Her innocent look faltered, cut through with a splash of surprise. Clearly it was one of the few times someone hadn’t crumbled before her. “Okay?”
“Why did you lie to Carly? Why did you tell her we’d messed around? Or whatever it was that you said,” I kept my voice low, not needing any further attention on the delicate conversation. “I’ve never really said much more than a few words to you and the other night, when you showed up tipsy and giggling, I told you that you needed to get your shit together and I got up and left when you tried to sit in my lap.”
They were the details that I hadn’t shared with Carly and normally wouldn’t have dragged up for Alesha, as I wasn’t one to rub someone’s face in their less than shining moments, but Alesha had pushed enough of my buttons that it was hard to keep a grasp on my anger over the entire situation. Things with Carly might be back on track, but it infuriated me that Alesha had even been able to plant such a bad seed of doubt in her mind.
And for what?
That was what I wanted to know.
I crossed my arms, waiting for Alesha to patch together whatever story her mind was working to fabricate before my eyes. “Waiting. Just tell me the truth. Why?”
She sighed. “I was jealous. Okay? There.”
“Of what?” My eyebrows knit together. “You’re seventeen. Even if I wasn’t interested in your sister, it wasn’t like you and I would have ever been a thing. I’m a grown man. You get that, don’t you?”
She nodded, then tucked her chin and stared down at the counter. With her long, most likely fake nails, she drew a circle on the black surface. “I know. I just wanted to spend time with my sister and it seems like whenever she’s talking to me, she’s pissed off. I didn’t want her to go off with you and leave me alone all the time.”
My arms loosened and then dropped from my chest. I braced them on my side of the counter and leaned over. “Alesha. Look at me,” I paused, waiting for her to bring her eyes up to mine. I wasn’t surprised to find a sheen of tears coating the blue eyes that were nearly identical to Carly’s. “If you want to spend time with your sister, you need to tell her that. I have a feeling that she wants to spend time with you as well. But so far, you haven’t exactly been showing her. Showing up drunk, stumbling around the streets, causing problems. Do you think she’s gonna want to hang out with you after all that?”
Alesha nodded and a tear slipped out. She quickly wiped it from her cheek and swallowed hard. “You’re right.”
My heart squeezed in my chest. In some ways she reminded me of a younger version of myself, and now my own brother. The theatrics and temper tantrums were easy ways to get attention. I didn’t know the story of Carly and Alesha’s home life, but the pieces I’d gathered fit together into a complicated mess that almost made Alesha’s antics excusable.
“Tell you what, Carly and I have plans to go out tonight. Why don’t you come with us? We can all hang out, get some dinner or something.”
The offer must have surprised Alesha. Her eyebrows shot up and her eyes went wide. “Really?”
Truthfully, the words came out of my mouth and shocked me a little as well. But I didn’t regret them. It was the right thing to do. When summer was over, Alesha would be back with her dad and stepmom. If all went according to plan, I’d still be in Holiday Cove and have all of Carly’s attention to myself. One night spent facilitating some sibling bonding wouldn’t be the end of the world—even if it meant holding back from wanting to steal Carly off to see what she looked like naked.
“Really,” I said, smiling down at her.
She nodded. “That would be fun.”
“Okay.” I cut a glance at the mermaid shaped clock on the wall above the counter and cursed under my breath. “I gotta get up to work. Tell Carly I’ll call her later.”
“I will.” Alesha nodded, then reached behind her and poured a full cup of coffee and snapped a lid on it. “Here. On the house.”
“Thanks.” I lifted the cup and inhaled the sweet, freshly roasted brew and then hustled out of the shop.
If I had any hope of staying in Holiday Cove past the summer, I had to spend just as much energy impressing Aaron Rosen as I did Carly.
“You continue to surprise me.”
I grinned over at Carly as we walked down the pier, leaving the lights of the beachside carnival behind us. “Oh yeah? Why’s that?”
She returned my smile and I watched the lights reflecting in her eyes as she stared up at me. “I figure most guys who had their reputation and morals called into question by some teenaged drama queen wouldn’t be eager to spend time with their accuser—let alone invite her on the date they’ve been aiming for, for weeks.”