"Did he ever swim?" Vanessa asks.
"Liam pushed him off a dock," Opal says.
"While he was wearing a speedo?" Vanessa asks.
"Liam was wearing a speedo, yeah. But Simon?"
"In his suit?"
Opal nods.
"Weren't you hot?" she asks.
"I looked fantastic," I say.
"Oh my god, Simon. Please! Don't try to cop Liam's moves. You can't pull them off," Opal says.
"Can I?" I ask.
Vanessa smiles and motions so-so. "Tell me you had to strip out of your suit right there." She notes Opal's horrified stare. "After your family left."
"Left him to flail?" Opal asks.
"Simon is a strong swimmer," Vanessa says. "I've seen him in the pool."
I raise a brow.
She smiles. "In a black speedo."
"When was this?" Opal asks.
"High school," she says. "And one summer in college."
"Didn't you go to school in Paris?" Opal asks.
"I did. But I came home for a few weeks every summer." She looks to Opal. "I missed my family."
"If I was going to school in Paris, I'd stay for four years straight. Make them come to me," Opal says.
"Have you been to Paris?" Vanessa asks.
Opal shakes her head.
"No air-conditioning anywhere. And nearly as hot as New York in the summer," Vanessa says.
"Nearly as hot is a range," Opal says. "Are we talking eighty and humid? Or ninety-nine and humid?"
"We're talking Celsius. It's Paris," Vanessa says.
Opal smiles, charmed, completely in love with Vanessa and the possibility of me being in love with Vanessa.
"Opal," the cashier calls.
Opal jumps to her feet. "You two talk summer swim sessions." She puts her hand to her mouth to stage whisper. "It's still summer, by the way. So keep talking." She drops her hand. "I'll get the bagels."
She skips to the counter.
"It's still summer," Vanessa says.
"Do you have a pool in mind?" I ask.
"I've always wanted to dive into the pool at the house," she says. "Especially when we visited in the summer."
"And everyone was dressed to the nines?" I ask.
She nods. "At the rehearsal dinner… I wanted to push you into it."
"Then tear off my clothes?"
"And fuck you right there." She bites her lip. "I did."
"I can arrange that."
"Really?"
I nod.
"When?"
"Let's go for a weekend."
"You'll leave Opal alone?"
"I'll leave her with Briar and Liam."
"She's eighteen," Vanessa says. "You should give her a weekend alone."
"Is that really your concern?"
Vanessa's eyes flit to my chest. She eyes my shirt and smiles. "You look amazing."
"I know."
"But I want to tear that thing off."
"I know."
"Is she with us all day?" Vanessa asks.
"If you tell her you want privacy, she'll run away."
She stares into my eyes. "I want…"
Opal interrupts. Drops a paper bag on the table. Notes our charged chemistry. "I'm going to top this off." She grabs her mug, refills it, watches us as she adds sugar.
"I don't know if I'm ready to try your uh…" She draws an invisible tie on her chest. "But I know a private spot in the park."
Fuck yes.
She mimes zipping her lips.
I struggle to contain my thoughts.
Opal returns, not at all subtle or coy. "Thanks for ordering without butter or cream cheese. So Simon will allow you within fifteen feet of me."
"Is he that over-protective?" Vanessa asks.
"Worse." Opal shakes her head he's ridiculous. "Do you want some? I'll grab it."
"I'm fine," Vanessa says.
"Then more coffee." She grabs Vanessa's mug and skips to refill it.
"You are over-protective. I appreciate that trait, but I…" She watches Opal watch us. "I don't want to talk about it today. Okay? Not until we're alone, at least."
Protective energy fills my veins. Pride. Need.
Not the craving I expect, the desire for her touch. I want that, yes, but I need her. To know what's in her heart and her head.
To know where she hurts and how I can help her.
I want to hold her all day, whisper sweet nothings in her ears, heal her wounds.
How the fuck do I do that?
How does anyone?
"Deal," I say.
Opal returns to our tiny plastic table. Sets the paper bag in the center. Pulls out her cinnamon raisin bagel and her packet of almond butter. "Important question."
"Oh?" Vanessa's eyes meet mine. They ask for something.
For a promise to keep this normal. I nod. Yes.
I'm lacking my usual patience. I'm consumed with the need for her. All of her.
But I want to be what she needs. To wait until she's ready.
"Deal breaking question," Opal says.
"For my relationship with your brother?" Vanessa asks.
"No. I don't care about that," Opal says.
"Harsh," I say.
"He's completely smitten. There's nothing I can say to change that," Opal says.
"You think?" Vanessa's eyes meet mine. Her lips curl into a shy smile. The one she had as a teenager.
It's intoxicating.
"I know," Opal says.
"I'm not sure. Your brother has a high opinion of you. If you asked him to end things—"
"I would never!" Opal slaps her hand on the table. "I don't stand in the way of love."
"Hypothetically. If I wasn't the kind of person he deserved," Vanessa says.