Aruba (Bad Boys on the Beach Book 3) Read online

  She’s turning red as she struggles to hold in her laughter. “You got all dressed up,” she says in a cracking voice as her shoulders start to shake, “and they’re all married.” Her eyes are watering as she tries not to laugh in my face. “And the only one who’s not, is gay.” It’s too much for her, and she bursts out laughing in front of me.

  “Ugh,” I say, shaking my head as Cynthia and Tanya start laughing as well.

  “I’m sorry,” Cynthia says, holding up her hand as she unsuccessfully tries to stop giggling. “It’s not funny.” She points at Megan as her body shakes with laughter. “She’s making me laugh.”

  I can’t help but join in laughing with them, even though it’s not funny and I hate every single one of them.

  “I need another drink,” I say with a sigh as I sit down on an empty beach chair.

  “Good idea,” Cynthia says, sitting down beside me. “Megan, you can go get them since you’re part of the reason why Julia needs a drink.”

  “If I had to get a drink for everyone I drove crazy, I’d be a full-time waitress,” she says, shaking her head as she turns.

  “I’ll go with you,” Tanya says, following her. “I have to go pee again.”

  I take a deep breath as I look at the ocean in front of me. It’s sparkling like there’s a million diamonds floating on the surface. A seagull soars through the sky and lands in the sand next to a kid eating French Fries. If the bird had lips, he’d be licking them.

  “Are you mad?” Cynthia asks, cringing as she turns to me.

  “About what?” I ask, gritting my teeth as I stare forward. “The walking calendar of married guys over there or the fact that your brother is here and you didn’t tell me?”

  I turn to her with a glare, and she drops her eyes. I know it’s her wedding week, but she should have warned me about her brother. She knows how I feel about him.

  “I didn’t know he was going to be here,” she says, taking a deep breath before looking back up at me. “It was a surprise.”

  “What a great surprise,” I say, rolling my eyes.

  “It was for me,” she snaps. “I’m sorry you two don’t get along, but he’s my brother, and I’m getting married this week. I’m really happy he’s here.”

  I let out a breath as I watch my best friend. I guess I am being a little bit selfish. I should be happy that he’s here for her. It is the most important week of her life.

  “I’m sorry.” I put my hand on hers and force out a smile. “We’ll get along.”

  “Really?”

  I nod as bile creeps up my throat. “It’s going to be great.”

  “Thank you,” she says as she leans over and gives me a hug. “We’re all adults now. Maybe we can put all of that teenage stuff behind us.”

  “Totally.”

  She looks relieved and happy as she leans back on her chair. “Who knows? You two might even become friends.”

  “Maybe.” I choke out the word as every cell in my body cringes.

  Friends with Tucker? Never. I’d rather be friends with Stephanie, and that’s saying a lot.

  I’ll act civil with him in front of Cynthia because it’s her wedding week, but nothing is going to change between us.

  He’s still my enemy for life.

  And I’m still going to make him pay.

  3

  Tucker

  Day One

  How long does it take to put on a bikini?

  I exhale in frustration as I lean on the bar beside the pool and order a beer. The two cute girls on the other end look over and smile when I meet their eyes. They’re both sitting there in their bikinis, chewing on their straws as they fuck me with their eyes.

  Normally, I would slide over there, introduce myself, and get this vacation started off right, but my mind is on something else at the moment. Someone else more precisely.

  The bartender hands me the beer, and I reach into my bathing suit for a tip. I throw a couple bucks on the bar as I look around the pool area, trying to catch a glimpse of my sister’s best friend. There are hot bodies everywhere, but not the one I want to see.

  I smile and nod at the two girls as I take my beer and start walking around the resort. Feelings and emotions long buried come bubbling back up as I walk along the pool, sipping the cold beer. It’s been over a decade since I left Buffalo to go live with my uncle, but when I saw Julia again, it was like no time at all had passed.

  We picked up right where we left off: In the middle of an argument.

  I laugh to myself as I remember how much I was in love with her back then and how I constantly screwed it all up.

