: Chapter 26

Pride and Prejudice has always been one of June’s favorite books. When I was a teenager and she was a kid, she used to carry a worn copy around with her to read every chance she got. Something about the enigmatic Elizabeth Bennet resonated with her, and now, I imagine that’s why she chose ElizaBeth as her username on Midnight.

Maybe it was the confidence she wished she had, or maybe it was feeling like the black sheep of her family. I don’t know.

But I know tonight, as I step out of my Escalade in my parents’ packed driveaway, that the Mr. Darcy costume I’ve chosen to wear isn’t a coincidence.

It’s a decision.

One I’ve been mulling over for the past forty-eight hours. Juniper Perry is my Mystery Woman, and every time I’ve pondered that reality, only one thing has been clear—I can’t stop thinking about her.

I’ve pictured a million different scenarios of how this could go down, and every damn time, I’ve ended up back in the same place.

Yes, June is my little sister’s best friend, and I’ve spent most of my life seeing her as just that. Yes, I should probably be mad at her for violating my trust, for initiating our Midnight messages and hiding her true identity.

But things are different now.

She’s different now. And I can’t find a single scenario in which walking away from her makes me feel good. Truth be told, the connection we built through our messages wasn’t superficial. It was deep and intense, and I can’t let everything we’ve spent the last two months building go to waste. I don’t want to go back to the way things were before.

I want to explore what we could be, and I want June to have no doubt.

“Holy shit, dude. Bankses’ Halloween means business this year,” Henry comments from my passenger seat, pulling his Zorro mask down over his eyes before climbing out his side.

His observation is spot-on. The driveway is filled with cars, and we even passed a valet station at the gate. Music pounds from inside the house, and the outside looks like one of those pop-up Halloween stores threw up on it.

I retuck my white shirt into my high-waisted gray pants and pull my blue overcoat out of the back seat, swinging it on while he keeps chattering. It’s an unbearably hot outfit for a party on the beach in Miami, but I don’t care. When it comes to June, I need to make a statement tonight. And deep down, I know if I don’t say something now, I don’t think I’ll get the chance to say something at all.

And then what? We just pretend it never happened? That doesn’t sit right with me. Frankly, the mere idea of pretending everything that’s transpired with June while she was my Mystery Woman doesn’t exist feels unbearable.

It feels…impossible.

“You think Mav and Ronnie are already in there?” Henry asks, and I survey the cars around us for Mav’s Jeep or Ronnie’s Corvette, but when another five cars fill in, the task becomes too overwhelming to care.

I’m not myself right now, and I have a feeling I won’t be until I finally get the chance to talk to Juniper.

“I don’t know.” I shrug one shoulder while my eyes are already looking toward the front door of my parents’ house. “I guess we’ll find out when we get inside.”

Henry pulls his fake sword out from his side and swipes it through the air in a giant Z swath like a big kid. You can always count on a Halloween costume to bring out the inner child in everyone—though, it’s less of a surprise for a guy like Henry, who’s in the business of creating some of the most technologically advanced equipment for high-octane, dangerous sports. His company, Adrenaline Junkie, is a one-stop shop for people who like to jump out of planes and bungee-jump off bridges for fun.

He practically swings swords for a living.

Slamming the door and bleeping the locks, I follow Henry toward the house and stride through the wide-open front door. Bodies are everywhere, all in various forms of ridiculous dress, and I scan the faces that are unmasked, looking for Juniper.

Henry doesn’t miss his usual beat and occupies himself with a group of women in various skimpy attire. A sexy kitten, an almost-naked witch, and I think—if I’m reading the costume correctly—a dominatrix Spider-Man?

I don’t know. And I don’t care. I use the opportunity for what it’s worth and separate myself from my friend.

My mom and dad are in the kitchen when I make my way through there, dressed as a plug and a socket—dear God—and I pointedly avoid making eye contact as I scoot by.

For now, the more anonymity I keep at this party, the better. My bold choice to come as Mr. Darcy will fly right over most everyone’s heads, but I’m not so sure about my mom’s. She knows June as well as anyone can know someone and loves her like she’s her own daughter. And a lot of times, love is in the details.

I spot Avery in the corner of the living room with Hulk, making out like eating face is the only way to save the world, and head out the back door to the pool deck. There’s a crowd of people, of course, but none are the one and only person I’m looking for.

Nightfall is making it harder and harder to distinguish faces in costumes, and I start to get discouraged, but when a thought takes shape and I look out toward the beach, I find her sitting in a place I’ve found her many times before.

When her parents missed her dance recital in third grade. When she failed her algebra test in seventh grade because her parents told her about their divorce the night before. When her dad didn’t show up to back-to-school night for her freshman year of high school but sent a Cartier bracelet instead. And when Avery had her first kiss at their first real party, this is where I found her.

We’ve had what feels like a million and one conversations on this beach throughout the years, and still, the one we’re about to have feels entirely different.

