“No way,” Lily says. “I’m staying home with my family, curled up with a couple of good books.”

  “You think you’re actually going to get any reading done?” Rocco asks her.

  “I’m going to try, but knowing Jett, I won’t get many pages read. Anyway, it’s a good time to reconnect as a family unit,” Lily adds, earning herself a low murmur that lacks enthusiasm.

  “I’m going to spend it curled up in bed with my woman. Maybe a little something more,” Carmello says.

  “You have another woman?” Arlo teases Carmello as she looks up from her laptop, working on her future novel she still hasn’t published.

  He smiles at her. “Babe. Come on.”

  Arlo points to her stomach. “You did this to me by curling up in bed. I’m going to be hot and sweaty when the power goes out. The last thing I’m going to want to do is have sex with you while I’m six months pregnant.”

  “I like hot and sweaty sex,” he says with a wink.

  She mutters a slew of obscenities while giving him the middle finger.

  “Looks like you’re going to read a book too,” Lily tells Carmello, slapping him on the shoulder.

  “Fucking great,” Carmello says, shaking his head. “What if I buy a generator?”

  Typical man. Always working an angle. He’d spend an easy grand on a generator just to get laid.

  “There’re none left. They sold out as soon as there were whispers of a hurricane heading this way,” Lily reminds him.

  “Damn it.” Carmello scrubs his hands down his face as he relaxes back into his chair. “I should’ve been better prepared.”

  “Maybe next time, you will be,” Arlo sasses.

  “Nice,” I say to Arlo, giving her an air high five, which she returns with a small giggle.

  “Luna, can I have a break?” the man in front of me asks, stretching as I stop to dip my gun in ink.

  “Yeah, Chuck. Ten good?”

  “Yeah,” he groans as he pushes himself up. “I’m too old to sit that long in one position.”

  “You’re my last appointment of the day. Take your time.”

  He smiles, dipping his chin. “You’re the best.” He heads toward the front of the shop, leaving everything but his phone behind.

  I grab my phone and notice three missed texts from Nevin.

  Nevin: Sara’s coming.

  Nevin: Are you scared?

  Nevin: What are you going to do?

  I unlock my phone, going straight to the message app.

  Me: I know. I’m not scared. I’ll be fine at home. You?

  Nevin: I haven’t decided.

  Me: Dylan’s going to invite you over.

  Nevin: Ugh. I would rather have my balls cut off.

  I laugh as I read his text, understanding the sentiment perfectly.

  Me: Why?

  Nevin: I don’t want to watch them make out the entire time.

  Me: Truth. Are you going to your family’s home?

  Nevin: Rather eat glass.

  Me: Why?

  Nevin: Five men without showers in this heat? No way.

  I stare at the screen, tapping my finger against the side.

  Should I?

  No.

  I shouldn’t.

  But I want to.

  If Ian were here, I’d be riding out the storm with him, laughing our asses off at my stupidity.

  Shit.

  Me: Do you want to come to my place?

  Nevin: No, Lu. I’ll be fine here.

  I roll my eyes. I’m no longer the one with the hardest head.

  Me: The Wayward is too close to the coast.

  Nevin: I can swim.

  “Impossible,” I mutter.

  Me: Don’t be an idiot. You can keep me company.

  Nevin: You need me to?

  Me: I don’t need it, but I wouldn’t hate it.

  I wouldn’t hate it, but I wouldn’t love it either. Lying around in my underwear under the influence of something is the only way I want to be.

  Me: But beware. I don’t plan on being sober.

  Nevin: Do people go through hurricanes sober?

  Me: Only the monsters.

  Nevin: If it’s coming, I’ll be there on Wednesday.

  Me: Good.

  “Nevin’s squared away for the storm,” I tell Dylan and Ro.

  “Good,” Dylan says.

  “Where’s he going?” Rosie asks because she always needs more details.

  “My place.”

  Rosie leans back, staring at me. “Is that a good idea?”

  I stare back at her, letting my hands drop to my lap while still clutching my phone. “You’d rather I be alone?”

