studio together while your sister does her thing.”
It must be said, I loved that Journey included my brother.
I kept one of my arms around his waist, and he draped his arm over my shoulder. I didn’t want to let him go. It seemed he didn’t want to let me go anytime soon either.
“Sure, I could eat. But I didn’t know we were due in the studio again.” Cork’s brow scrunched. “I thought Ash was happy with the single the way it is.”
“Apparently, he liked it and our performance so much, he put OB Hardy in the lineup at a concert next week, right before the Dirt Dogs.”
“Surf Fest in Huntington Beach?” my brother asked, his eyes bright.
“He didn’t say specifically,” Journey said. “But the Huntington Beach part sounds right.”
“That’s at the fairgrounds.” Cork stood, but he looked a little shaky. “Six thousand tickets were sold.”
“Wow,” I said. “That’s a big audience. Was Saber the one who called you this morning?” I asked Journey.
“Yeah,” Journey said. “And he knows now that we’re together.”
“Okay.” I made a face. “I’m sorry. He’s probably going to give you a hard time.”
“Not any more than he already does.” He squeezed my shoulder reassuringly. “I know how he is, and he knows where I stand. I think that’s as good as things are going to get between him and me.”
Journey released me to grab his wallet and keys from a side table that was another new addition to his apartment. Watching him, I almost shared about my bestie hooking up with Saber. But though I wanted to, I couldn’t. Not yet. Not until she and I talked.
Claiming a hangover headache, she’d waved off my interrogation until later today. We were meeting at the pier. A lot had happened since we’d last talked, and she wasn’t the only one with a new development to share.
“So, that photo over the couch,” I said as Journey and I moved toward the door. “It’s the spot at the cliffs, right? Where we surfed the other day?”
“It is.” Journey placed his hand on my lower back.
“It’s a great shot. Who took it?”
“Tess.”
“Oh.” I tripped, stumbling on a jealousy speed bump that appeared out of nowhere.
“She mentioned photography being a hobby of hers.” Journey’s eyes twinkled knowingly. “I mentioned having a lot of blank walls in the apartment, so she came up to measure the other night, and she left right afterward. Despite your matchmaking efforts, there’s nothing but friendship between us.”
“Oh.” I smiled. His explanation made me happy. “Do you like the photo because she took it, or because you like the cliffs a lot?”
“I bought it from her because it reminds me of you.” His gaze glistened with a sudden intensity that made my skin sizzle. “I like you a lot.”
Storm
UNDER THE AWNING outside the diner, Cork patted his stomach. “I’m so stuffed, I can’t walk.”
Lotus nodded with a sigh. “I weigh at least three pounds more than before we ate.”
Giving her a long glance, I doubted it. She had amazing curves beneath her denim shorts overalls, but she was on the thin side of slender. I worried about her, and how hard she worked.
“The food was so good.”
“Yeah,” Cork said. “The eggs were perfect. The platters are as big as a feeding trough.”
She shook her head at him. “You drowned your trough in sriracha.”
“Eggs need sauce.” He waggled his brows. “Just like ice cream.”
I grinned, watching them tease each other. Siblings, yet their relationship was nothing like mine with my brothers. Though Saber and Shield were tight and always had been, I’d only been tight with one person, a girl who was now the beautiful woman next to me.
“Yuck. Hot fudge, yes, but not spicy sriracha sauce.”
Lotus’s head shake seemed to clear the disgust at her brother’s topping choice from her face. Her expression was soft as she turned to me.
“Thank you.” Touching my arm, she smiled.
Her touch sparked a pure adrenaline rush, like riding my surfboard into a good barrel or finding the perfect chord for a new song. She was beautiful, sweet, and always thankful, whether I bought her a convenience store sandwich or an inexpensive breakfast.
“You’re welcome,” I said gruffly, covering her hand with mine. I wanted to keep that skin-to-skin connection. “I was happy for the company. I hate eating alone.”
“We enjoyed your company. It was interesting hearing about the places you’ve been and who you’ve met in your travels.” She withdrew her hand from mine.
A gust of wind threw a wisp of Lotus’s hair