The Vincent Boys Collection Page 26

  “He texted me tonight.”

  “Who?” I assumed she was talking about Sawyer, but with Ashton you never could be sure which Vincent boy she was talking about.

  “Sawyer. He asked about you. Wanted me to tell you he was sorry.”

  My stupid heart sped up, and I tried to keep my face composed. I reminded myself he’d probably been more worried about Ashton’s feelings than mine.

  “Oh” was the only response I could muster.

  “I don’t know what his motives are, Lana. I mean, you are gorgeous and he is a guy. I can see that he could be interested in you—”

  “But you’re also worried he’s using me to get to you.” I finished her thought for her.

  Ashton pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and grimaced. Yep, it sounded bad when said out loud. But it was the truth.

  “The Sawyer I know, the Sawyer I loved isn’t calculating and cruel. But the Sawyer I knew also would have never gotten drunk at a party and made out with a girl in public. Heck, I’m pretty sure you did more with Sawyer on that couch than I did with Sawyer during the three years we dated.” Ashton let out a hard, short laugh. “I basically had to beg him to do more than a few chaste kisses. He was so controlled. Tonight, when I came downstairs and saw the two of you, and well, his hands . . . ” she trailed off.

  I knew exactly where his hands had been and remembering made my face heat up.

  “I guess what I’m trying to say is, be careful. I don’t know what he’s up to, and I don’t want to believe he is trying to get to me through you. I just don’t think he would do that. Honestly, if you and Sawyer became an item, I’d be happy for both of you. He’s a wonderful guy. He just wasn’t ‘my guy’ . . . ya know?”

  I didn’t know what to say to her. I was surprised she was so okay with Sawyer moving on. Sure, Beau was a hottie, but if Sawyer had been mine, I’d be devastated to see him move on.

  “He wants your cell phone number. I didn’t give it to him. I wasn’t sure what you wanted me to do.”

  “Give it to him,” I replied quickly.

  Ashton laughed and nodded before standing up. “Well, okay, then. Glad to know where you stand.” The teasing in her voice was a relief. She really was okay with this.

  “This summer . . . my coming here . . . It wasn’t just about wanting to spend time with you before we go off to college.”

  Ashton grinned and raised her eyebrows. “I can’t believe you’re telling me a Vincent boy—not me—brought you to Grove, Alabama.”

  Shrugging, I returned her smile. “They’re hard to resist.”

  “Don’t I know it?”

  * * *

  I stood at the window and watched as Ashton jumped into Beau’s arms and proceeded to kiss his face all over as if she hadn’t just seen him last night. It was kind of gross. He was shirtless and covered in sweat. He reached up and turned his dirty University of Alabama baseball hat around backward before grabbing Ashton’s face and taking over her wandering lips. Shaking my head, I turned away from the major public display of affection those two were sharing with the entire street. She’d been clean when she left, and now she had Beau Vincent sweat—not to mention the grass probably stuck to his body—all over her outfit. She’d better hope her daddy didn’t decide to come home for an early lunch. That would not go over well.

  The short clip of “Tell Him” by Colbie Caillat alerted me that I had a text message. Running over to the dresser, I grabbed the phone; my heart fluttered before I even read the message.

  Sawyer: It’s Sawyer. I’m sorry about last night. Let me make it up to you. I’m taking the boat out today. Come with me, please.

  I didn’t even give myself time to think it through. I quickly typed.

  Me: Okay. When?

  Playing hard to get might be the best way to handle this if Sawyer actually liked me. But I wasn’t sure. If I was just a weapon to use against Ashton, then I needed to change that. I needed to make him see me.

  Sawyer: Can you be ready in an hour?

  Me: Yes.

  Sawyer: Wear a swimsuit. Preferably that bikini you had on last night.

  I had to take a deep calming breath, and I reread his request several times before typing.

  Me: K.

  Chapter 7

  SAWYER

  Lana opened the front door the moment I pulled into Ash’s driveway. I needed to fix the mess I’d made last night, so instead of enjoying the view of her long, creamy legs showcased in tiny, red shorts, I jumped out of the truck and walked around the front of the cab so I could open the door and help her get in.

