In Too Deep (A Texas Beach Town Romance 1)

“Look, I’m just gonna say this one thing,” says Cooper, who’s now leaning over the counter right in front of me so he doesn’t have to shout. “You gotta follow your heart.”

“Follow my heart. Nice pearl there,” I drone.

“I wasn’t done, don’t go cutting me off with your Kent brand sarcasm.” He swats playfully at me. “Now as much love as I have for your brother, I don’t think his method is conducive to a healthy relationship, whether with another guy, or with himself. But that’s his own journey he’s on. The only person I’m concerned about is you. I’m gonna take a wild guess and say I was right: you got boy troubles. And if I’m putting some well-laid context clues together, I gotta conclude it’s something to do with a cute vacationer you’ve got your eye on, and everyone’s telling you to stay away, and we all know what happened with your brother and the last guy who captured your heart.”

“Okay, hold your seahorses with all of this ‘capturing my heart’ talk. I literally just met the guy yesterday.”

“Sometimes that’s all it takes. Romeo and Juliet.”

“Okay, they’re fictional and both died in the end.”

“Follow your heart,” he repeats. “Make a big fool of yourself. Listen, I’m gonna tell you a story, Kent. I once broke the rule, chased the heart of a sweet guy here on a quick weekend trip. And yeah, sure, in the end, I was left brokenhearted, if just by the circumstance that he had to go home and not something he did to me. But you know what? That was the most beautiful summer I have ever had in my life, and every time I think of it, I’m in love again. What better parting gift is there to leave than that? No one can take that away from me. And why deny yourself the chance to experience something just because you’re afraid of it ending? Everything’s temporary, but we still wake up each and every morning to see what the next day brings, don’t we?”

I drum my fingers on the bar. “So have you seen a guy named Jonah around here?”

Cooper smirks. “I see my words are sinking in.” He lets out a chuckle, then shakes his head. “Nah, haven’t met or served a Jonah tonight.”

Bummer. “Thanks, Coop. Guess my little brother was mistaken, or saw the wrong guy.”

“Better stick around just in case he wasn’t mistaken.” He notices someone flagging him down on the other end of the bar. “I’m needed. Hey, are you going Sunday night to the thing?”

Thing? Oh, wait. “You mean Finn’s dad’s party?”

“It’s more than just a party. Twenty-year anniversary of the Hopewell Harbor Fair.”

“Twenty years? Damn. Well, it’s been a while since Mr. Hopewell had a big party at his giant-ass house.”

“So I’ll take this as your soft RSVP that you will go.” He smacks the bar and nods at me. “Good boy. Wish I could, but I have stuff to do Sunday night. Have fun on my behalf, alright?”

I’m about to protest that I didn’t actually say I was going, but Coop’s already heading off to help a customer. I smirk and push away from the bar, then decide to loiter around. I don’t see any familiar faces in here other than the hard-working Mars, who’s still buzzing around the bar like crazy, trying to keep afloat. So no one bothers me as I make my way to the front windows that overlook the beach, taking in the modest amount of sun that still lights the sky. I have no idea what my little brother saw, but it wasn’t Jonah.

And at this rate, I doubt I’ll see him again.

I spot the dartboards nearby. No one’s using them. I take advantage of the moment, grab myself a triplet of red darts from the dish, position myself, and take to throwing my tiny weapons at the board. Soon, the noise of the bar becomes perfectly tuned out, and all I hear is the rhythmic strumming bassline of whatever music’s playing. My world is just my right hand, the dart in it, and the colorful circles some distance ahead begging to be pinned in the center.

“You look bored.”

I glance to my side. Some random hotshot with plastic hair and too many muscles stands there smirking, beer in his hand, and a suggestion of self-assuredness in his eyes.

It’s like even the tourists are becoming mirror images of my insufferable brother.

I turn to him. “You look boring.”

He chuckles, apparently taking my jab as foreplay of some kind. “Bet I can beat you at darts.”

“Bet you can’t.”

“Let’s see who wins. Loser owes the winner a drink.”

He has no clue who he’s dealing with. “Bring it.”

Chapter 11 - Jonah

My clumsy foot catches the last step, and I barely stop myself from falling on my face. Can I enter just one fucking building in this town without almost eating the floor?