A Year of Love Read online

  I ought to turn around and get back on the plane. That would serve Danny right. I mean, I cannot fucking believe he invited Michelle. That’s bad enough. But Nick? Seriously?

  The only person I fight with more than my brother is Nick Carmichael. The guy is just so obnoxious. He’s been Danny’s best friend since his family moved to our little Utah suburb when Danny was twelve and I was ten. And those two boys used to torment me. Like, putting frogs under my pillow and pushing me fully clothed into the pool kind of torment. Then they became teenagers and ignored me altogether. Or at least Danny did. Nick got off on teasing me, and still does.

  I swear, I’ve never met a more arrogant guy. Or a more good-looking one. Because, of course, only insanely hot, drop-dead-gorgeous men can get away with possessing that level of arrogance. Their good looks are like a hall pass for any and all assholery. So yeah, Nick is the entire tall, dark and handsome package. Muscular arms and stupid quarterback body. Cocky smile. My friends used to go nuts for him. They’d come over asking if Danny and Nick were home, which got real annoying after a while. Luckily, my closest friend Chelsea is into girls, so I didn’t have to worry about losing her to the boy side. She was my only friend who didn’t fawn over Nick.

  I don’t know what’s worse—if Danny had invited only Michelle and made me the third wheel, or what he ended up doing: creating this sick little foursome and serving Nick up as my companion.

  As I leave the airport, my finger hovers over my phone screen. For a second I hesitate. What do I do? Ride share? Book a flight home?

  The decision is taken out of my hands when I hear, “Poodle!”

  Oh, fuck him.

  Glaring, I turn to find Nick leaning against the beat-up blue Jeep that my family always leaves at the house. His use of my “nickname” grates on my last nerve. Its origins are so fucking embarrassing and he knows I hate it. His smile widens when he sees my scowl.

  “What are you doing here?” I demand.

  “Picking you up. What does it look like?”

  “Looks like you’re striking a pose against the car like some douchey Abercrombie and Fitch model.” In his cargo shorts, green polo, and sunglasses, he really does look like he stepped out of a boating catalogue.

  “A model, huh? Always knew you secretly thought I was hot.” He flashes that smile again, revealing his perfect teeth. Then he lifts the sunglasses to the top of his head and I get a view of his mocking brown eyes and chiseled face. His looks are so insulting.

  His gaze does a sweep of me, up and down. Despite myself, I feel my cheeks heat up. “What?” I grumble.

  “Did you spend your gap year at a homeless encampment?” he asks pleasantly.

  I’m scowling again. “Hilarious.”

  Nick tips his head, once again studying my outfit. I’m wearing black leggings that reach my ankles and a baggy, long-sleeve button-down. “You know we’re going to the lake, right? And that it’s like ninety-five degrees out?”

  “I get cold on planes,” I mutter before staring at the Jeep. The top is down, so it’s clear to see my brother isn’t hiding in there somewhere. “Are Danny and Michelle already at the house?”

  “Yeah. We met at your dad’s place and the three of us drove in together.”

  “How was the drive?”

  His expression grows pained.

  I sigh. “That bad?”

  “Oh yeah.”

  Now I groan. “What is wrong with him? This was supposed to be a family trip.”

  Nick steps forward and reaches for the handle of my suitcase. His scent wafts into my face, a combination of sunscreen and a hint of coconut that might be his shampoo. I love coconut. I order myself not to breathe.

  “In his defense, your family bailed,” Nick reminds me as he tosses my suitcase into the backseat with zero effort. His biceps flex enticingly. I order myself to look away.

  “Yeah,” I agree, “but he didn’t have to replace them with Michelle. Jeez.”

  “But if he hadn’t come up with an alternate solution, I wouldn’t be here.”

  “Even better!” I say happily.

  “Jerk.”

  “Uh-huh, I’m the jerk. You just asked me if I came from a homeless encampment.”

  “Look at what you’re wearing!”

  “I get cold on planes!” Although, he’s right. It’s blistering hot out and I’m starting to sweat in my long-sleeved shirt.