  A shy smile played on her full lips as I met her on the other side of my truck. Yep, I had hope. Even after the stunt I’d pulled last night, she was still affected by me. Guilt settled in my stomach when I stared into her trusting eyes.

  “Hey.” Her Georgia drawl wasn’t bad either. I’d never realized Lana had a sexy voice.

  “I’m glad you’ve forgiven me enough to come today.”

  She shrugged. Her shoulders were dainty, and a few freckles graced the smooth skin she was exposing with a sleeveless top. I hadn’t noticed those last night, and the urge to kiss each one shocked me.

  “Not much to forgive. You acted like an ass, but you were drunk. I should’ve been paying closer attention.”

  I couldn’t keep from laughing. Lana McDaniel had just called me an ass.

  “That’s awfully considerate of you,” I replied.

  “Hmmm . . . maybe so.”

  I opened the truck door and reached out to take her hand as she stepped up into the cab. The shorts rode even farther up her legs and, through my appreciative gaze, I noticed one lone freckle incredibly close to the curve of her heart-shaped bottom. My pulse sped up, and I forced myself to stop ogling her backside.

  Unsure about whether or not my voice was going to betray me, I didn’t say anything as I closed the door and went back around to the driver’s side.

  * * *

  Once we headed toward the boat launch, I glanced over at Lana. “You still know how to wakeboard, don’t you?” I’d spent hours teaching her how to board one summer when we were in middle school while Ash and Beau heckled her from the boat.

  A small smile tugged on her lips, and I wondered if she was remembering that day too. It had been us against Ash and Beau. For once I’d felt like I had a team. It was always me trying to rein in those two, but that day I’d had a partner. Granted, I’d wanted Ash as my partner. That was the summer before everything changed, the summer before I became quarterback and I got Ash.

  “Yes, I think. Isn’t it like a bicycle? Ya know, once you learn you never forget?”

  The guys were going to enjoy this a little too much. If I hadn’t needed a spotter and a backup driver, we would be doing this alone today. But skiing and boarding, with only two people, wasn’t safe. Someone needed to be watching the rider and, if I wanted to wakeboard, and I did—especially with Lana—then I needed another driver.

  “Hmmm . . . maybe a little. It might take you a few tries if you’re rusty,” I finally replied.

  Lana let out a small groan, and I bit back a laugh. She’d had the hardest time learning to get up on skis, and then the wakeboard had almost done her in. I always admired her determination, though. She hadn’t given up.

  “If we are skiing and wakeboarding, others will be there, right?”

  I nodded, noticing the small disappointment in her voice. She wanted me alone. I liked that—a lot.

  “Will Ethan be there?”

  My small moment of pleasure evaporated.

  “Ethan? Uh, probably.” Well, shit. I had forgotten about their little bonding episode at Wings. Ethan hadn’t been at the party last night. He didn’t know about our public display of affection. No, wait—he probably did. That was gossip worthy. Someone was bound to have told him by now.

  “Oh, good. I’ll at least have one other friend there.”

  Hell, no. I’d have to pull Ethan aside without her noticing and
make sure he understood Lana was off-limits.

  Again the guilt started tugging at me and I pushed it away. Sure, Ethan might be more sincere about his interest in Lana, but she was here only for the summer. Then we were all heading off to college. If anyone was going to have a summer fling with her, it was going to be me. End of story. No reason for guilt. This was a means to an end. Besides, I took a quick peek over at Lana; it wasn’t like I didn’t enjoy her company. She was gorgeous, smart, and funny. Plus, being with her was going to drive Ashton mad, maybe even send her running right back to my arms. . . . There was that damn guilt again. I needed a beer. That always helped wash away my conscience.

  LANA

  My cell phone rang, and I quickly pulled it out of my pocket. It was Ashton. I’d texted her that I was going boating with Sawyer today. She must have thought that warranted a phone call instead of a text reply.

  “Hey,” I said, trying hard not to look at Sawyer. He was driving, but I could feel his eyes on me.

