Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 87091 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 435(@200wpm)___ 348(@250wpm)___ 290(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87091 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 435(@200wpm)___ 348(@250wpm)___ 290(@300wpm)
He was kind of surprised. “Why does something have to be going on for me to want a walk with my little sister?”
She laughed. “I know you. You wouldn’t be texting me so early in the morning suggesting a walk if you didn’t have something on your mind.”
“Busted.” Damien laughed, but there was a sadness to it even he could hear.
Now that they were together and walking, he wasn’t sure how to begin. When he’d felt compelled to tell Erin about the events of the previous night, he hadn’t thought through the fact that she and Crystal were best friends. He and Erin were siblings, but girls’ code came first with Erin and Crystal, and his sister was a loyal and protective friend. He should really keep what had happened to himself.
And yet, he couldn’t. He really needed advice. He needed a woman’s advice, and he couldn’t think of anyone he’d rather tell than Erin.
He turned to her and found her gazing at him with those steady eyes that saw so much. The breeze tossed her honey-colored hair around her face, and she pushed a strand behind her ear in a no-nonsense manner as she waited patiently for him to begin.
“The brother-sister bond trumps the girlfriend bond, right?” He could hear the tentative note in his voice and watched as Erin’s calm expression morphed into one of concern.
Slowly she said, “Well, I guess it depends on whether you’ve broken one of those bonds.”
He shoved his hand in his hair. He was pretty sure he hadn’t. But had he?
“Look, I want to tell you something that happened, and I just would really appreciate it if you didn’t tell anyone else.”
Now her frown deepened. “Here’s what I’m prepared to do—I won’t break a confidence, but if you’ve hurt someone I care about, I’m going to act in the way I think is right. If that’s not okay, don’t tell me whatever it is that’s bothering you.”
He respected that a lot. There was a reason he went to Erin when he had something serious to talk about. She was absolutely reliable, completely honest, and she wouldn’t ever betray a confidence. But if she felt uncomfortable, she would refuse to even listen to the confidence. That was fair enough.
Damien could trust Erin with his secret, but he also understood he was putting her in a difficult position. Maybe he should keep his confusion to himself, go write another song, and see if he could work out his emotions that way. He’d done that often enough—writing tunes that spoke to his deepest longings and frustrations. He tried to be honest in his communications, whether through song or simply in a conversation on the beach with his sister. But he’d already worked through part of that in the song he’d finished this morning.
Now he really needed to talk to a human being. He needed to talk to Erin. “That’s fair,” he said.
She nodded once, and they fell into step again. Giving himself time to find the right words, he threw a ball for Buster, and of course, all three dogs went tearing after it, ears and fur and tails flying. It was hard to hold onto worries when your feet were in the golden sand of Carmel Beach, and dogs were racing, and ahead of them two people were holding hands.
Maybe everything would be okay.
Still looking ahead at the horizon, he said, “Crystal and I went salsa dancing last night.”
Hearing his tone must have alerted Erin that more than a little twirling and dipping had taken place. “Okay,” she said somewhat cautiously.
He let out a breath. Fortunately, at that moment, Nelson came bounding up and dropped a ball at his feet. He took the opportunity to bend down and chuck the thing and watch all three dogs go bounding after it again. He was wearing dark glasses and a ball cap, which were usually enough to stop people from recognizing him right away. It also meant Erin couldn’t see his eyes, which he was kind of happy about. His sister saw way too much. He was confused enough about his feelings. He didn’t really want that confusion to show.
He kept the story as simple as possible. “We had a great time.And then I don’t know what happened. We kissed.”
Erin stopped walking and stared at him. She was also wearing sunglasses. But he knew shock when he saw it.
Slowly, she said, “You and Crystal kissed.”
“Yes.”
“But you’re friends. You’ve been friends for fifteen years.”
“I know. And here’s the thing. She’s still one of my best friends. I don’t know how it happened or why it happened. It just happened.” He could hear the note of near desperation in his tone.
Erin walked a few more steps in silence and then said, “Did you want it to happen?”
Had he? He genuinely had no idea. Sure, he’d been thinking about it constantly, but maybe a part of him had meant to keep it that way—a secret, sexy fantasy—before it got out of control and potentially ruined one of his most important friendships.