  Gritting my teeth, I undo the buttons and peel the plaid material off my shoulders. I’m left in a yellow crop top that bares my midriff. It’s what I was planning on wearing when I thought Anna was picking me up. I certainly didn’t expect Nick to be there instead. Nick, who wastes no time dropping his sultry gaze to my chest.

  “My eyes are up here,” I order.

  “Yeah, but your tits are down there.”

  Incredulous laughter slides out of my mouth. He’s unreal. Also, since when does he comment on my boobs? I’ve always had these. Now he’s remarking on them?

  “Looking good, Poodle,” he drawls.

  “Are you ever going to stop calling me that?”

  “Never.” Then he gives me that infuriating grin and hops into the driver’s seat. “Get in already. Don’t want to keep the happy couple waiting.”

  3

  At the house, Michelle greets me like we’re long-lost friends who haven’t seen each other since the war. The thing about this girl is, she has to know that the members of Danny’s family aren’t her biggest fans, yet she constantly acts like we’re best buddies. She flings her arms around me, her curly hair suffocating my face. She smells like expensive perfume that I’m sure the mosquitoes are going to love. We’ve warned her time and again about not wearing scents out here, and although she’s been to this lake house often, she never takes the advice and always lives to regret it.

  “Oh my gosh, Katie, it is so good to see you!”

  “Kate,” I correct.

  “So formal!” She laughs. “I prefer Katie.”

  I offer a big, fake smile. “I prefer Kate.”

  The only people who call me Katie are my brother and, less frequently, my dad. My name isn’t even short for Katherine. Mom wanted me to be Kate. Just Kate. To be honest, I kind of love it. Katie sounds like a little kid to me.

  And I’m not a kid anymore. My gap year helped me recharge, gave me time to focus on myself and my art, but I’m eager to start freshman year of college. Eager to be on my own, living in a dorm. Not having my mother knock on the door every ten minutes to check in and see how I’m doing. Or Dad waltzing in ordering me to have dinner. The whole point of this gap year was to paint. But whether I was at Mom’s house or Dad’s ranch, I was constantly getting interrupted. They can’t grasp that when I’m in the zone, hours could pass. I don’t feel the hunger, not until I emerge as if from a fugue state and choke down two days’ worth of leftovers. A literal starving artist.

  But it didn’t go the way I wanted. My parents are too damn caring and attentive. Those fuckers. Hopefully college allows me more freedom than this past year had.

  “I’m so relieved you’re okay with me and Nick filling in for your cousins. I know you and Anna are super close and you wanted a cousins’ weekend. But”—Michelle links her arm through mine—“now it can be a sisters’ weekend.”

  Gag. I glance over my shoulder at Nick, who’s lifting my suitcase out of the backseat. He’s grinning at me. He knows I want to smack her.

  “Where do you want this?” he asks, holding up my carry-on.

  “Oh, in the blue room, please,” I tell him.

  “Yes, Poodle,” he says obediently.

  Michelle giggles and tightens her hold on me. “Are you ever going to tell me why he calls you that?”

  “Nope,” I say.

  When we enter the house, I’m immediately overcome with a wave of nostalgia. No matter how many times I come here, it never gets old. I love this place. The main floor consists of a huge open-concept space with impossibly high, chalet-style ceilings. There’s a
massive kitchen on one side, and a dining room with a long table that seats twenty. Beyond that is the great room with its enormous wall of windows.

  I approach the shiny panes and peer out at the upper deck. The gleaming cedar steps lead to a lower deck with an outdoor eating area, and then another set of stairs takes you to the path leading down to the dock, which is large enough for a handful of lounge chairs and umbrellas. Dozens of yards from the main dock is the floating dock where Anna and I like to tan topless, only covering ourselves up when a boat speeds by.

  “Anyway, I’m really glad I’m here and able to spend this time with Danny before he goes away,” Michelle is saying.

  “He’s not leaving for another month,” I point out.

  “Sure, but every minute counts! I want to squeeze in every last second!” And then squeeze she does, gripping my arm so tight her red nails leave indentations in my skin. She’s not trying to hurt me. Her nails are just that long.

  “Where’s Danny?” I ask, peering out the windows again. I don’t see him outside.

  “He went upstairs to change. We’re going out on the boat.”

