“He's unruly, Gentry.”
“Oh, he's just testing the waters. He's a junior now. Remember what we were like at that age, Robert?”
“Daughter present,” I choked out and everyone laughed.
“Can you drop Summer and Eloise off at school? Kyle had to go in early.”
Deep lines creased Gentry’s face. “No can do. Robert and I need to leave shortly too. There's a breakfast meeting we can't miss.”
Rebecca leaned in to him, lowering her voice. “Well, I can't take them. I’m meeting Cheri to discuss the fall event.”
Summer appeared in the doorway looking every bit the American dream. Long honey-blonde hair framed a heart shaped face, giving way to big blue eyes. Ugh. I needed serious time to look that good. “Morning,” she said, taking a seat at the island and helping herself to breakfast.
“Hey,” I replied trying to figure her out. She was quieter than the other Stone-Prince children.
“Are Macey and Maverick still around?” Gentry asked Summer, and she gave him a small nod. “Then it’s settled, they can take them,” he said.
“Gentry, I'm not sure...”
“What's up?” Maverick entered the kitchen, and the mood changed immediately. Even Dad straightened beside me. I watched the eldest Prince move around the room from under my lashes. His body was lithe, the basketball jersey hung loose until he twisted and turned revealing lean and defined muscle. The boy I met last summer had filled out in all the right places. My stomach fluttered in an act of betrayal and I felt a little lightheaded.
Damn him.
He couldn’t have shrunk or contracted a bad case of teenage acne?
“Maverick,” Gentry leaned back on the counter. “You'll give your sister and Lo a ride to school this morning.” It wasn't a request.
“We can't.” Macey appeared, her expression as cold as it had been Friday. “We have a thing.”
“Macey, please,” Rebecca hissed low, but not enough we all didn't hear it.
“We can walk, it's not too far.” Summer gave me a tight-lipped smile, and I wondered what she knew that I didn't.
“Maverick.” Gentry's tone was final and something crackled in the air. I glanced from my uncle to his stepson and back again wondering who would be crowned winner in battle of the wills.
To our surprise, Maverick conceded. “Fine. We leave at eight-fifteen.”
He didn't look at me. Didn’t address me directly, but I felt his animosity all the way down to my bones, and I realised whatever I thought had existed between us that night was a fantasy. Macey grumbled something under her breath, grabbed a glass of juice, and stomped out of the room. I went back to deconstructing my bagel. He left too; I knew because the tension rippling in the air evaporated, and Rebecca and Uncle Gentry went back to chatting with Dad about his first day at Stone and Associates while Summer and I sat in easy silence. And we pretended none of that just happened.
“You’re not wearing that?” Macey looked me up and down and I bristled, standing a little taller.
“Well, I hadn't planned on changing when we got there,” I shot back with a scowl to rival her own. Maverick appeared and for a second I was sure I heard him snigger, but when I met his eyes, his expression matched his sister's.
What the hell was his problem? It was a year ago—thirteen months to be exact. It wasn’t like it was that big of a deal, anyway. I was surprised he could even remember. He was the one who left me cold and alone on the beach. Not the other way around.
“I think she looks nice,” Summer came to my defence, and I was about to offer her my thanks when Macey snapped, “We're going to be late, let’s go.”
Following Summer into the back of Maverick's sleek black Audi, I glanced down at my outfit, hating she'd made me second guess myself. I'd never cared before about what I wore, I wasn't about to start now. As far as I was concerned, I looked good in the skinny jeans, black vest top, and my favourite zebra print Converse.
“I like your tattoo, Eloise.”
“Thanks.” I gave Summer a small smile, feeling the familiar pinch of grief around my heart.
“Mom and Dad would kill me if I ever came home with a tattoo.”
“Because you’re fifteen, Sum,” Macey said, her voice a lot less growly. But that quickly changed when she turned to us and swept her severe gaze over my arm. “You might want to cover that up at school.”
I answered by sliding my glasses down my face and turning my head to the window. It had been a spur-of-the-moment thing getting the floral sleeve. I'd had one too many drinks and Chris, my on-off boyfriend at the time, had been all too willing to ink my virgin skin. Dad almost shit a brick but there wasn't much he could do about it, and eventually he shelved it with the rest of my bad decision-making moments. Losing your wife and son in the same accident that almost took your daughter's life did that to a man. And for the last three months, it had been my get out of jail free card, but I had a feeling I was all out of excuses now. California was our fresh start. Dad's attempt at piecing back together what was left of our family. I was to attend Wicked Bay high school, play nice with Dad's family, and decide what I wanted to do with my life.
If only it were that easy.
Even with the top down, ten minutes inside the car with the Prince siblings, was ten too many. They chatted in low whispers while Summer and I sat in the back in awkward silence. Part of me had hoped they would show me around when we arrived, but that dream evaporated when my eyes had landed on him in the kitchen on Friday. During conversations I overheard last summer, I’d picked up on some tension between Rebecca's kids and Uncle Gentry. But that was common for most blended families, wasn’t it? Still, something seemed off.
A stream of kids filtered into the parking lot as Maverick pulled into a bay. He cut the engine and climbed out not sparing us—or me—a second glance. Summer seemed immune to their surly attitudes. “I can show you where the office is,” she said as we got out of the car. Heeding Macey's words, I pulled the cardigan out of my bag and slipped it on.
A group of boys approached Maverick, laughing and fist bumping, and I realised it was the first time I’d seen him crack a smile since I arrived. But that wasn’t what caught my attention. It was the way all the other kids watched their group, as if a celebrity had just turned up on campus. Conversations paused. Heads turned. A mix of envy and awe painted on their faces. Longing on most of the girls. Even the group Macey made a beeline for, seemed more interested in her brother and his friends, whispering and pointing, all dreamy-eyed and breathless. Part of me wondered if it was the reason her scowl remained firmly in place.
Either way, neither of them said goodbye.
Refusing to show any signs of weakness, I hitched my bag up my shoulder and followed Summer toward the building. But a voice stopped me in my tracks.
“London, wait up.”
I turned slowly, glaring at Maverick through my glasses. He glanced around at his friends who were watching with a mix of curiosity and amusement. “Don't get lost,” he laughed, the corners of his mouth pulled into a cocky smirk, and I clenched my fists at my sides trying to curb my anger.