  I had a fucked-up way of showing my feelings, but it was the only way I knew how. I called her names, teased her, and tormented her. It’s no wonder she still hates me.

  Those juvenile tactics didn’t work back then, and after seeing her storm off an hour ago, all frustrated and pissed off, it seems like they’re not going to work this time either.

  I was hoping to bury the hatchet with her on this trip and start over as friends, but our old way of jumping at each other’s throats just kind of happened, and once we got going, it was too hard to stop. We slid into our old dysfunctional routine as easily as sliding into an old favorite jacket.

  It was nice to see Cynthia. Seeing my sister reminds me that I have to visit Buffalo more often. Going back always reminds me of the painful time when I left, so I tend to avoid it. But I want to be closer to my little sister, and maybe her friend too, so I make a promise to myself to visit more.

  My father had left us when Cynthia was still in diapers, and my mother was stuck raising us the best she could. As a kid, I didn’t make it any easier on her, constantly getting into trouble at school and sometimes with the law. Growing up without a dad put a chip on my shoulder that steered me in the wrong direction. I desperately wanted to be a man, but with no male role model, I lost my way.

  I don’t blame my mother for sending me to live with my uncle after I was brought home by the cops for stealing a bicycle, but it’s still a painful memory for me. I was uprooted out of the only life I knew, the only town I’d ever been in, and sent to go live with Uncle Jack. Those first two years were the hardest. Uncle Jack was a military man, and his parenting tactics came straight out of boot camp. He whipped me into shape and was on my ass constantly until I started doing well in school, holding down a job, and molding me into the man I always wanted to be.

  After high school, I made some good money planting trees up in Canada. It was hard work, but the pay was great, and I learned things that would later change my life. I was living in a camp deep in the forest, and the owner of the company took a liking to me. He taught me all about real estate investing, and when I got back home to Minneapolis, I took the money I had earned and bought my first piece of real estate. I made some money when I sold it a few years later, reinvested it, and four years later at age twenty-five, I had my first million in the bank. Another four years and a whole lot of hard work later, I’m worth almost ten.

  I’m halfway done with my beer when I walk onto the beach and head to where the wedding group is sitting.

  The groom and his friends are busy playing volleyball, and I keep my eye on Chase as I weave through the tourists relaxing on their beach chairs.

  I’m not sure about this guy. He’s too smooth. I know his type—the bad boy with the muscles and tattoos who charms the good girl with his soft words and seductive smile, only to cheat on her years later with a younger version. I know all about guys like him. I had a front row seat when I saw my father do it to my mother.

  My body is rigid as I watch him. The ball comes flying towards him over the net, and he jumps up and smashes it down. The other team doesn’t have a chance as it slams into the sand, leaving a deep crater where it landed.

  He slaps hands with his friends, laughing as he playfully taunts the other team.

  My muscles tense as he looks over at me and waves. I nod, but my face is unsmiling. Tight. Skeptical. I don’t li
ke this guy for my sister.

  I turn away from my soon-to-be brother-in-law and loosen up when I see who’s walking toward me.

  “Hey, Tucker!” Megan says, waving as she approaches with Tanya. “Did you come to steal me away from my husband? Because I’ll totally say yes.”

  I grin as we stop in front of each other. “I have a boat waiting for us,” I say, flashing the girls my sexiest smile. “It’s ready to bring us to a deserted island where we’ll live beside a gorgeous lagoon, and I’ll give you both foot massages every day for the rest of your lives.”

  “I’m in!” Megan says smiling up at me.

  “Daily foot rubs do sound tempting,” Tanya says with a shy smile. “But I’d probably sink the boat.”

  Megan wraps her hands around my arm and grins. “Looks like it’s just us two!”

  I glance over at the volleyball game, and Megan’s husband is watching us with a look of concern on his face. “I think your husband is getting jealous,” I whisper.

  Megan sighs and then lets go of my arm. “Hi, honey!” she shouts as she waves to him. “You’re looking great out there!”