  “Oh, are we?”

  “Well, we are,” she says. She gives an apologetic look. “It’s sort of a couples thing.”

  And so it begins.

  “Okay. Well.” I swallow my irritation. “I should go upstairs and change too. Guess I’ll be chilling here alone this morning.”

  “Not alone. With Nick!” She pats my arm before darting toward the hall. “Just gonna hit the loo before we go.”

  I hate that she says “the loo.” She’s from fucking Utah.

  Upstairs, the staircase divides the second floor into two long wings, and I quickly hurry to the left side. Our family’s had this place since I was a baby, so over the years we all inevitably got comfortable in certain rooms. Mine is the blue one with the seashells. Danny’s is the yellow one next door. The one with the traitor inside.

  I throw open the door just as he’s sliding a pair of striped trunks up his hairy legs.

  “Jesus Christ!” he balks. “Knock, will you?”

  “Are you serious right now?” I close the door behind me and advance on him. Arms crossed. Voice lowered. “You promised,” I hiss.

  A sheepish look flickers in his eyes. “I know. I’m sorry. But…I mean, Anna and Carter bailed.”

  “So what? Is the idea of spending alone time with your sister that unpalatable?” I glare at him. “We could have done a you-and-me trip. Gone on a long kayak, hikes, board games. It would’ve been fun.”

  “I know, and that’s what I told Michelle. But she insisted on coming.”

  Of course she did.

  “Just because she insisted doesn’t mean you had to say yes,” I fume.

  “I don’t understand what the big deal is. I brought a friend for you.”

  “Nick? Nick is a friend for me? He’s your best friend!” I shake my head in disbelief. “All he and I do is argue. We don’t get along.”

  Danny’s quick to protest. “Sure you do. You guys are really close.”

  I gape at him. “What planet do you live on? Sorry, I already know the answer to that. You live on the planet of Michelle’s vagina.”

  “Katie.”

  “You promised,” I growl at him. “You know I don’t like her and that I didn’t want her here this weekend. She makes everything about herself.”

  “That’s not true.”

  “That’s not true? She just informed me you guys are going ‘couples boating.’ Couples boating!”

  He has the decency to be shamefaced. “Well. Yeah. But we’ll only be gone a couple hours,” he quickly adds. “And then the four of us can do something fun.”

  “Not cool, Daniel.” I jab my finger in the air. Then I storm out.

  In the blue room, as I change out of my traveling clothes, I resign myself to the fact that I’ll be spending the day alone. Whatever. There are worse ways to pass the time than tanning and swimming. I throw on a bikini, shorts, and a tank top, then gather up items to shove in my bag. Towel, a book, headphones, sunscreen, and mosquito spray.

  Michelle and Danny are already gone when I get downstairs. And I’m not sure where Nick disappeared to, but I’m on my own as I grab a bottle of water from the kitchen and head outside.

  On the dock, I drape my towel along the length of a lounge chair, then lie down and stare up at the clear blue sky. Almost instantly, the tension drains from my body. I lie there and breathe and enjoy the heat of the sun on my skin, the silence of the lake. This is my favorite place in the whole world.

  But my peace is cut short, as footsteps interrupt my happy reverie. I stiffen at the sound of Nick’s voice.

  “Do my back?”

  I open my eyes to find Nick standing there. Bare-chested, he’s wearing a pair of red trunks that cling to his trim hips. Muscles upon muscles assault my vision. Oh boy. I might find him annoying, but I’m still a woman. And I really, really like muscles.

  “Where’ve you been?” I ask warily.

  “Took a nap. I was exhausted after spending an hour in the car with you.”

  I roll my eyes.

  “Well?” He’s still holding out the sunscreen.

  “Pass. Do your own back.” I adjust my sunglasses on the bridge of my nose and gaze out at the water again.

  “Now, Poodle. I’m asking you for a favor and I asked very nicely. Will you please apply sunscreen to my back?” I can hear the laughter in his tone.

  I want to point out that I managed to do my own back just fine. But, granted, he does have a lot more skin to work with. His big chest and broad shoulders are endless.

  “Fine,” I say. “Sit down.”

