that phrase. I wonder who else comprises this “gang.” Cooper and I haven’t done much in the getting-to-know-you realm this week. I mean, beyond anatomy.
Speaking of anatomy, an insanely attractive, anatomically perfect guy strides into the kitchen. Tall, fair, and armed with a pair of dimples, he flashes a smile at Steph. “Who’s your friend?” he asks, curious blue eyes landing on me.
“Mackenzie,” I say, holding out my hand.
“Tate.” He shakes my outstretched hand, his fingers lingering.
Steph snorts. “Keep it in your pants, babe. She’s with Coop.”
“Yeah?” Tate sounds impressed. His gaze rakes over me in slow, deliberate perusal. “Lucky Coop.” He grabs a few longnecks from the fridge. “You girls coming outside to the fire?”
“In a bit,” Steph answers.
“Cool.” He nods and leaves the kitchen.
Once he’s gone, Steph is quick to give me the skinny on Tate. Apparently he sleeps around, but his dimples and easygoing charm make it hard to view him as a douchebag. “He’s just so darn likeable, you know?” She sighs. “I hate people like that.”
“Those likeable pricks,” I agree, solemn.
We continue chatting as we drink our cocktails. The more we talk, the more I like her. Turns out we both have a thing for amusement parks and the one-hit wonders of early 2000s pop music.
“I saw them last year in Myrtle Beach. They were opening for …” Steph thinks about it then laughs to herself. “Yeah, I can’t remember. They’re in their fifties now.”
“Oh God, I can’t believe they’re still together.”
“It was weird,” she says, pouring us another couple of mixed cocktails.
“What was weird?” A girl with platinum hair and dressed in a black cropped T-shirt with the sleeves cut off slides in next to Steph.
“Nothing,” Steph says. She’s smiling until she clocks the hard glare on the blonde’s face. Then all the humor falls. “Heidi, this is Mackenzie.”
There’s too much emphasis on my name. I can’t help wondering what Cooper’s told them. It leaves me at a significant disadvantage.
“Nice to meet you,” I offer to cut the tension. I’m assuming Heidi is yet another member of this “gang.”
“Great,” she says, bored the minute she looked at me. “Can we talk, Steph?”
Beside her, a redhead is sporting a smirk that signals I’m not in on the joke, whatever it is.
I get the distinct impression I’m no longer welcome here.
“You know, I should go find Cooper,” I tell Steph. “Nice meeting you all.”
I don’t wait for a reply before shuffling off, leaving my drink behind.
Cooper’s still in the backyard, only now he’s standing around the bonfire next to a very cute brunette whose ass is trying to climb out of her shorts. When her hand touches Cooper’s chest I want to charge her like a bull. Instead, I keep my cool and saunter up to him, grabbing him by his belt loops. That gets his attention. The corner of his mouth lifts wryly.
“Come on,” I say, ignoring the irritated look from the brunette. “I want to grope you in the dark.”
Cooper doesn’t miss a beat. He sets his bottle on the cement blocks lining the bonfire pit. “Yeah, okay.”
Together we round the side of the house to the street out front, where Cooper’s truck is parked. He lifts me up to sit on the open tailgate. With a dirty grin, he steps between my legs.
“Came to piss on my leg, huh?” He runs his callused fingertips up and down the tops of my exposed thighs. My teeny yellow dress has ridden up almost to my waist, but Cooper’s big body shields me from view.
“In not so many words, yeah, I guess so.”
“I’m into it,” he says, smirking. “You were gone awhile. Everything cool?”
“All good. Just mingling. I met your friend Tate.” I wink. “He’s cute.”
Dark eyes narrow at me. “Did he hit on you
?”
“For about a second. Backed off when he learned I came here with you.”
“Good. I don’t have to kill him. Meet anyone else?”
“A few others,” I say vaguely, because I don’t want to talk about it.
Truth is, tonight has been a bust and I’m feeling anxious about the prospects of how Cooper and I are going to fit into each other’s lives. The longer I’m left to think on the subject, the more the doubt digs its roots into my brain. I don’t want to think. I want Cooper to make it all go away. So I tangle my hands in his hair and pull him toward me, kissing him with purpose until I feel the slightest groan from his chest, and he wraps his arms around me, deepening the kiss.