  Lucas’ face breaks out into a big goofy grin as he turns back to the game, and almost immediately misses the ball.

  “I’ll see you guys back at the chairs,” I say, walking past them.

  “Just a warning,” Tanya says. “Your old nemesis is there.”

  I nod to her and then turn with a grin on my face. Perfect.

  I can hear the two of them whispering and giggling to each other as they walk away. Those two, Tanya and Megan, were always like putty in my hands. Growing up, I always wished that it was Julia who looked at me like that, but the only looks she ever gave me were filled with pure hatred.

  I scan the beach chairs until I spot her. My heart starts thumping in my chest when I see her sitting next to my little sister. She’s no longer the Julia from my childhood. She’s a woman now.

  And she’s stunning.

  Every nerve in my body stirs and tingles as I stand there, rooted to the spot like a statue. She’s lying on a beach chair in only a tight black bikini that matches her flowing hair. Her full breasts are pouring out of her top, making me breathless as my hungry eyes devour every delectable inch of skin on her body.

  I try not to think about how her ass must look in those tight bottoms because I’ll get a hard-on in the middle of the beach.

  My little sister’s best friend is all grown up and has blossomed into the sexiest flower I have ever seen. I immediately regret every time I teased her, every name I called her, every time I pulled her hair as a child. It’s like karma is real and the universe made her smoking hot just to fuck with me.

  Well played, universe. Well played.

  She laughs at something Cynthia says and the sight of her smile is so consuming that it makes me shiver. My chest tightens when she turns and spots me. The smile vanishes from her face, and she quickly turns away with a rigidness in that beautiful body of hers.

  I swallow hard as I step forward, trying to clear the haze from my mind. I can barely walk, so I have no idea how I’m going to put together a sentence in front of her. She’s thrown me completely off my game.

  “Hey, big brother!” Cynthia says, smiling up at me as I walk over. “We were just laughing at some of the old times. Weren’t we all crazy back then? It’s a good thing we’re all grown up now and mature. Right, Tucker?”

  “Right.”

  She turns to Julia with narrowed eyes. “Right, Julia?”

  Julia’s body is still stiff. Stop looking at her body or something else is going to be stiff.

  “Right,” she says in a tight voice.

  “Great,” Cynthia says, trying to put the past behind us. “Did you know that Tucker started his own business? A real estate investment company.”

  “That’s interesting,” Julia says. “The real estate prices must tank in whatever city you live in.”

  Cynthia frowns. “Tucker did you know that Julia is an elementary school teacher?”

  I bet all the dads are fighting for the front row seats on parent teacher night.

  “What grade?” I ask. I have a million questions for her. I want to know everything about her.

  Julia scoffs. “Why? Are you interested in enrolling? Didn’t you fail every class the first time around?”

  Cynthia rolls her eyes. “She teaches kindergarten.”

  “The kids are pretty smart,” Julia says. “I’m not sure if you’d get in.”

  Cynthia looks like she’s about to chew us both out as my mother joins us, sitting beside me on the same beach chair.

  “Did you guys see the video I posted on Facebook?” she asks as she stuffs her iPad into her beach bag.

  “Mom, we’re at the beach,” Cynthia says, looking annoyed.

  My mother doesn’t seem to notice her daughter’s frustration. “Well, you should watch it. Did you know that the Egyptian pyramids were actually made by ancient aliens? There’s a whole documentary about it.”

  “Ancient aliens?” Cynthia asks as her shoulders drop. “You can’t be serious.”

  My mother’s brown curly hair bounces up and down as she nods her head. “It’s true. You should watch it.”

  Cynthia has an incredulous look on her face as she stares at her. “Did you watch it?”

  “No,” she answers with a shrug. “But I read the headline. What? We’re on the beach.”

  “I missed you, Mom,” I say as Cynthia rolls her eyes. “Where else can I learn sci-fi history lessons?”

  “Then come visit more,” she says, grabbing my arm and pulling me into a sweaty side hug. “I miss you too.”

