“You’d like it,” Shea added, nudging him with an elbow.
Beau kept picking at his jeans, watching his fingers tug at imaginary loose threads, and said, “S-sorry, guys, I think I’m gonna pass for tonight. I really am tired.”
“That’s okay,” I said. “We’ll get you next time. Hey, do you like lemon meringue? One of our bartenders gave me a whole batch of it yesterday and I won’t be able to eat it all, so it’s just been sitting in the fridge. Help yourself if you want some. You can help yourself to anything in here, actually. What’s mine is now yours.”
“Um. Sure. Thank you.” He looked up at me, then at Shea, who was scrolling on his phone. “Shea?”
“Hm?” Shea raised his brows and turned his attention to his brother.
“I only saw two rooms, and I…are you—” He flushed, and Shea leaned forward, blocking Beau from my sight.
“Am I what?” he asked gently.
Beau’s voice was soft and quiet. “Where will you be sleeping? Are you—do you and Lea?—”
“Oh, god, no, I would never sleep with Lea,” Shea said in an offended tone.
“Why not? I’m the best little spoon in the business,” I retorted.
Shea ignored me. “I’ll be staying at Monroe’s for a few days, then I have to go up to Newark for a little bit for work. I had to switch with Moe so I could make it to the funeral. I’m not around a lot, though, especially during the summer. I’m going out to sea for two months after I get back from Newark, so you’ll have the room all to yourself.”
There was a long, long pause, and if Shea and I had been alone, I would’ve smacked him upside the head for not telling Beau he’d hardly ever be here. I was coming to realize the divide between these two was much deeper than I thought, and my heart ached for them. It would be ideal if Shea didn’t have to travel so much during the summer for work. The timing of Beau moving here was suboptimal, to say the least.
I’d have to make up for his absence.
I wished I could see Beau’s face right now, was telepathically trying to get Shea to sit back again, when his incredulous words slipped softly past his lips. “You’re not going to be here?”
Shea worked for the Blue Harbor Institute of Ocean Sciences and was at sea doing research far more than he was on shore. He traveled up and down the coast a lot, too. Beau didn’t know that, either?
Shea scooted closer to Beau, and I was finally able to seehim again. His eyes were wide and fearful, his face pale. He was staring at Shea like he’d just shoved a knife in his gut.
Shea placed his hand on top of Beau’s trembling fingers. “I’ll be here sometimes, but work is really busy over the summer and I’m not usually on shore or here in town most of the time. I tried to get someone to cover for me this week, but no one was available. I’m so sorry, Beau, but I promise you I’ll be here every chance I get. And after summer’s over, things will slow down and I’ll be around a lot more. You’ll get sick of me really fast.”
Beau’s eyes abruptly cut to mine, startling me. He had such expressive eyes—well, his entire demeanor was expressive, actually. But those big brown eyes were brimming with uncertainty that bordered on pure panic.
I smiled at him, hoping it was reassuring, and when he flushed the deepest scarlet, I was now the one averting my gaze becausefuck.
I wasn’t sure how this was going to work out, given the fact that my first meeting with Beau had been fueled by an intense attraction to him. I could cry all I wanted about how I didn’t know he was Shea’s brother at the time, but it didn’t change the fact that it’d happened.
And there was no way in hell I was ever telling Shea that. Unless Beau already told him? It didn’t seem like it.
Well, if he wanted to, he could, but I wasn’t going to mention it first. No, I would just let this momentary…thing, whatever it was, fade away. No one needed to know.
I sighed and leaned back in my chair.
This little meet-and-greet was getting painful. Not for me, no. I could thrive in any social situation, no matter how reserved someone was. In fact, the more reserved they were, the more I enjoyed trying to bring them out of their shell.
But it was evident that Beau would rather be anywhere else than here with us, and he’d had a long day of travel—ontop of dealing with the death of his mom—so I gave him an out.
I slapped my thighs and said loudly, “Well! How about we call it a night and let Beau get back to unpacking. You’re probably really exhausted.” I lifted a brow at Beau. “Just let me know if you need anything, okay? I’m right next door.”
Beau turned thankful eyes to me and stood up, shoving his hands deep into his pockets. “Yeah, sorry. I will. Thanks again, Lea, it was really nice to—to meet you.”
With his head down and shoulders bowed, like he was trying to seem as small as possible, he walked out of the room and disappeared down the hall.
I stared hard at Shea, who was scrolling on his phone. “Shea.”
He grunted.