Chapter Thirteen.

The traffic on Tuesday afternoon sucked. He should have taken Wilshire instead of Santa Monica. Or better yet, a helicopter. After sitting b.u.mper to b.u.mper for almost an hour, Bryce wanted to tear the steering wheel out. Instead, he let his thoughts wander to the peace and quiet of White Strand Cove. And to a certain blonde. On his way to meet Cooper for lunch, dread and eagerness filled him. The kid had requested the meeting and Bryce hoped it was good news. But he didn't want to give up Honor. Could he have that conversation with her brother? Bryce wanted the win-win.

A horn blared as Bryce pressed on the brakes to avoid the car that suddenly veered into his lane. A motorcyclist almost took out his side view mirror. Catching the next left, he pulled into an underground parking structure. He'd walk a couple of extra blocks.

His heart skidded to a stop when he got to the burger joint and found Cooper and Honor sitting at a table waiting for him. What was she doing here?

"Sorry, I'm late," he said, taking the seat next to Honor and across from Cooper. "Hi, Honor. I didn't know you'd be joining us." He tried to gauge her reaction to his appearance, but she remained neutral.

Cooper didn't know about them.

"It was a last minute thing. I hope you don't mind," she said.

"Honor helped me figure some stuff out and I wanted her to be here. She's not happy about me going pro, so I thought she might feel better hearing us talk." Cooper lifted his gla.s.s and took a sip of what looked like lemonade.

Bryce forced himself to keep his eyes on Cooper and not his beautiful sister. "I take it you've made a decision about representation?" Jake Harrington had been bad mouthing Bryce and Danny all week. Bryce had no idea if Coop believed trash talk like that, but he was prepared to defend himself if need be.

"I want you to be my agent."

Relief and an insane amount of happiness filled Bryce's chest. "Fantastic." He extended his arm across the table to shake Coop's hand. "Welcome to Bishop-Ellis. We're really excited to have you."

"Thanks. I'm happy to join your team. I think you're the kind of person I need on my side."

Bryce put his forearms on the table. "What kind of person is that?"

"The kind of agent who doesn't put dollar signs before a client's health and safety."

The waitress stopped at their table and asked what they'd like to eat. While placing their orders his knee b.u.mped Honor's. The innocent touch scorched like a silent command he stake his claim on Honor now. They exchanged glances. His body ached to get closer, to cover hers skin to skin.

"That's a pretty big deal to my family," Coop continued, drawing Bryce's attention away from Honor. Stay focused, dude. "Honor and I talked on Sunday and she mentioned you'd been in a serious accident when you were younger."

The familiar lump that always lodged in Bryce's throat when he thought about his accident prevented him from speaking. He nodded.

Honor's hand squeezed his thigh. The gentle pressure excited and soothed him at the same time. His eyes cut to hers for a brief moment.

"You know what it feels like to fight back to being whole again. A lot of people still look at me with sympathy and I hate that. Like I'm not ever gonna be the same as I was. Did that happen to you?"

"It did. Even my doctors thought I'd always walk with a limp."

Coop smiled. "You showed them."

"Yup."

"Zane also told me I'd be an idiot to go with anyone but you. He said you weren't the most cutthroat, but you were the most dedicated."

Bryce settled back in his chair. "I agree with that."

"So what happens next?" Coop asked.

"I'll have Danny write up the contract and we'll get a copy to you to sign. If you've got concerns let me know and we can talk about them."

"Cool."

"You'll keep him safe," Honor said. Question? Statement? It was hard to tell which one.

Bryce met those pa.s.sionate, earnest blue eyes of hers again and he couldn't help himself. He reached across the table and took her hand. "I can't promise he'll never get hurt. Accidents happen. But I can promise to do everything in my power to keep him out of harm's way."

"Thank you." She rolled her lips together like they were parched and the urge to kiss her overwhelmed him.

Cooper cleared his throat, disapproval in his eyes. "Is there something going on with you two? I thought we understood each other where my sister's concerned."

"What?" Honor said.

"We did, but-"

"What are you guys talking about?" Honor interrupted before Bryce could come clean to Cooper.

"I told Bryce you were off limits. My career and my family don't mix."

Honor looked back and forth between him and Cooper. "You can't b.u.t.t into my life like that, Coop. Who I see is none of your business."

"It is if it affects me."

"How would my seeing Bryce affect you?"

Cooper canted his head down as if to say really? "I love you H, but you've got like a two date rule. It would be really uncomfortable for me when things didn't work out with you two because I'd have to take your side. And that would suck for my partnership with him."

"I can keep my personal and professional life separate," Bryce said. "As far as I'm concerned, whatever happens between your sister and I has no bearing on what happens between us. As my client, you've got me 100 percent."

"I appreciate that," Cooper said. He put his arms on the table. "But I can't separate things so easily. And if you broke my sister's heart, I'd have to find a new agent."

Bryce let that sink in. He got it. He thought about his sister and imagined her dating one of his clients. Cooper even. If the relationship ended, Bryce would be in a tough spot. He'd defend and honor his sister until his last breath, and he'd be in the uncomfortable position of having to remain professional with the douche that caused her pain.

The unsettling truth set in. He couldn't have Cooper and Honor.