“What’s the matter, you two?” I jump when Evan sneaks up behind us, shining the flashlight from his phone in our eyes. “Party run out of Dom Pérignon already?”
“Fuck off,” Cooper grumbles, swatting the phone away. “Can’t you find someone else to entertain you?”
“I’m good. Came to check on you crazy kids.”
Evan flashes a grin and waves at me with a bottle of beer in his hand. The first night we met on the beach, I thought Evan was all right. Since then, I’ve found him rude and pointedly unfriendly. It isn’t enough to be a dick to me; he wants me to know he’s trying to be a dick. It’s the commitment to effort that’s been getting to me.
“Now you have.” Cooper levels his brother with a look. A whole silent conversation is happening that I can’t translate. “Bye.”
“Tell me something, Mac.”
“Give it a rest, dude.” Cooper backs away from me, trying to escort his obviously drunk brother toward the house.
Evan eyes me over the top of his beer. He takes another gulp while pushing his brother away. “I’ve been dying to ask. Do rich chicks do anal?”
“That’s enough, asshole. Leave her alone.”
“Or do you pay someone else to do it for you?”
It happens in a blink.
One second Evan is laughing at his own unfunny joke.
Then he’s flat on the ground, blood pouring from his mouth.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
COOPER
I put him on the ground with one punch. Evan was already well on his way to wasted, or else he might have taken the hit better. I feel a small pang of regret when I see the blood leaking onto the asphalt, but all remorse fades when Evan lumbers to his feet and charges at me.
He drives his shoulder into my gut, grabbing me around the waist as we stumble backward against my truck. Somewhere I hear Mac screaming at us, but it’s no use. Evan is on one now. And when he lands a couple of hard jabs to my ribs, I don’t give a shit who he is anymore. Something in me snaps and my entire world reduces to the sole task of kicking my brother’s ass. We trade blows until we’re rolling around in the middle of the street, picking up road rash. Suddenly my arms are locked up and people are pulling Evan and me apart.
“Fuck you, man,” Evan shouts at me.
“You came asking for it,” I growl.
He lunges again.
My fists swing up.
Bodies crowd the space between us as we’re forcibly separated.
“What is wrong with you two?” Heidi shouts. She and Jay West cage Evan, stepping between us as I shove away the hands of at least three other guys from the party.
“I’m fine,” Evan grumbles. “Back off.” He wrestles out of their grips and storms down the street on foot.
“I’ll get him,” Steph offers, sighing softly.
Seeing the fight’s over, everyone but my closest friends drifts back to the house.
“Nah, let him cool off,” Alana advises.
Heidi side-eyes me before stalking away, Jay trailing after her like a lovesick puppy. I wonder if they came together. I hope so. Maybe then she’ll stop hating on me so much.
Steph and Alana wear matching frowns as they study me. Whatever. I don’t give a flying fuck what they think right now. Evan deserved every last blow.
Mac grabs my face, inspecting the damage. “You okay?”
I wince when her fingers skim over the rapidly swelling spot beneath my left eye. “I’m fine.” I search her face just as intently. “Are we okay?” I don’t regret slugging Evan over what he said—nobody gets to talk to Mac like that—but I am sorry she had to see it.
Fuck, if this is the thing that drives her way …
She kisses my cheek. “You should go after him.”
I hesitate.
“I’ll be here when you get back,” she promises, as if reading my mind.
I don’t have any choice but to believe her. Besides, Evan loaded up on anger and alcohol roaming the streets at night alone is begging for disaster. So I head down the road to find him. I glance over my shoulder once, twice. Sure enough, Mackenzie is still there, standing by my pickup.
Eventually I catch up to Evan, finding him on a bench in a small playground lit only by a couple of dim streetlights.
“Still got all your teeth?” I ask, taking a seat beside him.
“Yeah.” He rubs his jaw. “You hit like a ten-year-old.”
“Still kicked your ass.”
“I had you.”
“You had shit,” I say, eyeing him with a smirk.
