“The way you dominate,” I say. “The bossiness—”
“Stop,” Hank says.
“Please don’t,” the blonde says. “I want more.”
I look at Emma and nod with a slight tip of my head, giving her the lead. Her chest rises on a deep inhale.
Emma explains the whole LadyV and Blue story. “And, well.” She takes a deep breath. “Now here we are. He said he’d be wearing blue, and he’d have a Van Halen CD on the table.”
Hank’s brows snap together. “Van Halen?”
“Inside joke,” I say.
Hank’s expression tenses.
“You can’t make this shit up,” the blonde says, slowly shaking her head.
I turn to her. “Hey, Lindsey. I’m Samuel. I’m sorry I was rude and didn’t introduce myself earlier, I just—”
“Had a love triangle happening in real time.” She waves me away. “I get it.”
I look at Emma’s tears and Hank’s beet-red face, and I suddenly feel very, very tired.
For a split second, I regret it all. The good things that came my way when I let her in all outweighed by this. A kind of misery I couldn’t fathom until it hit me like a three-hundred-pound tackle.
My brother kissed a girl I love, knowing it would piss me off. That isn’t like him at all. That’s not what a brother does. When I’m feeling less rage-y, we’ll be having that conversation.
But for now? Yeah, so much for keeping our relationship under wraps. It’s only a matter of time before news of this clusterfuck reaches Blue Mountain. And then what? Emma’s concerns about her reputation will be very much warranted.
I can tell she’s working through the same knotty problems in her own head. She’s looking at me but not seeing, gaze hazy not with lust but with fear.
“It’ll be all right,” I say and grab her hand.
She gives me a look that says I’m not so sure.
“You.” I point at Hank. “Stay the fuck away from us.”
Emma startles. “Samuel—”
“This is my family, Em. I’ll handle it.”
She pulls her hand away from mine. “I should go.”
“Emma,” Hank and I say in unison.
“I need some time to think.” She curls her hand around the strap of her bag on her shoulder. “C’mon, Lindsey. We’ll grab something to eat on the way back to my apartment.”
Her apartment. Not her cottage.
I panic. “Please. Don’t do this.”
She meets my eyes. “Please give me time.”
“Em, if I did something—”
“We all did bad things. Really bad things, Samuel. The kind of stuff that can tear apart a family. We need to be the adults in the room so that doesn’t happen. Let’s all take some time to cool off, okay? We could very well end up regretting the things we say now.”
Emma puts a hand on my brother’s chest. “I’m begging you, Hank. Go. Go back home and, I don’t know, get some rest or something. We’ll talk about this in the morning, okay?”
I look at Hank. Hank looks at me.
“Okay,” we say.
Hank and I watch her and her sister go, the two of us frozen to the spot like big, dumb statues.
The silence that settles between us is excruciating.
“I can’t believe this shit,” I say, and I grab the CD and my coat and walk out of there.
Hank is hot on my heels. He follows me out to the parking lot, footfalls heavy on the wet pavement.
“You gotta believe me when I say I tried so fucking hard not to want her. But you were so cold, and I could tell she was struggling. I only meant to help her out. And, well, you know how amazing she is.”
My chest clenches. The thing is, I believe him. Mostly because I was cold. I was a jackass. Hank was there for Emma when I wasn’t. And she is amazing.
My hand shakes when I put it on the handle of my car door. I press my thumb into the indent on the handle, making the locks click, then yank open the door.
“Doesn’t change the fact you kissed her to hurt me.” I climb inside the car.
Hank rests his hand on the top of the door and leans against it. “No, it doesn’t. But it also doesn’t change the fact that you lied to me. Over and over.”
“Go to hell, Hank.”
I shut the door, lock it, and start the engine.
My brother is still standing there when I pull out of the lot.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Emma
I won’t be the reason your relationship with your brother falls apart.
I’ve seen how much you love your family, and I’m not sure you can make peace with them if I’m around.
Driving up the mountain to the farm, I run through a zillion possible lines. Whatever I end up choosing, I have to make it clear to Samuel why we can’t be together.
I have to make him see why I’m leaving Blue Mountain Farm for good.
I told the guys we all needed time to cool off. But it’s clear I’m bad news for the Beauregard family. And if I’m the reason they’re torn apart, what’s left for any of us? If the family goes down, so does the resort.
Everyone’s hearts will be broken. I won’t do that to Samuel, and I won’t do it to the people he loves.
Tears stream down my face.
“Hey.” Lindsey puts a hand on my leg. “You want me to drive?”
“I got it. Thanks, though.” I sniff, wiping my nose with the sleeve of my coat. I didn’t bother taking it off. Now I’m burning up, my insides churning with sorrow and shame and embarrassment.
Of course my perfect older sister was there to witness the spectacle. I can only imagine what my parents will say when she tells them I quit my dream job because I was involved in a love triangle with two of the owners who—get this—are also brothers.
“I bet that kind of shit doesn’t happen at the offices of Hanock, Hanock, and Brigley,” I say with a scoff.
Lindsey doesn’t smile, though. Giving my leg a squeeze, she looks out the window. “It’s not as exciting there, no. But believe me, there’s still drama.”
I wait for her to finish that thought, but she doesn’t. We’re quiet for the rest of the drive. My embarrassment builds to the point that I’m crawling out of my skin by the time we pull up to my cottage.
I turn off the car and let my hands fall onto my lap. Closing my eyes, I take a breath. “Okay. I gotta pack up my shit and get out of here. I’m sorry you came all this way and the day ended so horribly. How about I call up to the main house for something to go for your ride home?”
Lindsey cocks her head. “One, are you sure that’s the right move? Running? And two, if you are sure, then I’ll get you food, and I’ll help you pack.”
The lump in my throat softens. “You don’t have to do that.”
“I’m your sister. Of course I do. Now talk to me about how we went from ‘oh shit two dudes are in love with me’ to ‘I’m leaving my dream job and my dream guy.’”
Ugh, fresh wave of tears. “One, my professional reputation was just shot to hell, and now there’s no way I’ll be able to build a career here at the resort.”