"Why didn't you tell me you and Coop had talked about this?" Honor asked, her irritated tone breaking into his thoughts.

"Things are that serious?" Cooper said.

s.h.i.t.

Think, Bishop, think. Right here, right now, what was he willing to risk? What did he want?

The answer came quickly and easily.

"Could I have a few minutes alone with your sister?" he said to Coop.

Cooper looked at Honor. She nodded. "Okay, I'll just eat my burger over at the bar," he said, taking the plate out of the waitress's arms as he stood. Bryce and Honor were served their meals.

A few seconds ticked by, both of them still, the wild beat of Bryce's heart pounding in his ears. He'd known the truth for a while now, but had been too chicken to acknowledge it. Not until he'd been forced to make a decision.

"I can't do this," Honor blurted out.

"What?" He hadn't heard her right.

"Whatever we've been doing, it's over."

Bryce's clothes felt two sizes too small. His throat burned hotter than the Mojave Desert. "It's not over."

"It is."

"Because of Cooper? Because of how he feels?" He took her hand. She pulled it away.

"No. Not because of Coop." Her words came out in a rush, her breathing uneven. "Or not just because of him. I'm not the right girl for you, Bryce."

"What are you talking about? You're-"

"Don't say perfect. Please don't say anything. I can't deal with all these feelings. I'm not capable of handling them without hurting you." She blinked, her eyes darted to the table, the floor, his chest, her lap, everywhere but at his face. "What happened with Lance, it would destroy me if I caused someone pain like that again."

"Honor." It killed him to see her so upset. She was capable. If she'd just believe in herself like he did.

"I'm not a white picket fence kind of girl. You want babies and commitment." She let out another shaky breath.

His chest squeezed. He did want those things. And he knew she didn't. Had he been fooling himself into believing their casual affair meant as much to her as it did to him? That he could change her?

"And someone who will follow through on her promises."

"You follow-"

"Maybe. Eventually. But right now I can only concentrate on one thing. And that one thing should be me."

He stared at her profile. She wouldn't even look him in the eye when she blew him off. The one thing he hadn't pegged her for was selfish, which proved he didn't know her at all.

"I wish you could see yourself through my eyes," he said. Despite the beating she flung at him, his heart still wanted her.

She tossed her napkin onto her untouched meal and stood. "Cooper deserves you more than I ever could. I hope this doesn't mean he's lost you." Her eyes met his and he nearly broke seeing her unshed tears. "Let him know I'm waiting outside while you two finish up."

Bryce forced himself to stay in his chair, rather than run after her. He watched her walk away because that's what she wanted.

Honor turned on the shower. While the water heated she brushed her teeth, her attention on the sink bowl. She knew what she'd find if she looked in the mirror-the same sad Sandy face that had stared back at her all week. She hated that face.

Her nose twitched as she wiped her mouth on a towel. Steam billowed around the ceiling and she closed her eyes as she shut the shower door and stood under the warm spray of- "What the!" She stepped to the side and studied the water spilling from the showerhead. The smell she'd gotten a faint whiff of intensified. Was that chicken soup?

She stomped out of the shower, wrapped a towel around herself and threw open the bathroom door.

"April Fools!" Coop shouted.

"What in the world did you do?"

"I put a chicken bouillon cube inside the shower head so you could-"he laughed"-marinate."

Honor watched him crack himself up. "I hate you." But to be fair, she pretty much hated everything nowadays.

He stopped laughing and pulled a small gift box from behind his back. "No you don't. Happy birthday."

She snagged the gift. "Thank you. Now you take this shower and I'll take the next one."

"Open it," he said blocking the hallway so she couldn't get by.

"You're wasting water."

"I'm not getting in there until the cube has dissolved. Give it a few minutes. Now open." He nodded to the gift.

"Nice wrap job." She tore off the pretty paper and opened a plain white box.

"I had some help," he said shamelessly.

Tears p.r.i.c.ked the back of her eyes when she saw business cards inside. She pulled one out and stared at the perfect font and perfect amount of information regarding Driftwood.

"Thank you." She wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

"Whoa." He stepped back. "Put some clothes on first."

"If only someone hadn't ruined my shower." She bopped him on the head.

He brushed off his sleeve with a boyish simper that would have been annoying had the prank not been pretty brilliant. "Had to keep the tradition alive."

Since he was five years old he'd played tricks on her. Some worked. Some didn't. It annoyed her growing up, but her mom would always say, "He plays jokes on you because he loves you and wants your attention."

Emotion clogged the back of the throat. Today was probably the last prank he'd pull on her. He'd decided to move to LA and live with a couple of other professional skateboarders. His career was about to kick into high gear and she couldn't be happier for him.

"You all right?" he asked.

She nodded. What else was she going to do? Tell him she missed Bryce so much it physically hurt to think about him?

No. Ending their relationship was for the best. Just because she loved Bryce didn't mean she deserved a happily ever after. She eventually failed people. This time she'd been saved from inflicting harm as well. She'd done Bryce a favor.

"You're full of s.h.i.t," Coop said.

"What?" Who said he could call her out? And on her birthday.

"There's something bothering you," Coop said quietly. "And you don't usually shut me out."