  “I don’t,” Julia mutters under her breath.

  The volleyball game breaks up, and Chase’s friends walk over to the ocean to cool off. Unfortunately, he doesn’t join them.

  Cynthia smiles as he walks over with a slight limp, spinning the ball on his finger. “Looking good out there, babe!” she says.

  “I’m never as good without my partner by my side,” he answers, sitting beside her with a smile on his face.

  “You two like to play?” I ask.

  “We play in a league every Tuesday night,” Cynthia says proudly. “Two on two. We’re undefeated.”

  “Beginner league?” I ask with a raised eyebrow.

  Chase scoffs. “You saw my smash. Do you think I’m no good?”

  My eyes narrow. “At volleyball or for my sister?”

  “Tucker!” Cynthia snaps. “What the hell?”

  I relieve the tension with a smile, but my eyes are still locked on him. “Just giving my little sister’s boyfriend a hard time. That’s what big brothers were made for.”

  “That’s what you’re made for?” Chase asks, not looking intimidated at all. He throws the ball at my chest, a little too hard. “Let’s see what you’re made of. Get a partner.”

  I squeeze the ball in my hands as he turns and charges off to the court.

  “What was that for?” Cynthia asks with a sigh. “Can you try to be nice?”

  “I am being nice,” I say with a shrug as I get up. “We’re going to play volleyball. It’s going to be fun.”

  Cynthia shakes her head as she stands up. “Find a partner.”

  I turn and look down at the only girl in the world that I want as a partner. “Julia. Want to get sweaty?”

  Cynthia grabs the ball out of my hands and tosses it in the air. “Go ask one of the guys in the water. Julia doesn’t like to play.”

  But Julia’s eyes are telling a different story. “I’ll play,” she says, standing up.

  I swallow hard when I glance down at her body. Fuck, she looks good.

  We walk to the court where Chase is pacing in the sand like a wild tiger. I seem to have gotten under his skin already. That was easy.

  He eyes me as I set up on the other side of the net from him.

  “Other side,” Cynthia says, pointing at the net as she grabs Julia’s hand. “Boys against the
girls.”

  I hear Chase curse under his breath behind me. I guess he likes me as much as I like him.

  “You two have to learn how to get along,” Cynthia whispers as she walks up to me and stuffs the ball into my chest. “You get first serve.”

  I glance over at Julia who is looking nervous as Cynthia walks back to her, giving her a crash course in volleyball. At least I’ll be facing her the entire game as she jumps and moves around in that tight bikini. I might even get to see a nip slip.

  “Looks like it’s you and me,” I say to Chase as I duck under the net. He looks thrilled about that. “You serve first,” I say, tossing him the ball.

  I lock eyes on Julia as I set up in front. She gulps as she walks up to the net, looking like she just realized she made a horrible mistake.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll go easy on you,” I say as she stands in front of me.

  “You’ve never gone easy on me before,” she says with heated eyes. “Why start now?”

  I grin as my eyes wander down her body. “Did you wear that bikini just to distract me? Smart move. It’s working.”

  “Just keep your eyes on the ball, Mother Tucker,” she snaps back. “You don’t want to get beaten by a couple of girls, do you?”

  “Service,” Chase calls out as he spins the ball on his finger. “This one’s got your name on it, babe.”

  My sister is all business as she stares back at her fiancée with a fierceness in her eye. She played volleyball all throughout high school and has always been a beast on the court.

  “Quit yapping and send it over,” she says, flexing her fingers and then squeezing them into fists.

  Chase smiles as he tosses the ball up and smashes it, sending it flying in the corner beside his bride. Without a second of hesitation, Cynthia dives and smacks the ball with her wrist, sending it up in the air and keeping it in play.

  Julia is better than I thought, and she quickly goes under it and lobs it up for Cynthia who is back on her feet. My sister comes leaping forward and spikes the ball down beside me before I can even react.

  “Nice!” Julia shouts, giving her a high five as they celebrate.