Everything is changing. Somehow, I went from crushing on my brother’s best friend, to being married to him all in the course of a summer. I wouldn’t trade the life I live for the world. I have everything I’ve ever wanted falling right into my lap. But it’s still nice to have one thing that isn’t any different—and that’s my friendship with Mali.

I love Hayes with all of my heart, and truly believe I’m meant to spend the rest of my life with him. But Mali is my soulmate. She’s that one person who will have my back, no matter what it is or how much I fucked up. She’s my forever friend. The one who always seems to amaze me with her strength and resilience. Though I will say, I do still worry about her. She’s the strongest person I know, but even diamonds have a weak spot.

Pulling into her driveway, I notice Monty’s car. He must be back from Aspen. Apparently, his family has a house out there, and they always go this time of year. I’m surprised he didn’t reach out when he got home, but as I get out and notice the flowers in Mali’s hands, I’m starting to understand why.

“Hey, babes,” Mali says to me.

“Hey. We still going to lunch?”

She nods. “Let me just go get my purse.”

“Okay,” I tell her, and she leaves me outside with Monty. “How was your trip?”

“It was really good,” he replies. “Put a lot into perspective. The mountains have a way of doing that.”

Whatever that’s supposed to mean. “That’s great! I’m glad you enjoyed it. You deserve good things.”

His grin widens. “I do, don’t I?”

Only a second later, Mali comes out and smiles at me. “Ready to go?”

“Yep,” I answer, then look at Monty. “Are you coming with us?”

He shakes his head. “I have a few things to take care of. Unpacking and all that.”

That’s weird. He just got back, and he came straight here? But as we go to leave, he gives me a quick hug and then plants one right on Mali’s lips.

What. The. Fuck.

My eyes widen, and Mali subtly flips me off. Having been her best friend since we were old enough to know what a best friend is, I’ve seen my fair share of her hooking up with someone. And I can tell that this is not something she’s into. But she goes with it, forcing a smile on her face as he pulls away.

“I’ll see you later, babe,” he tells her.

My lips press together as I try to keep from both laughing and freaking out. He and I wave at each other, and he smiles at Mali once more before getting into his Range Rover and driving off. The second he’s gone, I turn to her.

“Okay, what the actual fuck was that?”

Honestly, for the last month, I thought she was harboring secret feelings for my brother. Once everything with the bar died down, I was going to ask her about it. But this throws a wrench into that.

She sighs, walking around to the passenger side of my car and climbing in. “I don’t know. He texted me and said he needed to talk to me about something, and when I came outside, he handed me a bouquet of flowers and asked me out.”

“And you said yes?” I balk.

She throws her hands in the air. “Well, what was I supposed to say? Cam almost went to prison because of me. And don’t start with the you’re not to blame shit. The only reason he’s not locked up right now, is because Monty saved his ass.”

Okay, so she’s pity dating him, but that still doesn’t sound like her. “So, you’re just going to date him as what? Payment for his services?”

She shrugs. “I owe him at least a chance. Besides, he’s a good guy.”

Her words say one thing, but the underlying meaning behind the last sentence comes through clear. She said yes because he’s safe. He won’t try to force her into something she doesn’t want to do, and no one is going to fuck with her when she’s dating a Rollins.

If this is what helps her, what makes her feel better after everything that happened, then so be it.

I swallow down anything else I was going to say and put my car into reverse. “I can’t believe you’re dating Monty.”

She hums. “Honestly, I always thought he was into you.”

Don’t let Hayes hear that. “I thought he was gay.”

We both look at each other, shrug at the same time, then break into giggles.

SO MUCH FOR BEING done with all the loud banging at the bar. At least that kind of banging, and at least for now. There will be no promises about the other kind of banging once this place is open. We walk in the door to find Hayes talking to Grant, the guy they hired to design and build the counter.

“Hey, babe.” I arch up and kiss him. “How’s it going?”

He pinches his eyes shut and groans. “It’s a nightmare. We can’t pass inspection until we redo the walls upstairs. And since we have to do it anyway, we’re going to add insulation like we did down here. It’s probably for the best, but right now it’s just frustrating. I thought we’d be ready to open by my birthday.”

My bottom lip juts out. “That sucks. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine.” He wraps his arms around me. “I feel better now that you’re here.”

Mali makes a noise of disgust. “Marriage made you two even more nauseating.”

I chuckle, turning in his hold. “Aw, don’t worry, Mal. I’m sure your new boyfriend will be a sweetheart to you. Hell, he might even buy you a car for a random Tuesday.”

Mali glares at me while Hayes looks confused. “Wait, what new boyfriend?”

“I hate you,” she tells me. “Like really, genuinely, hate you.”

My nose scrunches. “You can’t. Besides, now we can double.”