My heart rate kicks up to the kind of speed I only get when Henry and I are hauling ass on our runs, and I swallow against the uncertainty that sits heavy in my gut.

I don’t know how this is going to go, but I know we aren’t kids anymore and, to me, she’s not anything at all like a sister. She’s not the awkward girl with the unfortunate name always tagging along. She’s the woman I can’t get out of my mind even if I try.

Quietly, I pad through the sand toward her, watching her back as she focuses on the reflection of the moonlight on the gently lapping water.

Her red hair trails down her back, and from this angle, it looks completely bare. Her eyes jump to me as I sit down beside her, leaning back into the sand on my hands like I’ve done so many times before.

“Hi, Juni.”

Her voice is soft. “Hi, Beau.”

I chuckle a little, opening my coat and smirking. “Actually, it’s Mr. Darcy to you.”

Surprised eyes jump to mine once again, and I nod. I remember, June. Apparently, I remember everything when it comes to you.

She glances down at herself. “Avery talked me into being Ariel.”

I scan her shell bra and bare stomach, looking down to the glitter of her green mermaid-tail skirt, and smile. “Far be it for me to agree with my sister on something, but she got this one right. You look incredible.”

“Really?” she asks, and the only instinct I have right now is to kiss the self-doubt right off her face.

“Really,” I confirm with emphasis. “I’m having the hardest time keeping my hands off you.”

She startles into a laugh, and my eyebrows draw together, but she waves a hand in front of my face and grabs my elbow to keep me from disengaging at all. I don’t know what to make of it, but when she finally speaks, I understand.

“I’m sorry, really,” she says, her voice just barely over a whisper. “But you just have no idea how many times I’ve dreamed of you saying that to me, like, out loud.” She pauses and looks over at me, her eyes scanning my face with hesitancy. “If you haven’t caught on,” she says, and her voice drops even lower. “I’ve, uh… I’ve had a bit of a crush on you for a while now. Years, even.”

My smile is lazy and comfortable. For as awkward as I thought this would be, it’s not.

It’s us, just better.

“I imagine Elizabeth had to wait a while for Mr. Darcy, too.”

The cutest fucking giggle escapes her lungs. “Yeah. You’re right… Beau—”

“June—”

We both grin, and she hurries to usher me on. “You go ahead.”

I sit up and drape my arms over my knees, turning my neck to look her directly in her pretty blue eyes.

“Why did you ask me to meet you on Midnight initially? Was it about Seth? Or was it because you wanted a way to talk to me?”

She shrugs gently, her bare shoulders nearly touching her ears, and admits, “Both, I guess. I wanted to help you, but mostly…I’m sorry for how things went, so damn sorry. And I know I’ve put you in a really bad situation, but I did it because…” She pauses and swallows hard. “I just wanted you.”

Her words are a fucking dart that hits the bull’s-eye of my chest. “June.”

“I don’t know how to go back to the way things were.” Her voice shakes as she looks away from me to stare at the ocean. I know it’s because she’s scared—because the conclusion of this conversation could change our lives forever. I’ve been scared too.

But sitting here with her, finally talking to her about everything, I find myself looking at June in a way I think I’ve subconsciously avoided for a while. And being worried isn’t in the equation at all.

“We don’t,” I say my truth. “We don’t go back, June.”

“Beau—”

“No, June. You can’t start something like this—this big, this great, this deep—without finishing it.”

“But…” She shakes her head and furrows her brow. “But Avery—”

“I don’t give a shit about my sister,” I chime in, not even letting her finish the thought. “I haven’t thought about her at all, honestly. But I’ve damn sure thought about you. Every day, every night since you started this.”

June’s mouth curves down into a little frown. “Beau, she’s my best friend.”

“And you’re my obsession,” I admit, throwing all caution to the wind and leaning close enough that our warm breath mingles in the cool breeze of night. “I want you, June.”

She sways forward, and I take it as a sign, pushing my lips to hers and drinking in her gasp as I do. She tastes like cherries and sunshine, and I linger in the feeling of her lips under mine as a tingle spreads down my spine and settles in my dick. She tastes so good, I could swallow her fucking whole.

I push her back into the sand and hover my body over hers, confident enough in the cloak of darkness and the sounds of the party that we won’t be discovered. She moans, her legs falling open enough for my hips to find their way between them, and I shove up the mermaid-tail skirt to touch the skin of her thigh.

She kisses me back, opening her mouth and letting in my tongue, and I explore her further. It’s magic in a bottle and better than I ever would have dreamed.

I’m desperate for more, but I don’t want to scare her off either. I needed this moment—this ambush—to sort out how I feel.

But now that I know…I’ve got an imagination full of better places to take things to the next level.

Places where our family isn’t. Places where June can completely let go.

Places I’m dying to explore with her.

“Meet me at Midnight,” I tell her, repeating her first note to me right against her lips. She sucks in a breath as I pull away and climb to my feet, dusting off the sand and readjusting my now-hard cock in my pants. “This isn’t over, June. It’s just getting started.”