  She closes her eyes and exhales. Got her. She can’t say yes and feel like a good sister. “No, but…”

  “Well, I won’t be. You won’t have to worry about me anymore.” I smile at her, feeling smug as hell.

  “You two should just come to our place,” she insists.

  I shake my head. “We’ll have more fun at my place.”

  “That’s what I’m worried about,” she mutters.

  “You’re not my keeper, Ro. Nevin and I will be fine. We’ll play Scrabble or something to pass the time.”

  She cocks her head to the side. “You don’t even own a Scrabble game.”

  “Fine. We may get naked and dance around the living room. Happy?”

  “Nothing wrong with that,” Rebel says. “You’re single and young.”

  “Babe, you’re not old,” I tell her. “Stop talking like you’re Lily.”

  “Hey!” Lily yells from the front desk. “I heard that.”

  “Where’s the lie?” I yell back before turning my attention back to my twin. “I promise to behave.”

  “Your promises are shit,” she says. “Especially when you’re intoxicated.”

  “Ro, live a little. I thought being with Dylan would make you relax a little bit, but wowee, I was wrong. Still as uptight as ever. You are certainly Mom’s daughter.”

  She gives me the middle finger. “I’m relaxed and fun,” she argues.

  “Whatever you say, babe,” I tell her.

  “Just don’t get knocked up,” she warns me.

  I point at my arm. “Birth control is firmly in place. I’m good for four more years. I’m not a moron. Plus, I’ll be in survival mode. Remember the last hurricane?”

  “I thought you were going to claw through the wall and hide between the studs.” Rosie laughs. “You were insane.”

  “You think I’m really going to be looking to hook up with Nevin while I’m having a panic attack? I plan to stay as inebriated as possible, while staying alive.”

  Rosie shakes her head. “I just wish you were with me. You’ve never been without me for one.”

  I glance down, wondering if I can really ride out a hurricane without my twin sister, but knowing I have to try. “I’ll be fine. We can’t do everything together forever, Ro.”

  “I know,” she says softly. “I hate it.”

  “Me too sometimes.”

  “If you need me, I’ll find a way to get there, Lu.”

  “If I have to carry her on my back in the wind and rain, I’ll do it,” Dylan adds.

  I laugh, picturing the absurdity in my head. “I may call just to see that.”

  “You have a few days to change your mind,” Ro says.

  “Give it up, sis,” Gigi says, “She wants to be alone. She’ll be fine.”

  “But she won’t be alone. She’ll be with Nevin.”

  “And?” Gigi replies.

  Rosie shrugs. “They barely know each other.”

  “They’ll know each other better after the storm. That much is for sure,” Arlo adds.

  “It’ll give us time to talk about Ian. We have a lot of things to work through.” It is a low blow, but I know by mentioning Ian, they’ll leave me alone.

  I have no plans to sleep with Nevin. He’ll be my emotional support person through my first storm without my sister, and my apartment will be his safe haven.

  I have no doubt we’ll talk about Ian, and I’ll do my best to fill in the blanks, letting Nevin know everything he missed. The least I can do is open my home to Nevin when he needs it most.

  Chuck walks back in, having taken a little longer than I expected. “Ready?” I ask him as he settles back into the chair.

  “I have two more hours left in me.”

  “I only need one,” I tell him and immediately get to work.

  When I’m done, I clean my station and head to the back room to restock for work tomorrow. Gigi and Rosie corner me.

  “We’re worried about you,” Gigi says first, standing in front of Rosie.

  “Don’t worry,” I tell them, setting down the blue ink bottle. “I’ll be fine. We’ll be fine.”

  “We’re worried about you emotionally,” Rosie says, changing course.

  “I’m fine,” I repeat, annoyed. “Jesus, it’s not like Ian’s dead.” I place my hand on the counter, stopping myself from smacking them. “I’m going to say this one more time, and I need you two to hear me and hear everything I say.”

  They stand in silence, giving me their full attention.

