Dr. Stud

But now that I have seen a chink in his armor, I’m really curious. I can’t just let it go.

“You don’t seem fine, Sully. What’s on your mind? You want to see Sophia? She’s out there heading for the ocean. First time! Why don’t we go down there and see what she’s up to. That’ll help you feel better.”

“Nope,” he says with an air of finality.

“What? Are you serious? Why not?”

“I’ll see her later, okay? We’re going to be here all weekend. I’ll get to hang out with her.”

“Just take a look, man. I mean…” I get up and walk back to the window to make sure they’re still both out there. “Oh, hey, Bunny has her in the shade of the old gazebo! Remember that? Grandpa used to always want to play dominoes. I wonder if Bunny knows how to play dominoes?”

“Okay, quit it!” he snarls, standing up. He’s so large, he practically pushes the air out of the room.

“Quit what? Dominoes? What is your problem, man?”

He begins to pace back and forth, making little figurines jump on the mantelpiece. Tiny shells that we collected bang together.

“It’s just… don’t try to throw us together, okay? Don’t try to engineer more alone time. Don’t try to manage my feelings. Can you do that for me, Trey?”

“Your feelings? What are you talking about, Sully?”

He paces back and forth a few more times, then turns to me with his hands out.

“It’s not going to work, okay? I know she seems different. But she’s not different. No woman could do what we need a woman to do. And it’s sort of cruel to ask, don’t you think? It’s cruel to ask it of her, and it’s cruel to ask it of us.”

He resumes pacing while I stand here, dumbfounded. I wish I had something perfect to say to him. He seems to be the farthest one away, but maybe, out of all of us, he’s the one closest to falling for her.

“She asked us to give her a chance.”

“I don’t want to give her a chance,” he growls.

“Well, I do,” I answer, surprising myself. But, actually, I really do. “I know it sounds crazy, and I know we have a lot to risk, there’s just… I want to. I think it’s worth the chance.”

He shakes his head stubbornly, closing his eyes.

“Come over here and look out the window, Sully,” I tell him in a soft voice. “Come on. Look.”

It takes forever, but he finally shuffles over to the window. I watch his profile as his eyes scan the water line, then find Bunny and Sophia in the gazebo. He takes a deep, shuddering breath that echoes in his chest.

“Don’t be afraid to be happy with what you want,” I suggest.

“Fuck you, Trey,” he groans.

But I can see him mellow. I see him soften. Maybe that’s the problem: being soft is very hard when you’re made out of rock.

Chapter 12

Royce

The fire crackles, blazing out to the side when the wind hits it like some kind of banner. Looks like we’ve gone through about a case of wine, and now a few staff dart around, clearing the plates from a truly delicious meal.

Though I wasn’t sure at first that I wanted to come out here, this has been a really nice day. We haven’t had a lot of time to unwind together recently. The weather has been perfect, and we’ve been exploring old pastimes like actual books and simple conversations.

I think I even saw Brock and Trey playing Frisbee on the beach today. I hope Spencer got a picture of that.

Bunny sits across the table from me, cradling Sophia in her lap. Bunny drinks her wine, smiling and chatting as she rocks unconsciously back and forth. The way that she handles Sophia, it is like she’s her own daughter. Completely natural, utterly charming. Sophia stares up into Bunny’s face, blinking slowly, gradually putting herself to sleep.

Sully and Trey start joking with each other, and Bunny glances down. A slow smile creeps across