JULY FOURTH

MILES

I leaned my hip against the bar and watched the bartender work like my drink was going to solve all my problems.

Spoiler: it was not.

The yacht pulsed with music and ocean air, the sun still high enough to turn the water into a sheet of glitter. People laughed. Glasses clinked. Couples paired off like it was the only thing to do out here.

And then there was Theo and Nora.

Standing three feet from me like a walking romance movie.

Theo had his arm around Nora’s waist, and she was tucked into his side like the future movie about them would be titled, How to Be Insufferably Happy in Public.

I took the beer the bartender slid my way and lifted it in a toast I didn’t mean.

“So,” I said, stepping closer to the happy couple, because if I had to witness this, I was at least going to heckle them a little. “You two have been quite cozy all weekend.”

Nora’s eyes flicked up to Theo’s. And Theo smiled back like he’d already seen this coming.

“When did this come about?” I asked, gesturing between them. “Was it before Ian’s wedding? Is that why you said that thing about stealing a dance with her?”

Theo’s fingers tightened at Nora’s waist in a quiet little squeeze, like he was anchoring her there. 

Or claiming her. 

Or both.

They looked at each other again. Sharing that annoying, soft-eyed look people got when they were happy and didn’t hate the world.

Theo shrugged. “It started around that time.”

“It was a little longer for me.” Nora’s smile turned bashful in a way that made me want to throw myself off the deck. 

“Oh, okay. Great. Just rub it in.” I made a gagging noise before tipping my beer toward the rest of the party. “Everyone here has someone besides me.”

“Aw.” Nora pressed her lips out into a pout.

I narrowed my eyes. “Don’t ‘aw’ me.”

“I mean…” She smiled like she was enjoying this way too much. “I would say I’m sorry, but since you totally ditched me at the wedding—where, I might add, I was only there to do you a favor—I kind of think you not having a date this weekend is your own fault.”

“Ouch.” I flinched like she’d thrown a dart and hit me clean in the ego. “Way to kick a guy when he’s down.”

“Sorry,” she said, though her tone said she was definitely not sorry at all.

Theo studied me for a second. “Is something actually going on? You want to talk about it?”

“Nah.” I took a swig of my beer and stared out at the water like it had answers. “It’s fine. Just me causing drama for myself as usual.”

Nora tilted her head, as if she didn’t buy it.

Theo didn’t, either.

Which was why I quickly added, “Seriously. Don’t do that thing where you get all concerned and sad for me. I’m allergic to pity.”

“To that and dairy, apparently.” Theo huffed a laugh. Nora’s mouth twitched.

The bartender slid a drink down the bar for someone else, and I shifted my stance, pretending the conversation hadn’t landed anywhere sensitive.

But then my attention snagged across the deck.

Near the pool table, Bash stood behind Alessi, guiding her hands on the cue. And she, of course, glanced back at him with googly eyes, smiling like she was floating on cloud nine.

Bash said something close to her ear, and she laughed, like he was the funniest and smartest guy on the whole yacht.

I rolled my eyes so hard it almost hurt.

Yeah.

I really should’ve gone back to my cabin instead of coming up here.

* * *

Dinner on the main deck should’ve been fun.

The kind of long-table, ocean-breeze, clinking-glasses situation that made you forget you had responsibilities back on shore.

Instead, I was sitting there with a burger on my plate and a growing suspicion that the universe had hired a writer to write the story of this weekend and they were trying to give me a reason to start my villain arc.

I’d barely taken my first bite when Bash dropped into the chair beside me with his plate, acting like a guy who’d chugged three energy drinks.

He was jittery. Excited. Eyes bright. Hands restless.

I glanced at him. Then at his plate. Then back at him.

“What’s wrong with you?” I muttered. “Are you that twitterpated? Or did you skip your ADHD meds today?”

“Nothing’s wrong.” Bash shot me a look. “I just want to tell you something.”

That alone should’ve been a warning sign.

“Okay,” I said, already bracing myself. “What is it?”

He leaned in, lowering his voice. “You promise you won’t tell anyone?”

I blinked. “Why would I tell anyone?”

“Just promise.”

I sighed. “Of course.”

Bash nodded like I’d just signed a contract. Then he reached into his pocket and started pulling something out.

“Whoa, buddy,” I said, sitting up straighter. “What are you doing?”

He barked out a laugh and bumped my shoulder. “Stop it, you weirdo.”

Then he angled his hand under the table to reveal a black velvet box.

And I didn’t need to see the inside to know what it held.

A ring.

Probably of the diamond variety.

My grip tightened on my drink without me meaning to, fingers going numb around the glass.

Bash’s face glowed with pride as he whispered, “I’m gonna ask Alessi to marry me.”

My stomach twisted, the words landing like a punch to the gut.

Not because I was jealous.

No. It was something worse.

Like cold hands gripping my heart and squeezing it dead.

I forced my face to remain neutral. Something supportive. Something that didn’t look like I was about to throw up on the deck in front of everyone.

“That’s… exciting,” I managed. “A-are you doing it tonight?”

“Yeah.” Bash nodded. “During the fireworks.”

“During the fireworks,” I repeated, mostly to make sure my brain had heard him right.

“Yep.” He looked like he might actually vibrate out of his chair. “I thought it would be perfect considering how we first got together.”

“Oh.” I nodded slowly, the pieces shoving together in my brain. “Because of your song?”

“Of course it’s because of the hit song she wrote about me and her.” He lifted his brows like it was obvious. “It’s only the biggest song she’s ever written.”

My pulse thudded heavy in my veins. “‘Under the Firework Sky,’ right?” 

Bash’s smile spread. “You know it.”

“It’s a great song.” I nodded like my body wasn’t quietly falling apart from the inside. And because I apparently hated myself, I added, “Always been a personal favorite of mine.”

Bash grinned like I’d just confirmed he was a genius.

Then movement across the table caught my attention.

Alessi.

She stepped into view like she belonged on a stage. Dark hair curled, bangs sitting just right.

Her signature look that I’d pretended for years I was immune to. 

She scanned the table, laughing at something someone said, and then her eyes met mine.

And for half a second, the yacht disappeared.

The chatter. The music. The ocean.

It was just her.

And me.

And those green eyes I’d gotten lost in a thousand times.

My heart kicked, like it always did when we were breathing the same air—like it had never learned its lesson.

I looked down at my burger so I didn’t do something stupid, like stare.

Or worse, hope.

Hope that reality might someday change and it would be possible to be with the one girl I could never really have.

“…and then when the firework show ends,” Bash was saying, apparently still telling me about his plans, “I’ll turn on the song at the final chorus, get down on one knee, and bam, I’ll ask your stepsister to marry me.”

My jaw tightened and I forced a half-smile. “Sounds like you’ve got it all planned out.”

Bash nodded, satisfied. “Oh, I do.”

And I nodded back like the cold, dead thing inside my chest wasn’t cracking.

Like it wasn’t shriveling up and dying over the fact that fate was cruel and the universe liked to make jokes at my expense.

Though… I supposed I should feel a little bad for Bash, too. Since he didn’t know something that I did.

That hit song he loved so much wasn’t about him at all.

No… 

It was about me.

And no one could ever know.