The accusation in his eyes made my hands fist. Of course he immediately thought the wrong thing. Because that was just what I needed on top of it all. “He’s my brother, Caleb.”
“Brother?” His shoulders relaxed. “Oh.” He raked his fingers through his hair. “Sorry, man. I had no idea she had a brother.”
“I’m sure you didn’t.” Xavier dipped his hands in the pockets of his Ralph Lauren pants. His beloved Bulgari watch peeked from the nearly white fabric. His hair was longer than the last time I’d seen him. The curls floated in the breeze in that carefree way that only a four-hundred-dollar haircut could.
Everything about my brother screamed wealth and prestige. He was the perfect Hastings heir, unlike me.
He unhooked his sunglasses from the pocket of his shirt and set them over his eyes. As usual, I couldn’t read my brother. It had been that way since…
Well, for a damn long time. And I didn’t really want to rehash how long it had been since I’d seen him. Or anyone in my family, for that matter.
“Caleb needs to get—”
“I’m sure they can get along without me.” Caleb spread his hand along the small of my back. “Hastings. I don’t think I saw a teacher with that name on the roster.”
Xavier laughed. “Definitely not. I don’t mold young minds in any way.”
“No, just ruined them,” I muttered.
My brother stiffened. “Come on, Lu. That’s not fair.”
“Isn’t it though?” I patted Caleb’s chest. “My brother usually shows up to grab a little PR spotlight. This doesn’t seem like one of your pet projects, X.”
“Just because I don’t mold young minds doesn’t mean I don’t want to support them. Father makes a large annual donation to ensure Crescent Cove has a good school when one of us eventually gives him a grandchild.”
I laughed, the sound hollow and harsh. “You?”
“Maybe you.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “Oh, but I’m not part of that world anymore. You made sure of that, didn’t you?” I stalked up the hill and away from him again.
Just like he’d walked away from me three years ago.
Caleb quickly caught up to me. “Want to tell me what that was about?”
“Nope.” I kept walking.
“Luna.”
I stopped. “We don’t do the heavy stuff, right? Let’s keep it that way, huh?”
At his shocked face, I spun on my heel. The strap of my sandal slipped and I swore. I yanked them off and bent to grab them.
Were there bees around my head? There was certainly something buzzing in my ears. Actually, it felt like everything was humming all the way down to the soles of my feet.
“That’s not fair.”
“We agreed not to talk about deep stuff.” Sort of. Goddess, I just needed to get away from him for a second. I didn’t want to do something stupid like cry in front of him.
“We never said that. We just…don’t.”
He was correct there. Instinctively, we never discussed heavy things. It was easier to talk about surface stuff like movies, our mutual love of steak, and orgasms. Oh, and to enjoy summer like two semi-young people. “And that works for us.”
“Yeah, but you’re upset. I’m not an asshole, Lu.”
I threw down my sandals. I could feel eyes on me, and I still couldn’t stop myself from marching over to Caleb. “Yes, I’m upset. It’s just family stuff. My family isn’t like yours.”
“Obviously not.”