I decide to ask Parker to braid my hair. She used to do it for me all the time growing up. My plan is to take it down before going to Griffin’s, and it will have that nice beachy wave look. Grabbing a comb and a hair tie, I set off to find my sister.
“Morning, sleepyhead,” she greets me.
“Sorry. I didn’t sleep well last night.”
“What’s going on?” she asks.
“Nothing.” I wave off her concern. “Do you mind French braiding my hair?”
“Sure.” She sits up, and I take a seat between her legs on the floor. “It’s been ages since I’ve done this. I hope I remember how.”
“You don’t braid Autumn’s hair?”
“I have, but it’s been a long time.”
“Thanks for letting me tag along with you and for going to bat with Mom and Dad.”
“Of course. Are you having a good time? I’m trying not to be a helicopter sister.” She laughs, and it reminds me so much of our mom.
“I am. It’s been nice to get away.”
“And Griffin?”
“He’s good,” I admit.
“You really like this guy.”
“Yeah. Just my luck, right? I meet someone I might actually be interested in, and he lives almost thirteen hours away.”
“You’ve checked?”
“No. He did.”
“Interesting.”
“What? What does that mean?”
“Just that he sounds like he’s into you as well.”
“Yeah, he says he wants to keep in touch.”
“Just keep in touch? No long distance?”
“I told him I didn’t want to talk about it for the next two days. That we should just focus on the here and now.”
“Look, Peyton. I know that I should be telling you that you’re young and you have plenty of time to find the one, but I’m not going to do that. You’re only three years younger than me. I can tell you that if I had met Holden my freshman year, I would have had the same response to him then as I do now. When you know, you know.”
“I don’t know anything.”
“Sure you do. You know, you just aren’t willing to admit it to yourself.”
“Come on, Parker. You do realize how insane this sounds, right?” My defense is weak even to my own ears.
“Maybe it seems that way to people who aren’t living it. Trust me. There is no timeline for these kinds of things. Love at first sight is a real thing.”
“Hold up, Parker. No one said anything about love.”
“Fine. Lust, strong like, all of it, exists. It’s what you do with those feelings that matter. Don’t worry about anyone but you.”
“Dad will flip his shit.”
She laughs. “You’re right. He will. But he’ll also adjust. He did it with Paisley, and he did it with me. He’ll do it with you.”
“You were both older than me.”
“I’m three years older, and if you remember, Paisley was right out of college too when she met Cam.”
Before I get a chance at a rebuttal, the room to our suite opens, and Holden’s voice fills the small space.
“Honey, I’m home,” he calls out.
I hear male laughter, and I don’t have to see Cameron to know that he’s tagged along. However, I’m surprised when Uncle Drew steps into our suite as well.
“Did Dad send you?” I ask Drew.
He chuckles. “No. Well, he mentioned it, but Cam and Holden lured me here on the promise of dinner with two of my favorite girls.”
I eye him suspiciously. “I’m watching you,” I say, pointing my finger at him.
“You’re all set,” Parker says, tapping me on the shoulder.
I move to stand and hug Uncle Drew. He’s not really our uncle, but he and my dad have been best friends way before any of us were thought of, so by default, he’s Uncle Drew. “Are you having a good time?” he asks.
“She’s having a blast,” Cameron speaks for me.
Here we go.
“Oh, yeah? That’s good, right?” Drew asks. He’s clearly confused, which means Cameron and Holden haven’t told him about Griffin.
“She met someone,” Holden adds helpfully. “Ouch,” he says when Parker smacks at his chest. He pulls her to him and kisses her. We all know my sister didn’t hurt a hair on his head.
Drew studies me. “You’re being safe, right, Peyton?”
My face heats. “Stop! We are not having this conversation,” I tell him.
“That’s not what I meant, but yeah, that too. I just mean you’re a young girl on spring break. You don’t know this guy.”
“We met him,” Cameron speaks up. “Seems like a good kid.”
“Agreed.” Holden nods.
“See. I’m fine.”
“In fact, why don’t you call him and have him join us for lunch?” Cameron suggests.
“Nope. He’s making me dinner tonight. His dad is a chef, so they’re kind of both making dinner for his mom and me,” I say, clamping my mouth shut. I’ve already said too much. This nosy bunch is going to ask questions.
“You should call him,” Parker urges. “You never know until you ask.”
I bite down on my bottom lip. I want to see him. I want to spend as much time with him as I can over the next two days. But do I really want him here with my family? He proved that he could be around them and not act a fool yesterday. Besides, my family is my rock. They’re my team, so to speak. They can spend some time with him and let me know what they think. His family will get that with me tonight, so I should at least offer it to him.
“Fine. But I’m warning you three.” I point at all three men. “Do not embarrass me.”
“Hey, what about your sister?” Holden asks, laughing. “She’s the one you have to worry about.”
“No, I don’t have to worry about Parker. She’s been in my shoes with you.” I point at Holden. “Please, can you not grill him? Please?”
“We’ll be on our best behavior,” Drew assures me.
Somehow, I feel like he’s pulling my chain, but I tug my phone out of my pocket anyway. I scroll to Griffin’s contact and hit call as I walk into my bedroom and close the door.
“Morning, beautiful. I wanted to text that, but I didn’t want to wake you, and then Dad and I got busy preparing for tonight. How did you sleep?” he rambles.
“Morning, or afternoon, rather,” I answer. “I was up a good part of the night.”
“Me too,” he confesses.
“So you’re prepping, huh?” I can’t take him away from that. Our dinner tonight was planned first.
“We were. It’s all done until it’s time to start cooking later. What are you getting into?”
“Well, Holden and Cameron are here, and my uncle Drew. We’re going to a late lunch.”
“Sounds like fun.”
“They’re a riot. That’s for sure.”
“Sounds like you all are close.”
“We are, which is kind of why I’m calling. It was their idea, but I want you to come. Anyway, the guys suggested I see if you wanted to come to lunch with us today?”