She snorts. “Yeah, okay. I see how it is. You want Hayes to ban me for life.”

“What’s going on?” Cam says as he comes to grab some more tools.

Hayes glances at him. “That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”

Mali rolls her eyes. “It’s not that big of a deal.”

“Okay, then tell them.”

Don’t get me wrong, I totally understand why she’s doing this, but that doesn’t mean it feels good to watch her settle out of fear. Mali is the greatest person I know, and I like Monty, but he doesn’t deserve her—nor do I think he could handle her, if I’m honest. He’s just not the guy for her.

“Fine,” she murmurs, focusing her attention on the ground. “I’m dating Monty.”

Cam’s back is to us, so I can’t see his face, but the way he stills makes me think he’s not happy about it. Meanwhile, Hayes’s brows raise.

“I’m sorry,” he says through a laugh. “All the banging must have damaged my hearing, because it sounded like you said you’re dating Monty.” When neither of us say anything, it clicks. “Oh my God, you’re dating Monty.”

“Can we not make this a thing?” she pleads.

But Hayes isn’t going to let it go that easily. “How can we not? It’s Monty. You are dating Montgomery Rollins.”

She scoffs. “Thank you for that information. I thought I was dating Monty Python.”

“All of them?” I question, but she just flips me off.

Mali looks over at Cam with a solemn expression on her face. “Cam?”

He finally turns around. “Huh?”

“You’re quiet,” she murmurs.

My brother forces out a laugh. “Sorry, I was trying to figure out which hammer I want to use. That’s great, Mal.” He comes over and wraps his arms around her. “I’m really happy for you.”

Her eyes fall closed as she hugs him, and when he pulls away, she runs her fingers through her hair. “Thanks.”noveldrama

Grabbing a hammer off the table, he goes back upstairs. It stays quiet for a moment, the tension in the air too thick to speak, and then we hear it—the sound of Cam slamming the hammer into the wall with force. He’s always been so careful, and when Hayes hit a pipe, he lectured him on why using a hammer is a bad idea for hours while they fixed it. He’s pissed, that much is clear, but what I can’t understand is if he wanted Mali, why has he never asked her out?

The sound of something cracking follows, with Cam screaming, “Motherfucker!” at the top of his lungs.We all cringe.

“I should…” Hayes starts, but Mali stops him.

“No,” she says. “Let me.”

With a deep breath, she heads toward the back room and upstairs, while Hayes nods to the door. “We should go for a walk.”

He holds the door open for me and then laces my fingers with his. The temperature is starting to cool, but in the best way. It’s not as hot and humid as it was a month ago. Instead, it’s the perfect temperature.

The waves crash, sending water up the beach. It almost hits us, but we walk just outside of it.

“I still can’t believe she’s dating Monty,” I tell him.

It’s hard to wrap my mind around it. Mali might love money, but she’s not the kind of girl to settle because a guy has a lot of it. She’s a lot of things, but a gold digger is not one of them.

“About that.” He pauses for a second. “Do you think he’s with her for the right reasons?”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know. Do you think he’s just using her because he knows she would do it? Is he taking advantage of the opportunity?”

I let go of his hand. “Are you kidding me? You’re still holding that shit against him?”

He looks at me like I’ve lost my mind. “Uh, yeah, and it’s a little frustrating that you’re not. He broke us up.”

“No,” I correct him. “You broke us up. He just gave you a reason to.”

“He threatened to tell Cam about us.”

“Because you weren’t going to!” I cross my arms over my chest. “You might not like it, but if it weren’t for what he did, we’d still be sneaking around and I’d still be grasping for whatever parts of yourself you were willing to give me at the time.”

He huffs. “What I don’t like is him. The way he watches you? I’m telling you, Laiken. I get a bad vibe about that guy.”

I look away for a second, muttering that this is bullshit. “You get a bad vibe about any guy that comes within ten feet of me. And yeah, sometimes it’s hot when you go all caveman, but right now, it’s just annoying. I married you. Literally swapped my last name for yours. I don’t know how else to show you that no other guy even exists on my radar anymore.”

His shoulders sag, and he tries to reach out for me. “I don’t want to fight with you. Not over him. That prick doesn’t get to rip us apart again.”

But his words aren’t making me feel any better. “Might I remind you that prick is the one who saved my brother from prison? Your best friend?”

“Oh, so that just makes him a good guy? You’re seriously defending him right now after what he did?”

“I thought he made up for it after he helped us when he didn’t have to.” But before I say anything else, I stop and take a step backward, chuckling dryly as I shake my head. “No. You know what? I’m not doing this right now. Come home after you sort your shit out and realize that one mistake does not define someone. You of all people should be grateful for that.”

I turn around and leave him standing there.

So much for newlywed bliss.