  “Are you two going alone? Because if you are, that isn’t safe. Beau and I can come too.”

  No way did I want Ashton anywhere near Sawyer today. I needed to get his attention, and when Ashton was around, he was single-minded. “No, we’re going skiing. Others are coming too. It’ll be safe.”

  “If that’s Ash, tell her that she and Beau are welcome to join us,” Sawyer piped up. Dang it.

  “Tell him thanks, but if y’all have other people going, it’ll probably be more fun without Beau and Sawyer and me all together. . . . ” She trailed off.

  “Okay, I’ll tell him.”

  “Tonight Beau and I are going to go to the beach to eat some crab claws, then go hear Little Big Town play at the Wharf. Ethan also has two tickets and was wondering if you’d like to go, ya know . . . with him.”

  Ethan? I turned my head so I could peek at Sawyer. He was watching the road, but I could tell his attention was completely focused on my conversation with Ashton. Annoyed with the reasons behind his interest, I decided two could play this game.

  “Sure, I’d love to go tonight. I’m about to see Ethan, so I’ll tell him myself.”

  Sawyer’s head whipped around to stare at me, and I flashed him an innocent smile and said my good-byes to Ashton before hanging up.

  “Ashton and Beau have other plans for the day. She said to tell you thanks, though.” If he wanted to know about Ethan, he was going to have to ask.

  “What did she want you to tell Ethan?”

  I opened my mouth to respond almost automatically but snapped it shut quickly. That wasn’t his business. Just because he asked me didn’t mean I had to tell him. The old Lana would have blurted out whatever he wanted to know. The new Lana didn’t do that. The new Lana wasn’t a love-struck puppy. . . . Okay, maybe I was, but he didn’t have to know that.

  “If I’d have wanted you to know the details of my conversation, I’d have put Ashton on speakerphone,” I finally replied.

  “Ouch. I was just asking.”

  Maybe I’d gone a little overboard with my snarky comment. I did want Sawyer to like me, and he had invited me to go out skiing with him.

  “Sorry. It was just nothing of your concern. I didn’t mean to sound so snappy.”

  Sawyer didn’t respond and silence engulfed the truck.

  * * *

  Once Sawyer pulled into the parking lot at the boat launch, I’d had enough time to decide how to handle his silence. Spending the day on a boat with an annoyed Sawyer didn’t sound like fun.

  “I really am sorry I was so rude. It was nothing, really.”

  Sawyer turned the engine off and turned to meet my gaze. He studied me a moment, then finally nodded. “Okay. I shouldn’t have stuck my nose in your business. I just thought we were friends. I didn’t really think about it when I asked.”

  Great. I felt as low as the dirt on the bottom of my shoes.

  “We are friends. I don’t know why I snapped at you like that. I guess I was embarrassed about the topic.” Which was partially true.

  A frown puckered his brow, which was ridiculously hot. “Why would Ash ask you to tell Ethan something embarrassing?”

  Perfect. I’d backed myself against a wall. I couldn’t exactly shut him out again. I didn’t like having him go all surly and quiet on me. The best course of action would be to lie.

  “I’ve never been on a date before. Ethan asked me to go with him to a concert tonight. Or he asked Ashton to ask me if I’d go with him.” Or I could just blurt out the whole truth and look like an idiot. Dang it! I needed to work on my lying skills. I had none. I’d opened my mouth to lie and out came the truth instead. I forced myself not to grimace, and reached for the door handle. The complete surprise in Sawyer’s eyes was humiliating. I was eighteen years old and I had never been on a date. It was sad. And now Sawyer knew just how pathetic I was.

  “Wait.” Sawyer’s hand shot out and grabbed my arm to stop me before I jumped down out of the truck.

  Sighing, I turned back around to look into his sympathetic, astonished eyes but found that they weren’t exactly full of sympathy or astonishment. Instead he looked . . . frustrated.

  Well, that’s interesting.

  “Do you like Ethan?”

  Yes, I liked Ethan. He was nice, thoughtful, funny, sweet, and he was attracted to me. There was no ex-girlfriend he was hung up on standing in my way. But he wasn’t Sawyer.

