He pulled her close for a hug. “Having you back and close to the family makes me feel better.” Rian usually didn’t talk so emotionally. It was nice to hear.
He opened the screen door before she could respond and shut it behind him. “Let’s hang out tomorrow. We can hit up Shake’s. I’ll buy you a greasy-ass burger and cherry limeade.”
Her grin was instant. The memory of all the times they’d gone to Shake’s filled her mind. And on those heels, so were the images of the other two who’d tag along with them.
“I’d like that.” The thought of Tanner and Jonas had her throat tightening, but she kept her smile in place.
The last thing she needed was for Rian to wonder what the hell was wrong with her after only being home for less than twenty-four hours.
4
Shake’s was packed when Sasha and Rian stepped inside the next night. Back in the day, it used to be a family restaurant, but over the years, they had slowly changed it until it was now a sports bar where most of the younger generation hung out.
The music was annoyingly loud, and scantily clad girls ground their crotches against the men on the center of the dance floor. Right off the bat, she could see many of the guys who filled the bar were part of the construction crew.
They seemed to be an entirely different breed of men from the average citizens of Hayven Hill. Their bulging muscles, tanned flesh, and steeled expressions spoke of hard labor.
She followed Rian as he wove through the people. Many of them stopped to talk with her brother or slap him on the back. He found an empty table in the corner, and they sat.
The server, a girl Sasha thought she had gone to high school with, sashayed over to their table and smirked at Rian. She cocked her hip out and puckered her lips, and Sasha couldn’t help but feel embarrassed for her. The way she looked at her brother, though, told Sasha enough to know they were very well acquainted.
Bleh.
“Hey, Rian.” The waitress, Michelle, according to her name tag, dragged her tongue over her bottom lip. Her breasts were all but in Rian’s face, and by the look her brother gave Michelle, he liked it a little too much.
“I’m going to the restroom.”
Rian nodded, but his gaze was otherwise too preoccupied to spare her a passing glance.
Once inside the bathroom, she leaned on the counter and looked at herself in the mirror. She’d cut her hair last year to a stylish bob and found the short length far more accommodating to her hectic schedule. The dark strands were a hell of a lot more manageable now.
She adjusted her t-shirt and smoothed her hand over her jeans. Maybe she should have dressed up a little bit? What was the point, though?
That thought was immediately followed by the image of Tanner and Jonas.
It had been two years since she had seen them, and the last time had been awkward enough. Two years ago, they’d come over for Thanksgiving for a quick hello, and when she’d seen them, she’d hid like a coward.
The fact sheknewTanner had probably told his twin what they’d done was just too humiliating. So really,she’dseen them since leaving for college, but they hadn’t seen her.
Rian had tried to ask what her problem was and why she was avoiding the twins on several occasions, but there was no way she would tell him why she felt the need to stay away. Even after all these years, her brother was liable to break something—like Tanner Ashbury.
Why was she avoiding Jonas, though? She supposed it was just the way it worked out since the brothers were close and always hung out together. In any event, she had no doubt Tanner had told Jonas what had happened between them, and every time she thought about them having that conversation, humiliation filled her.
Four years of successful avoidance didn’t stop her from missing them something fierce, though. But now, she was back in Hayven Hill, and she couldn’t avoid them. She’d have to put her big girl panties on and face the music.
The incident in question might have happened years ago, but it still felt so fresh in her mind.
She looked at herself one last time in the mirror and headed back out. Sasha grabbed her cell and looked down at the screen. The air left her when she slammed right into a wall, or at least, it felt like a wall given how hard and wide it was.
She stumbled back and reached out to steady herself on instinct. The firm, muscular forearm she currently gripped sent a flash of electricity through her. Slowly dragging her eyes up the individual buttons of the white button-up and over the wide shoulders, she stared into hazel eyes that were far too familiar for her comfort.
There was shock in Jonas’s gaze as he stared down at her. The feel of his hand on her waist startled her, not because he had obviously gripped her to make sure she didn’t fall, but because that simple touch had butterflies going crazy in her belly.
“Holy fucking shit.” His clear shock most likely matched hers, but then his expression morphed into happiness. “Sasha Marsh.” Jonas grinned broadly and pulled her against his chest.
He had gotten bigger since the last time she had seen him, but then again, that had been years ago. He was a man now, and a very nice looking one at that. Time had certainly been good to him.
Sasha found herself closing her eyes and inhaling the scent that reminded her of all the times they had run to the lake together, played video games, and stayed up late watching scary movies.