The Coast is Clear (Breakaway Shores #1)

Zander

Hunting

Izzy seemed so much more relaxed. Her hair was pulled into a tiny bun on the top of her head, which I hadn’t seen before. She held a pillow on her lap as Luke recounted his worst date. “She thought we were going to get married. Which is very off-brand for me.”

He chuckled and then shook his head. It was late, but I enjoyed this time with them. Our friend dynamic had always been close, Luke and I, but Izzy was a great addition. “So, how did you two meet?” Izzy asked, gesturing between the two of us.

“You want the real story or the one we tell people?” I answered.

Her eyebrows shot up. “The real one, of course.” Izzy held my gaze, and something about it made me not want to break it.

“Well, I was staying in an Airbnb that was technically in Breakaway. Fresh off my breakup, so of course, I went to the local pub. Which, as you know, or maybe you don’t, but that is where your brother hunts.”

“Ew, you make me sound like some kind of perv,” Luke scoffed, throwing his hands up in the air.

Izzy and I shared a glance like we both think he’s definitely not a pervert, but he does sleep around more than the average Joe. Something almost unlocked in my chest, like we’ve known each other much longer than we have. “Okay, not a perv, but I mean, you never date a girl more than three times.”

Luke straightened up, moving to the edge of the couch. “And let me tell you why!” He pointed his finger at me first and then his sister, who looked like she was fighting a laugh. “The first few dates are just so much fun. Filled with flirting and delicious touching and sex, obviously. But after date three? They want to know about my childhood, my mother, which girls broke my heart, and I’m just not interested in any of that.”

“Noted. Thank you for that explanation,” I said with a smirk. “Anyway, I was at the bar, and Luke came up to me and asked me to play along. Then he started loudly telling this story, being really dramatic, and I had no clue what was going on.”

“So let me explain. There was this girl that was playing hard to get. She’s from a couple of towns north, and I’d asked her out before, but she said no.” Izzy made an exaggerated, shocked face. “Anyway, I saw this tall, good-looking dude and knew that I could use it to my advantage.”

Izzy’s eyebrows were pulled together. “How so?”

“Well, I know I come across as just wanting to get laid to get laid, and maybe I just wanted to do that, but I knew that this particular lady didn’t want to date me because her friend was newly single. So, I figured I would set her up for the night with someone and be in the clear to convince her friend to give me a shot.” Luke shared his reasoning with such confidence, and it made me chuckle. He really was proud of how it turned out.

“So what happened?” Izzy asked, leaning back on the couch.

“He got this lady's attention, and she and her friend came over. I ended up talking to the friend, who was very nice and sad. I bought her a drink. She cried into said drink, but Luke had sufficiently distracted her friend by then.”

Luke clapped his hands together, “In other words, my plan worked perfectly.”

“So classy, Luke. And that made you want to be friends with him?” she asked me.

I sat on the floor, leaning against the TV cabinet and facing her straight on. Luke stood, stretching out his back as he walked toward the bathroom. “The next day, I ran into him at the café, and he told me the same story. He’s very charismatic, as you know, and then he told me he was a realtor. I needed one, and it was through looking at houses and all that we got to know each other. He’s kind of a sleazy date, but he’s a really good friend.”

“He’s a great friend. I wish he would settle down, but what do I know? I haven’t dated in such a long time.” Izzy picked at the edges of the pillow in her lap.

“Dating sucks these days,” I said, but then I realized how terrible that sounded. “I mean, dating…” But I wasn’t sure how to lie to him about how awful dating actually is.

She shook her head and smiled stiffly at me. “It’s okay. From what I can tell, it is terrible. I have a chronically single friend, and she has told me some awful stories of trying to date again.”

“I can imagine.” Luke came out of the half bathroom and nodded at Izzy. “Thanks again for letting us help with the fireworks. The boys are so fun.”

“They were in heaven,” she said quickly.

He grabbed his keys, which were on the table by the stairs. “I’ve got a full day of showings tomorrow, so I should probably get going. Do you fly out tomorrow, Zand?”

“I do.” I’d almost forgotten about my trip. I wasn’t excited to go, but I needed to. I needed to explore other places and see where I wanted to live next. It would be informative, even if it wasn’t anything else.

“Where are you going?” Izzy asked, her voice soft.

I pushed myself to stand, my left knee creaking as I stood. Very attractive, thanks to old joints. “House hunting. Nothing exciting. ”

She held my gaze for a beat longer, and I wanted to say something else. I wanted to stay, but I grabbed my coat and slipped it on. “I’ll check in on you tomorrow, okay?” Luke told Izzy as we walked to the door.

Izzy waved, smiling as she sunk deeper into the couch. Luke closed the door behind us, and his SUV beeped as he unlocked it. “Want a ride?”

I shrugged. “I’ll walk. It’s a nice night.”

“Thanks for being flexible. I know it’s probably not your first choice to hang out with my sister and her kids. But she’s cool, right?”

I answered too quickly. “She’s cool.” Luke’s expression changed. “The boys are great. So funny.”

He shook his head at me and slapped me on the shoulder. “Oh boy. Don’t get any ideas, okay? I don’t think she’s quite there yet.”

Luke opened his car door when I asked, “What are you implying?”

“Just remember it’s my sister, okay?” Luke said, his tone somewhere between joking and heartfelt. All I could do was nod. “Have a good trip. Text me when you get home, okay?”

“I will.” I stepped out into the street and headed back to my house with a heavy feeling on my chest.