Conception (The Wellingtons #4) - Tessa Teevan Page 0,92
back. Buck up, Buttercup. There’s nothing you can do, so if you think I’m going to let you wallow in misery, you’ve got another thing comin’, Meems.”
Memories of that first day on the beach flood back in, and tears spring into my eyes. I’ll never read The Princess Bride the same again.
She takes my hands, squeezing lightly. “Promise me you won’t let it ruin the rest of the time you’ll be here. I already lost too much time with you. I don’t want to lose any more.”
I plaster on a fake smile. “You know, this may turn out to be a blessing. I came here to spend more time with you guys and ended up spending most of it with Knox. Now, you’ll have me all to yourself again.”
Sunny plops down beside me on my bed, wrapping an arm around my shoulder and giving me a side hug. “That’s the spirit. And hey, it may not be easy, but just forget about him. And no more tears.”
Right.
Something I didn’t consider when this summer with Knox began was that, in making all those memories, they’d be a constant reminder of what I had. And what I lost. Perhaps Sunny’s right. I’ve been an idiot all along. Worse, I was a coward.
She tells me not to cry, but I can’t help it.
There’s a tear every time I blink.
After running into Sunny and seeing the expression on her face at hearing of my leaving, I wanted to turn around and head right back to Amelia, demand she come to Nashville with me. But the thought of my dad lying in a hospital and Mom there at his side kept me on the road.
“Knox, you’re here,” Mom whispers, lifting from the chair beside Dad’s bed and coming towards me with open arms.
“Sorry I wasn’t here earlier. I got a bit of a later start than I planned.”
It’s an opportune time for Clay to walk in. He tosses me a wink. “I’m sure you did.”
Mom glances between us but doesn’t ask. Instead, she fusses over Dad, who insists he’s fine and we all need to get about our lives. We ignore him, and it’s a welcome distraction when Mom starts teasing him with stories from early on in their marriage. Then she turns her attention to Clay and me.
Eventually, a nurse kicks us out, and Mom declares she’s going home to pour a glass of sherry and take a bubble bath. I take Clay up on his offer of meeting at a bar around the corner.
Again, a welcome distraction.
We’re sitting at the bar, me nursing my bourbon and Clay sipping on a dirty martini. All it does is remind me of Amelia and the way she worked those tiny straws between her lips. I pick up my drink and down it one gulp, signaling for another.
I feel Clay’s eyes on me, and I turn towards him.
He gestures to my empty glass. “Something tells me you may have finished the house, but there’s still unfinished business in Crystal Cove.”
“Something like that.”
“Wanna talk about it?”
“Nope.”
Clay hits me on the shoulder then rises from his stool. “You got it, bro. No talking tonight. Wanna play pool?”
I groan, picturing Amelia leaning over the table at Mickey’s, her pert ass on full display for everyone in the bar.
It’s been less than twelve hours and Amelia’s everywhere.
Clay’s right. She’s unsettled business, and as soon as Dad’s better, I’m going back to Crystal Cove until I can close the deal.
IN THE FEW WEEKS SINCE Knox left, I’ve barely had a moment to myself. If Sunny’s not dragging me to the beach or to Mickey’s, Sam’s stopping by with the latest horror movie to come to VHS. Part of Sam’s job with me is countless movie nights. We just finished The Godfather Parts I & II, in which Sunny claimed Robert DeNiro as her own. Me? I was glad to get a break from Paul Newman.
They’re all irritatingly overbearing in the best way and I love spending more time with my friends, but I’d be lying if I said missing Knox is any less brutal than it was before.
And because I’m clearly a glutton for punishment, I decide to make good on my promise of doing a final deep clean to his lake house.
Except, when I get there, it doesn’t really need it. I don’t know if he’s hired someone or he did a damn good cleaning job after his mom had called, but I’m at a loss without anything to do.