We sit quietly for some time, watching the swings waving in the breeze. It’s been years since Evan and I fought this bad. Really going to blows. I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t felt it coming. Shit’s been building up with him for a long time now. Maybe I’m the asshole for not talking to him about it sooner. Then again, taking his own issues out on Mac is weak, and I’m not about to let him keep that up.
“You were out of line back there.”
“Ah, come on. It was a little funny.” He slouches on the bench, spreading his legs like he might slip right off the thing in a pool of liquid.
“I’m serious. She hasn’t done a goddamn thing to you. You got a problem with me, grow up and say so. The snide comments and passive-aggressive bullshit, it stops now.”
“Kind of sounds like you’re giving me an ultimatum.” Evan tips his head toward me. “That what it’s come to?”
“Damn it, dude. You’re my brother. We’re blood. Nothing changes that.” I shake my head, frustrated. “So why are you getting so bent outta shape about her?”
“It’s the principle of the thing. She’s a clone, Coop. Those people, they’ve been standing on our necks since we were kids. Or don’t you remember? Assholes rolling up in their stupid golf carts, throwing drinks on us, running our bikes off the road.”
Evan ended up with a broken arm once. Flipped over his handlebars into a ditch when one of them bumped his tire. We went back a week later and slashed all four of theirs. There are years of that shit. Getting into fights. Tit for tat.
“People,” I remind him. “Not her. You can’t punish Mac for everything one of them’s ever done to you. That’s exactly what I was about to do to her if I’d stuck to the plan. And I would’ve been a bastard for it too.” I groan quietly. “Why can’t you let me have this?”
His shoulders stiffen.
I mean, hell, all of us lived through the daily soap opera that was the Evan and Genevieve show. Constantly bickering in front of everyone. Making us choose sides in arguments we wanted no part of. Breaking up. Screwing around. Getting back together like nothing happened. I never threw a tantrum about it, and I certainly didn’t treat her like crap hoping she’d go away. If Evan was in love with her, that was his own damn problem.
So why now, when I find someone I care about, does he have to be such a jackass about it?
Evan sighs. Scratches his hands through his hair. “I can’t help it, man. It gnaws at me. Why’d it have to be one of them? You could point in any direction and land on ten chicks who would fall to their knees for you.”
“I don’t know what to tell you. She’s different. If you gave her even half a chance, you’d see that.”
There’s no good reason Mac and I should work. I can’t give
him one. And hell, maybe we won’t work. She’s a stubborn, opinionated pain in my ass. She’s also gorgeous, funny, spontaneous, and ambitious. Turns out, that’s my type. She makes me crazy. I’ve never met a girl that stays on my mind days and weeks after I’ve seen her. She’s under my skin. And for all the ways we’re completely different, she gets me in a way few others do.
If I’m kidding myself, if this whole thing’s bound to blow up in my face, so be it. At least I tried.
“No talking you outta this, then?” he says, his resolve slowly crumbling.
“I’m asking you, as my brother, to accept it.”
He thinks on it. Too long for my taste. For the first time in our lives, we’re on opposite sides, and I have to wonder if there’s too much bad blood there—too much rage toward the clones—to get him back on mine.
Then he sighs again and rises from the bench. “Yeah, fine. Guess there’s no saving you from yourself. I’ll back off.”
I take what I can get from Evan and we call it squashed. Back at the party, I send him home in Alana’s car to make sure he gets there safe while I drive Mac to her dorm.
“I’m sorry about that,” I tell her when she hasn’t spoken in several minutes. She’s staring out the passenger window looking deep in thought, which gets me worried. “It had nothing to do with you. Evan’s got a lot of misplaced anger.”
“Brothers shouldn’t fight.”
I wait, uncertain if there’s more to that statement. My concern deepens when more doesn’t come.
“Talk to me, Mackenzie.” My voice comes out a bit husky.
“What if this is a bad idea?”
“It isn’t.”
“Seriously.” Out of the corner of my eye, I find her watching me. “I don’t want to be the reason you fall out with him. It’s good for no one. You can’t be happy because he’s upset, and I can’t be happy because you’re upset. We all lose.”
This is exactly why Evan needs to get over his bullshit and let us be. She’s not the person he imagines in his head, and if he understood her at all, he’d realize how unfair he’s been.