  Nodding, I didn’t say any more. Instead I waited.

  Sawyer opened his mouth to say something, then shut it and closed his eyes tightly before shaking his head and letting go of my arm. “Never mind. Come on. Let’s go.”

  He opened his door and stepped out. I’d have given anything to get him to say what it was he had stopped himself from saying just then. But the conversation was over. His curiosity had been cured, and I had an entire day to dwell on the fact that I may have just killed any chance I had with him. Ethan was his friend, and after the mess with Beau, I doubted Sawyer would ever make a move on a girl that had dated his friend first.

  Chapter 8

  SAWYER

  If Ethan whispered in her ear one more time, I was going to throw his ass off the damn boat. The only reason he’d managed to stay on it this long was because Lana didn’t look all that happy about his attempt at flirting. She wasn’t laughing and smiling at him like she had been at the restaurant. Instead she appeared a little uptight about something. Had she decided in the light of day that Ethan wasn’t all that interesting? God, I hoped so. I didn’t want her for the right reasons, and that was making it very hard to be selfish and calculating. Lana was so freaking sweet, and in no way did I want to hurt her. If Ethan made her happy, I wasn’t sure I could stand in the way just to get Ash all worked up.

  “Should I warn E. to step back?” Jake’s voice broke into my thoughts, and I jerked my gaze off Lana and Ethan to focus on driving the boat.

  “From what?” I asked in a bored voice.

  Jake let out a snort. “From the murderous glare you’re shooting his way.”

  Since when did Jake decide to start paying attention to the world around him? Shaking my head, I turned back and checked on Kayla and Toby. They’d been out there trying to outdo each other for more than twenty minutes. If I didn’t make a sharp unexpected turn, they’d both stay up for another twenty minutes. I needed a distraction.

  “Hold on, I’m about to sling them!” I called out loudly. My eyes immediately found Lana, and she had a tight grip on the side of the boat as she watched Kayla and Toby, frowning.

  Jerking the wheel hard to the left sent Kayla and Toby flying through the air. I could hear Kayla squeal and Toby yell out something very close to “Motherfu—” before they hit the water with a loud slap.

  “Oh my god! Are they okay?” Lana asked, gaping back at me with a horrified expression. They were fine. I knew the correct way and place to sling someone off their wakeboard. We’d all been doing this since we were kids. Those two knew how to safely land after a good slin
ging.

  I pointed at the water where Kayla and Toby had landed. Lana spun back around in her seat to see that they had both resurfaced and were fine. Kayla was holding her board, and Toby was kissing her as she giggled loudly.

  I saw Lana’s shoulders relax.

  “That’s the way Saw likes to tell someone their time is up,” Ethan said, smiling at her with a ridiculous googly-eyed expression on his face. I would be doing the boy a favor taking her away from him. He was making an ass of himself.

  Lana turned to look back at me with those big green eyes. I had to swallow hard; her eyes were so much like Ashton’s. “I don’t think I want a turn.”

  Chuckling, I nudged Jake. “Take it.”

  “I’m not going to drive you. I’m going to go out there with you,” I informed her.

  Lana shifted her fearful gaze from me to Jake, who was now at the wheel. She didn’t trust him any more than she did me.

  “Um, I don’t know. Maybe . . . Maybe Ethan could drive,” she suggested.

  The frustrated frown he was wearing because I was the one about to go out with Lana was replaced with a pleased grin. She trusted him and he liked it—of course he did.

  “Whatever,” Jake said, grabbing his drink and plopping back down on the bench where he’d been sprawled out before I’d given him the wheel.

  Ethan went over, took the wheel, and cut the engine so that Toby and Kayla could climb back on.

  I reached over and grabbed the wakeboard Toby was handing me. “You could’ve just motioned for us to let go,” Toby said with a grumble as he reached for Kayla and helped her crawl up on the dive board.

  “But that was so much more fun to watch,” I replied, taking Kayla’s life vest and handing it to Lana. “This one is the only one that’ll fit you. The rest are all too big.”

  Lana took it and shivered as the cold water dripped off the jacket and onto her warm skin.