“Listen to your fairy godmother for once and just try to be nice. Maybe you’ll grow on him.” Beth filled the glass with soda and grabbed another. With a smirk, she added, “Like a fungus.”
Sid rolled her eyes. “Tell Lucas I’m waiting outside.”
Lucas warred between curiosity and annoyance as he followed Joe into the back office. Curiosity won out, until worry kicked in. “Is this about Dad? Did something happen at the hospital? He was fine when I talked to Mom this morning.”
“No, Dad’s doing good, far as I know,” Joe said, taking the chair behind the desk. Of course.
Lucas suppressed the eye roll. “Then what’s this about?”
Joe exhaled while rubbing the back of his neck. He looked … uncomfortable.
“Was there a problem with the restaurant last night?” Lucas asked. “Everything was fine when I left, and my drawer came up perfect.”
“This has nothing to do with the restaurant. I’m not sure how to say this.”
Lucas took the chair on the other side of the desk and crossed an ankle over his knee. “You’ve never had any problem saying exactly what you think. I don’t see why now should be any different.”
“Right.” But Joe stared at the desk as if the answer might be written there. “I know shit is still awkward between us. I want that to change.”
Joe talking about his feelings? Lucas hadn’t seen that coming.
“I do too, but it’s going to take time. It’s only been six weeks.”
“I know.” Joe sat up, leaning his elbows on the desk. “That’s not very long.”
“Depends on what you’re talking about. Six weeks for Dad to recover from this heart attack is feeling like forever. When it’s my future suddenly becoming your future, six weeks feels like six hours.”
“Then why did you send me up to Richmond?” Joe asked, meeting Lucas’s eyes for the first time since they’d entered the office. “You wanted me and Beth to be happy. Nobody set out to hurt you.”
“Yeah, I know.” Lucas ran a hand through his hair. “I’m mostly mad at myself for blowing it, though Beth tells me there was nothing to blow in the long run. It’s not easy to hear your fiancee would have left you whether she fell for your brother or not.”
Though he’d had this kind of conversation with Beth back when it all happened, Lucas had never called up Joe to hammer things out. He’d been more interested in hammering his brother into the ground at the time. Maybe they should have done this sooner.
“She’s happy here,” Joe said. “We’re both happy. We owe that to you.”
“Glad I could be of service.” As soon as the words were out, Lucas regretted them. “Sorry. Bruised ego. Leads to a lot of scorch-and-burn comments like that.”
“No problem.” Joe picked up a pen and starting tapping it against the desk. “That’s why this part is so hard.”
“What part?” Lucas tried to imagine what could possibly make things worse.
Then Joe pulled a small black box from his pants pocket. A ring box. Holy shit.
“Is that—”
“My mom’s ring. Dad gave it to me the day before we moved Beth’s stuff down here.” Joe spun the box between his fingers. “I think he expected me to propose before we shacked up.”
The air in the room felt thicker and nonexistent at the same time. A knot formed in Lucas’s stomach as if he’d just swallowed the paperweight on his desk back in Richmond. In the office where he should be right now. Where he’d be if his brother hadn’t screwed up his life and turned him into an unfocused idiot.
“So you’re going to—”
“Yeah. But I wanted to tell you first.”
“Why?” Lucas fought to keep his voice even. Unable to sit, he began pacing the small space. “You want my permission? My advice on how to do it?” Slamming his palms on the desk, he asked, “What the fuck do you want from me?”
Joe didn’t flinch. He just looked up from the ring box. “I don’t expect anything from you. But I figured I owe you the respect of letting you know before I did it. That’s all.”
Lucas had known this was for real. That Beth and Joe loved each other. That she loved his brother in a way she’d never loved him. But somewhere in the back of his mind, he’d wanted them to fail. He’d wanted this to be temporary, for Beth and Joe to break up.
What a selfish son of a bitch he’d turned out to be. He cared about these two people. How could he want them to suffer? To sooth his fragile ego or appease some arrogant need for revenge? What the hell kind of person would think like that?
“I guess that’s it.” Joe slipped the box back into his pocket. “Maybe I’ll wait awhile. Give it more time.”
“Don’t do that,” Lucas said.
“What?”
“If you want to wait to make sure you two are ready, then do it. But if you’re waiting for me, don’t bother.”
“I see,” Joe said, his shoulders dropping.
“No, I don’t mean it that way.” Lucas paced the room twice more, then sat down. “I’m not really mad at you. Hell, I’m not even sure if I’m mad.” He left the chair again. “Change that. I’m mad. But some days it’s with you and Beth, and some days it’s with this damn island, but most days I’m pissed at myself.”
Joe rose from his chair and grabbed a couple bar rags off the shelf by the door. “I can’t change what went down. I wouldn’t if I could, though I do wish it had happened differently.”
Off course he wouldn’t. He’d come out the winner once again.
Instead of voicing the callous thought, Lucas nodded and remained silent. Joe was trying to be considerate. Maybe if he’d done that two months ago …
“I’d better get out there. You want to take my Jeep?” Joe asked, holding out his keys. “I can ride home with Beth. I meant to offer last night.”
That’s when Lucas remembered Sid was waiting for him. “No, Sid’s taking me home.”
Joe put the keys back in his pocket. “Right.” He started to leave the office, then turned back. “About Sid.”
Lucas tensed. “What about her?”
“Just … be careful.”
“Why? Are you claiming her too?”
Joe leaned against the door frame. “I’ll give you a pass on that one. For now.”
He’d been out of line and he knew it. Damn temper. “Then why do I need to be careful around Sid?” Lucas asked, trying to change the tone between them. “Is she as violent as she seems?”
“No,” Joe said, without hesitation. “She’s not nearly as tough as she acts, but if you tell her I said that, I’ll kick your ass.”
Lucas couldn’t help but smile as Joe walked away, marveling at the power Sid Navarro seemed to wield over everyone on the island.
Why’d you take me up on the ride this time?” Sid asked. They’d driven less than half a mile in silence. After his talk with Joe, Lucas was hoping the silence would hold.
“Honestly?”
Sid looked over. “Why would I ask a question and then want you to lie?”
“Right.” This woman was entirely too literal. “I’m tired.”
Her eyes returned to the road and she nodded. “I can relate. I’ve helped out on weekends but that was nothing compared to the last two days. How the fuck do your parents do this?”
Lucas didn’t consider himself a prude, but the vulgar language from the delicate looking, if not sounding, package to his left took him off balance.
“Do you always talk like that?”
“Like what?”
“Dropping the F-bomb like that?”
The truck sped up and then zipped around a tourist on a bicycle. “Why? Do I offend your delicate
