Go Away, Darling - Alexis Anne Page 0,60

kid. “Yes. Number one being do no harm. Did we make a big mess? Yes. Was it intended to mess up Ben’s bedroom? Absolutely. But no one got hurt and if he was really mad I’d help him clean up. And if I ever step over the line and do something wrong, I understand that it is within my big brother’s rights to be angry and maybe even wrestle me, because that’s what we do. You’ve always got to be ready to accept the consequences of your actions.”

“Now you sound like Mom,” he grumbled.

I ruffled his hair just as London yelled across the lawn, “You’ll pay for this Christopher Kaine!”

Linc and I looked at each other.

“See? Now she’s super irritated with me, but she's not mad. I can expect an equally awful prank to be pulled on me in the next few days and I’ll just have to accept that I deserve whatever Ben does to me. No getting angry about it because I basically asked for it.”

“But...you do want it. That’s the fun.”

“Exactly.” The sound of a shop vac getting to work in the house echoed through the air. The thought of Ben and London finding seeds for the next few days made me smile. I was happy they were happy, but there was definitely a little bit of a smartass little brother in me that wanted to pay them back for having so much sex in my house. “I think we’re in the clear. You want to head home now?”

“Yeah sure. Are you going to ask Mom to marry you tonight?”

“No, bud. It’s too soon.”

He shook his head as we stood up like he was completely, utterly exasperated with me.

“There you are!” Liv yelled. She was right in front of us on the dock and she looked terrified.

At the same time that I jumped from the sound, Linc bounced up and down and I had to sidestep to keep from taking a head to my chin. “Mom! We put sunflower seeds in Ben’s bed! It was awesome!”

I couldn’t get my feet under me. Every time I moved, Linc moved, then the boat started moving.

“Oh no!” Liv reached for me, her eyes all big.

But if she grabbed my arm she was going over the side with me and I couldn’t let that happen. So I gave up the fight. I let gravity, Newton’s first, second, and third laws, and fate take over. As my knees hit the hull, sending me head over ass into the water again, I was struck by the timeliness of it all. I first went over the side of this very boat because I wanted Olivia (even though I didn’t know it yet.) And now that I’d let time take its course, now that I wanted to move forward into forever with her, here I was right back where it all started.

Cold. Wet. Excited.

20

Now do her

Olivia

I felt a little bit bad that Chris went overboard, but mostly it was adorable and really funny. Chris went inside to change and I took Linc home to do the same, with the promise we’d all go fishing.

So here we were, anchored up with enough fish for dinner and time to kill.

“Why don’t we go to Cayo Costa?” Linc asked.

“It’s not a bad idea.” I looked to Chris since it was his boat.

He shrugged. “Sure why not.”

The ride from our fishing hole was about fifteen minutes of afternoon sun and wind. I loved feeling it move through my hair even though I knew it was whipping it into a salty mess. I had my usual outfit on. Surf bikini and a protective Columbia shirt, plus my Mantas hat. I used to switch hats depending on the day and bathing suit, but not anymore.

Mantas all the way baby.

I liked that we went to Chris’s games, that I knew all the guys and they knew us. It was like a family. It was so different from Beau and his football teams. Maybe it was the nature of the sport, but I had a feeling it was also my ex. He liked his worlds separate.

“With this weather it will be easier to come in on the east side of the island instead of going around,” I yelled over the engine and wind.

Chris nodded. I caught him looking at me out of the side of his sunglasses. Was that a look of longing and appreciation? I think it was, and that made my heart skip a beat.

Last year everything was too fast, too