If it had been something as simple as inviting his nieces to a party, I would’ve done it in a heartbeat. But with Mason there—whatever his real reasons—and with the part that still sounded like I’d be babysitting them, I knew there was something else behind this than the girls just needing to be introduced to a few people. The fact that there was a “situation” back in Florida, and that they didn’t want to be here, only confirmed that thought. But Eli was my mentor. I’d interned for him in college, and he’d hired me on after the internship had ended. He’d continued helping me throughout the last couple years of college, always pushing me to work harder and be better, and then did the same so I would work my way up in his company after I’d graduated. He’d done more than I could’ve ever asked for, and this was the first thing he’d asked of me. No matter how odd it seemed, I knew I couldn’t tell him no.

“Okay,” I finally agreed. “I’ll call my dad. I know for a fact that he needs new people for the drink station in the gym. I’ll see if he can interview them and let you know when.”

“Perfect,” Eli said on a relieved sigh. “They’ve already been here a week, I know they need to get out of their condo.”

I nodded and reluctantly said, “And I’ll make sure whichever one you mentioned won’t go running back to her boyfriend. I’m sure a bunch of us will end up at the beach this weekend, at least. I’ll let you know when I do.”

“Still don’t like him,” Mason said again. “I vote we find someone else.”

I rolled my eyes and looked over at him. “Why did you even need to be here?”

“A question I’ve already asked a few times,” Eli mumbled.

Mason’s teasing tone and expression quickly disappeared, leaving him looking at me the exact way he had been in the hallway. “I’m here because someone needs to tell you that you aren’t to touch either of them. Rachel and Kash may trust Eli’s choice in you being the one to help them out, that doesn’t mean I do. No one chose you so you would have another girl to fuck.”

“Mason,” Eli snapped, but Mason’s gaze never left me.

One eyebrow rose, and a short laugh burst from my chest. “Excuse me?”

“You didn’t try to hide the girl who was in your office earlier, and that already makes me not like you as much as I could. You see an opportunity in a girl, and you take it. Trust me, I get it. I was the same way when I was your age, which is why Eli still hates me. But those girls mean the world to Eli, to me, and to their parents. This is me warning you now: if you touch one of those girls, you will have all three of us on you. And their dad is the last person you want to piss off. Your job is to be their friend. Nothing more.”

“Noted,” I huffed as I stood to leave the office. “Anything else, Eli?”

He shook his head at Mason, and sighed when he looked back at me. “Just remind Cecily that I don’t want her in your office.”

The corner of my mouth tilted up and I nodded as I turned to leave. “I’ll call my dad and let you know what he says.”

“I appreciate it, Liam. Really,” he called out as I reached the door.

Mason snorted. “Still don’t like him.”

The feeling was mutual.

2

May 29

Kennedy

I STOOD THERE staring at the closed door for an unknown amount of minutes after Uncle Mason left. The moment he’d walked out of the door and gotten into his rental car, I knew that was it. That this was all real. We were in the Golden State instead of the Sunshine State. A place where the beaches and air were different, and where girls said the word like too often.

It was easy to agree to move here when my parents told me everything. It almost seemed fun. Kira and I had left home for college, but hadn’t left Florida; and now that we’d graduated, a big change seemed like something we could both use.

But then we got here and I remembered that I’d never actually liked California. That mixed with the facts that our only cousin in California was not even in the country for the next couple months, and that Kira hadn’t stopped crying about Zane since Mom and Dad broke the news to her eight days ago, had me slowly but surely regretting all of this.

I felt trapped—or maybe that was just Kira’s depression and anxiety rubbing off on me—my skin was drier than all get-out, and I felt like I couldn’t breathe because there wasn’t one ounce of humidity here unless it was early in the morning. And we were in motherfucking California. My shoulders fell, and I wondered for the fiftieth time today why I’d ever thought this was going to be a good thing.

Turning around, I looked at our condo and blew out a long breath. It was nice, but only held the basics. Even being in here for over a week now, I still wasn’t used to it—and I didn’t know if it would ever feel like home, no matter how long we were here.

I walked over to Kira’s room, but instead of knocking, I stood at the door and listened to her pained sobs before deciding against trying to talk to her again. After wandering around for another minute or two, I sank down on the couch and stared at the dark TV screen. I didn’t make a move for the remote, and I didn’t care that I was staring at nothing. I was afraid that if I turned on the TV, I would see commercials for things in California, and it would depress me even more.

I couldn’t hold back a relieved sigh when my phone began ringing—but my happiness at the distraction was short-lived after I dug it out of my pocket and stared at the unknown California number.

“Motherfucking California,” I muttered just before I hit the button to accept the call. “Hello?”

“Hey! Just wanted to make sure you knew how to get to the gym.”

My brow scrunched in confusion. “Uncle Eli? What number are you calling from, and what gym? Do you know who you called?”

He laughed softly. “Yes, sweet niece of mine, I know who I called. This is my office phone. And what do you mean, what gym? The gym you and Kira have an interview at in less than an hour.”

“What interview?”

“The one—son of a bitch,” he murmured, and let out a heavy exhale. “Did Mason not tell you that you both had interviews today?”

“No, he didn’t! What gym?”

Uncle Eli said something unintelligible and groaned loudly. “A friend of mine has openings at his gym for the drink station, and was kind enough to agree to interview you. But I should’ve known that Mason wouldn’t say anything. He doesn’t exactly like the guy who set this up. Can you be ready soon? The interviews are supposed to be at twelve thirty P.M.”

“Seriously? I don’t know! How far away is it?” I asked as I ran to Kira’s room. Throwing open the door, I didn’t wait for her to tell me to leave—as she had so many times this week—I just shouted, “Stop crying and get ready! We have interviews!”

“I’m not going,” she said automatically, without looking at me.

“Yes, you are,” I hissed. “Uncle Eli set these up for us. You’ll go and thank him for it later. Get ready!”

“It’s not far from you; ten, fifteen minutes tops,” Uncle Eli said distractedly. “I’ll text you the address, try not to be late. But I’ll explain it if you are.”