  “I’m fine. I’m not in emotional crisis. When I need another mother, I’ll let you two know. But for now, please, for the love of all that’s holy, let me live my own damn life.”

  Gigi lifts her hands. “Got it. I said what I needed to say. You heard it. I heard you. We’re done,” she says and turns, leaving Ro and me.

  “Don’t you dare say anything else,” I tell Ro as she’s about to open her mouth.

  She quickly snaps her lips closed and peels away from the doorway, heading the same direction as our elder sister.

  “Fuck,” I whisper as soon as they’re gone. “They’ve all lost their damn minds.”

  15

  LUNA

  The store is cleared out by the time I make it there the next day. With Sara fast approaching, the people in the town have bought everything as if we are about to experience the apocalypse. The only thing I am able to grab is a giant bag of the lavender-scented Epsom salts that I love.

  I stare at the freezer section where the pizza rolls used to be, stunned into silence. My bag at home is nearly empty, and now, there’re none left to replenish my supply. At least I still have a case of ramen I ordered online last week.

  A shadow passes by me and stops as I stand in the aisle. I ignore the looming figure and take a step toward the front of the store, ready to leave.

  A hand lands on my upper arm, stopping my forward movement. “Luna,” the man says as I tilt my head upward, catching sight of someone I haven’t seen in months.

  I instantly see red. If we weren’t in the middle of a store, surrounded by many people who know me and my parents, I’d break his arm for laying hands on me, and then I’d kick him in the balls so he’s never able to father children.

  “Chad,” I say, trying to keep the snideness out of my voice, but fail.

  I hate this man. Hate may not be a strong enough word. If he’d spontaneously combust in the middle of the aisle, I’d spit on him and watch him burn.

  Savage? Maybe.

  But I’ve known too many Chads in my life, and none of them have deserved anything more.

  He is worse than Oliver. Way worse.

  He’s vile and a tad on the unstable side. We went on one date. One that ended quickly and disastrously, but he felt the need to call me every day afterward for over a month. I always sent him to voice mail, and each message became increasingly hostile.

  “Whatcha doing, baby?” he asks softly, like we’re intimate and not strangers. “Are you stocking up for the storm?”

  I feel my body stiffen as I remove my arm from his grasp and lift my chin, readying myself for whatever is about to happen. “I’m not your baby, Chad.”

  Chad is not fazed by the way I pulled my arm away from him. He’s handsome. A deadly combination of crazy and pretty. But no amount of good looks will make me want to deal with him in any form. “I called you,” he says like I didn’t already know that.

  “I know, Chad.” I adjust the bag of Epsom salts, moving them in front of me to cover my chest, figuring if he tries anything, I’ll throw the heavy weight right against his face. “I got all your messages, and although I didn’t call you back, I figured you got my message loud and clear.”

  “I’m sorry about that. I was going through a rough time. I’m not normally like that.” He moves his hand toward me like he’s going to touch me, but I step backward, making sure it doesn’t happen. “Will you give me another shot? We could be great together.”

  I shake my head, resisting the urge to smack him with the ten pounds of bath soak in my arms, although there’s nothing I’d like more. In a town as small as ours, word will no doubt travel back to my parents or someone in the family. “Absolutely not.”

  “I think I deserve it,” he says and does so with a straight face.

  I jerk my head back, shocked by the man’s audacity, but I quickly compose myself. I need to end this swiftly and make sure he has no doubt there’s nothing between us and never will be either.

  I lean in, getting closer to him, and drop my voice. “You don’t deserve anything, especially my time. You had your shot, and you struck out. It’s time to move on. And I’m warning you now, if you ever touch me again, you won’t have that hand much longer to touch anyone else. Got me?”

  Chad’s eyes widen as his face reddens. “You can’t mean that.”

  “Chad…news flash, buddy. When a woman says something, she always means it, and I’m no different.”

  He’s absolutely the type of man who would think no means yes. He throws off the creep vibes like a tidal wave.

