Page 103 of Harmony
“For fuck’s sake,” I grit out.
I let Dave go and hold my arm out to Maddie, helping her up.
“Jesus, Jesse, what was that about?”
“He said he didn’t come here for you,” I say through clenched teeth. “That’s what you said, right, Brianna? That’s what you told me.”
Dave smooths out his shirt from where Jesse grabbed it. “You’ve got a lot of nerve, Pike, when you were just in your room with my cousin.”
“This is all ridiculous,” Brianna says. “We’re all adults here. But for God’s sake, Dave, why didn’t you tell me the truth?”
“I don’t owe any of you any explanation,” Dave says, keeping his voice steady. “But I was telling the truth. Neither Maddie nor I intended for anything to happen between us.”
One look at my sister, though, and I’m pretty sure she got exactly what she wanted.
When the hell did she grow up?
I hold back a scoff. She grew up the same time Brianna did, and Brianna is all woman.
Brianna caresses my arm. “Everything’s fine.”
I draw in a deep breath. I let go of my envy and resentment of the Steels earlier. But when one shows up unexpectedly and I find him with his hands all over my baby sister…
My own hands are still clenched into fists, and everything inside me tells me to propel myself toward David Simpson and knock him to the ground, punch his smug little face in until it’s unrecognizable.
But Brianna’s right. Even Dave is right, though it drives me crazy. We are all adults here.
“Sorry,” I say begrudgingly.
“No worries,” Dave says, returning to his jovial self. “I’d probably have done the same thing if I saw you and Brianna in a clinch.”
“She’s not your sister,” I say.
“Jesse,” Brianna says, “it’s the same thing in our family. We’re a very close-knit group. All our cousins are like siblings to us.”
“She’s right,” Dave says. “So I get what you’re feeling. But it was just a kiss, man.”
Maddie’s face falls at his comment. She was hoping for more. Maybe she and I need to have a talk. I could get Brianna to talk to her, but Brianna’s her same age, and I certainly didn’t plan to fall in love so quickly and completely.
Brianna takes Maddie’s arm. “Come on. We’ve got a big day tomorrow. You and I should go to bed.”
Maddie doesn’t smile, but she does give Dave a longing look before she goes with Brianna into the room, closing the door behind her.
“Just so you know,” Dave says. “I don’t use women.”
That earns him my biggest scoff of the night. “You’re one of the three Rake-a-teers,” I say. “So I call bullshit.”
“Was,” he says. “And I don’t know if you realize this, but the other two are engaged to your other two sisters.”
“Don’t remind me.”
“Look.” Dave holds his hands out in front of him. “I didn’t come here looking to hook up with your sister. Maybe it will happen and maybe it won’t, but it’s not the reason. I was telling the truth when I said I needed a vacation. You don’t know the half of what our family’s been through.”
I don’t reply. How can I? He’s right. I don’t know a lot of it. Brianna offered to tell me, but I could tell it made her uncomfortable.
“So…” Dave continues, “if you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll get some shut-eye.” He begins to walk past me.
I grab his arm. “I got it. I get that you need a vacation. I get that you’ve had a hard time—that your family’s had a hard time. I don’t know the details, but I know it was bad. Harsh even. Probably heinous. But here’s where we differ, Simpson.” I stare him dead in the eye. “When my family falls on a hard time, we don’t get a vacation. We can’t afford it.”