  He sits dutifully at the edge of my chair. I spray a mist of sunscreen on his skin. After a beat of hesitation, I rub it into his back, which is already warm from the sun beating down on us. Smooth skin and sinew glide beneath my palms.

  “I can’t believe this is my trip,” I gripe.

  “What?”

  “Sitting here rubbing my hands all over Nick Carmichael.”

  He chuckles. A low, husky sound. “Other girls would kill for that, you know.”

  “Other girls are dumb, okay? Case in point—Michelle.”

  “Oh, that chick isn’t dumb.”

  “No?”

  “You kidding me?” Nick glances at me over his shoulder, his eyes knowing. “She’s sharp as a tack. Manipulative as fuck. She acts like she doesn’t know what she’s doing, but come on, she’s got your brother wrapped around her little finger and she knows it.”

  “That’s true,” I admit grudgingly. Michelle’s not dumb, and whatever she’s doing, it’s working superbly. Danny’s been under her spell for three years.

  “He’ll learn,” Nick assures me.

  “Will he?”

  “Of course. We always do.”

  “We? Ha. So you’re saying some girl had you pussy-whipped for three years?”

  “Well, no. But I have faith he’ll snap out of it.”

  I pat him in the center of the back. “All done.”

  “Thanks.” He hops to his feet and starts spraying his chest.

  I can’t help staring at his long fingers as they apply sunscreen on his impressive pecs. Ugh. I want to say I’m one of those artsy chicks who goes for the hipster guys, all moody and skinny and emo. But I’m not. Probably because my brother played sports his whole life, and all his friends played sports, and they were always over at our house, so I grew up conditioned to have a thing for athletes. My two high school boyfriends played baseball and hockey, respectively.

  “So what are we doing?” Nick asks, glancing at the cozy area I’ve created for myself. “Just getting some sun?”

  “No. I am doing that. You can do whatever you want.”

  “Come on. I’m bored.” His tall, muscular frame is practically radiating energy as he wanders around my chair. “Entertain me.”

  “Not my job.”

  “Fine. Whatever.” He r
akes a hand through his dark hair. “I’m going for a swim.”

  As he walks to the edge of the dock, my traitorous eyes focus on his ass. Admiring the long, lean lines of his body. It’s almost unfair how attractive he is.

  After he dives in, I exhale with relief. Good. Now I can relax. I’m always on guard when Nick is around, and it really does get exhausting. I watch him swim for a while, until eventually I get bored and fish out my phone.

  You won’t believe what my brother did to me, I text my best friend.

  Chelsea immediately texts back.

  Her: He invited Michelle.

  Me: How did you know??

  Her: It’s common sense. Who didn’t see that one coming?

  Me: Fine, well, did you see it coming that both my cousins bailed so now I’m here with Michelle AND Nick?

  Her: Oooh. Plot twist.

  Me: Yup.

  Her: How does he look?

  Me: Nick? Hot as usual.

  Her: You should hook up with him.

  Me: What? No!

  Her: You know you’ve always wanted to…

  Me: I have not.

  Her: Liar.

  Fine, so maybe I’d entertained the idea once, maybe twice in my life. And maybe the first time I ever touched myself was to a fantasy of Nick. It was when I was thirteen and he was fifteen. He had come over to hang out with Danny. The two of them had tossed a football around, and at some point he’d taken off his shirt and…well, my thirteen-year-old hormones went haywire.

  But that was years ago. I’m about to go to college. And my judgment is like a million times sounder these days.

  A flash of movement across the lake snags my attention. I turn to see Nick climbing the ladder of the floating dock. Dripping water, he runs both hands through his wet hair. His skin gleams in the late morning sunshine. When he catches me staring, he waves, then flips up his middle finger.

  I flip mine up in response, and his faint laughter travels along the water.

  It’s going to be a long weekend.

  4

  The rest of the day isn’t as bad as I anticipate. Danny and Michelle aren’t gone long. When they return, Nick and I pile into the boat and the four of us head for the cliffs on the far end of the lake. The highest one is about thirty feet, and I’m pumped when the rocky landscape comes into view. Diving off those cliffs is such a rush.