  Chad brushes a hand through his sandy blond hair and blows out a breath, exasperated by the honesty I’m giving him. “Come on. Just a drink.”

  “No.”

  “A dinner?”

  “No.”

  “Take you to a concert?”

  I shake my head again. “Forget I exist, Chad. You’re nothing to me, and I’m nothing to you. There will be no dinner, no date, no drink, no talk, and one hundred percent no calls. Leave me alone,” I tell him, ending whatever fantasy he’s already dreaming up in his head.

  To an outside observer, I sound like a complete bitch. But a man like Chad needs a sharp tongue because any small amount of niceness will only allow him to believe that something more is possible when it’s not.

  “You’ll change your mind,” he calls out as I walk toward the front of the store with my head held high and my middle finger even higher in the air.

  “Stupid motherfucker,” I mutter under my breath.

  I take my place in line, but as usual, the customer at the counter is asking a million questions, wasting everyone’s time. On top of that, she pulls out her checkbook, and a collective groan goes up from the five people in front of me.

  At this point, I’m beyond annoyed. I set my bath salts on the nearest endcap and head for the door, deciding bubbles will have to work their magic to save my sanity, my muscles be damned.

  I stalk out of the store so pissed off, I’m not even paying attention to where I’m walking. When I hit something hard and bounce off, I start to stagger backward, knowing I’m about to ass-plant on the cement. Big hands grab my forearms, hauling me upward before I have the chance to bruise my tailbone.

  “Luna?”

  My belly does this weird flutter, a feeling I’m not used to and don’t like in the least. My eyes drift upward to find his eyes trained on me as my hands grip his arm like he’s the only thing keeping me tethered to the ground. “Shit. Sorry.”

  “Where are you rushing off to?” he asks without letting go of me. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. Nowhere. I was just trying to buy a few supplies, but there’s nothing left. I was just heading home.”

  “You were moving like you’d seen a ghost.”

  I snort, trying to play it off because the last thing I need is someone to swoop in and try to save me. “Just saw someone I didn’t want to see. You know how that is.”

  He releases my arms but doesn’t move out of my way.

  Shit.

  Nevin isn’t always about small talk, but today he seems extra chatty.

  Yay, me.

  “Did you get away?” he asks, studying my face.

  “Well—” I glance behind me to see if Chad’s following me out of the store too “—so far, yeah.”

  And like clockwork, Chad strolls out of the store, looking around the parking lot before his eyes land on me.

  Fuck.

  The man is relentless, and he’s not only a mentally unstable creep, he’s a persistent fucker too.

  I do the only thing a sane woman would do in this situation. “Play along,” I say to Nevin and throw myself against him, wrapping my arms around his neck and planting my lips on his.

  Nevin’s body stiffens, and at first, I’m kissing him but he’s not reciprocating as quickly as I’d hoped.

  “Please,” I beg against his lips, and with that word, he slides his arms around my waist, and he presses his mouth against mine with such force, I think my lips may bruise.

  Although the circumstances are forced, the act is very real. His lips are soft, but the kiss is hard and demanding.

  I melt into him, forgetting Chad’s presence and not caring about anything other than tasting this man and feeling the hardness of his body against mine.

  Every nerve ending in my body tingles, firing on all cylinders and wanting nothing more than to do this forever.

  But reality sets in as Nevin pulls his lips away, gasping for air. He doesn’t drop his hands, keeping them planted on my ass. “Shit,” he whispers, breathing heavily and staring into my eyes with a look I can’t quite decipher.

  My head’s spinning like I’m buzzing from too many drinks. “Sorry about that,” I whisper back, keeping my arms locked around his shoulders, stroking the soft skin near his hairline. “I had to.”

  “You had to?” he asks, pinning me with those green eyes. “Why?”

  “Shh,” I say, not wanting to talk about Chad and wanting to bask in the memory of kissing Nevin. “Don’t talk. Give me a minute.”

  Nevin chuckles deep, the vibrations coursing through my body and making the buzzing worse. “Finding your bearings?” He smirks, raising an eyebrow.