Trihn grumbled under her breath, but she didn’t see a way out of it. At least it would keep her away from Lydia and Preston’s argument.

Ian had no problem in agreeing to come sailing with them. He was competent on the water from years of their families going together. Any earlier tension that had been between them dissipated when she told him what had happened with Lydia, not that they had much time to discuss it before driving with her parents out to the docks.

Plus, she wanted to talk to Renée, who had sent her a bunch of text messages this morning. Apparently, Trihn had drunk-texted her the night before.

What do you mean, you slept with him?

Trihn cringed at that one. Not her finest moment.

Hey. Sorry about the texts last night. I had a little bit to drink.

A little bit? Puh-lease. Tell me what happened!

This morning, I told Lydia about Preston. She didn’t believe me at first, but I finally got through to her. She and Preston are arguing right now. I think they’re going to break up.

Sounds just like Lydia not to believe you, but at least you got through to her. I always knew he was creepy! But are you going to be okay, T?

Trihn swallowed. Am I going to be okay? That was a good question.

Yeah. Don’t worry about me.

Someone has to.

About to get to the sailboat. I’ll talk to you more about it after!

Yuppie.

Trihn laughed at the comment. Ian raised his eyebrows, and she showed him the text.

“Well, if the shoe fits,” he said.

Trihn surveyed his outfit and shrugged in agreement. He was wearing khaki shorts that stopped four inches above his knee, a white polo with a navy-blue sweater hanging from his shoulders, and brown boat shoes. Together, they looked like the definition of yuppie, and it hurt her rocker soul.

Once they arrived, they found their boat, and Ian helped her on deck. The sailboat was really more of a yacht, if they were getting technical, and had the option of coming with a captain and small crew that her parents had accepted since Lydia and Preston weren’t with them.

The crew easily maneuvered the boat out of the dock and onto open water. She and Ian sat down with her parents to eat lunch out of the picnic basket her mother had prepared earlier this morning. With the absence of Lydia and Preston, there was more food to go around than expected, and they shared with the crew.

Trihn’s parents grabbed a bottle of wine and reclined back in chairs at the aft of the ship, leaving Trihn and Ian to enjoy the rest of the afternoon how they saw fit. They found a spot near the front, lay back against the deck, and stared up at the cloudless sky.

“What do you think Lydia and Preston are talking about right now?” Trihn asked. She propped herself on an elbow and looked down at him.

Ian shrugged, meeting her gaze. “How much of an asshole he is?”

She bit her lip. “I hope he’s gone by the time we get home.”

“Don’t we all?” he said.

She dropped back down next to him, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. They had done this every summer since they were kids, but suddenly, Lydia’s words rang in her mind. Ian liked her. Trihn knew that he cared for her, but she hadn’t thought it went further than that. Or maybe she just didn’t want it to. She never wanted this to be awkward.

“Thanks for being here for me.”

He squeezed her tighter. “You know I’d do anything for you.”

“Yeah.”

Silence dragged on between them, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. It never was.

Trihn was lost in her thoughts about Preston and Lydia. She was stressing over what could be happening, not that she wanted to be there to deal with the fallout, but she just wanted to know what to expect when she got back.

“I really like this,” Ian said softly.

“Me, too.”

She closed her eyes and let herself drift off. In another world, this could be her life with Ian. Sometimes, she wished that it could be this easy.

But then she knew it couldn’t. And wanting something that she couldn’t have had only made a mess of her life.

She pulled away from Ian and sat up on the deck.

“Hey,” he said, reaching for her hand, “what are you thinking about?”

“Us, I guess.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Is there an us?”

She met his gaze and shook her head. “I love you, Ian, but you know…you’re more like a brother to me.”

He nodded, but the pain was on his face.

“I’m sorry.”

“I know. I’ve always known, Trihn. You don’t have to apologize. This isn’t news to me.”

“We’ve never talked about it before…”

“We never needed to,” he said quickly. “I confess that I thought it might be different once I was back in the city again. We’d be closer, spend more time together. It would be easier. We wouldn’t have to wait just for vacations.”

“Ian,” she whispered, “I don’t know what to say.”

He smiled forlornly. “It was a dream. Nothing more. I knew things weren’t going to change.”

“You’ll find someone better than me at Columbia. I know you will.”

“Unlikely. I’ve known you my whole life, and I haven’t found someone like you yet.”

Trihn touched his arm in appreciation. It was probably one of the nicest things anyone had ever said to her. She didn’t believe it though. Ian had just known her for too long. He would branch out in college and find the perfect woman for him. She knew it.

“And here I am…falling for an asshole.”

“Nice guys do finish last.”

After a minute, Trihn sheepishly peeked back up at him. “You know, I am sorry.”

He shrugged. “Don’t be. After all this time, it’s good for you to finally know. At least I’ll never wonder what could have been.”

Trihn decided to let the conversation be. There was so much more she could have said, but she was glad that they had cleared the air. She didn’t want him to be hurt over what had happened with Preston, and she definitely didn’t want their friendship to suffer because of that—or worse, because of her insensitivity to him.

They spent the remainder of the afternoon lounging on the deck and catching some rays. As their time in the sun came to a close, Trihn realized she was glad that she had come out on the boat even if she was anxious about what she would find when she got home. She had tried not to think too much about it, but as they docked the boat and then drove back to the house, nerves buzzed through her body.

“Let me know if you need me later, okay?” Ian whispered into her ear when they pulled up to the house.

She nodded. She was so tense that she couldn’t even speak. She just hurried inside.

None of the lights were on when she walked in, which she took as a good sign. Maybe Preston had already left, and Lydia was napping or something.

She didn’t know, but she was ready to find out.

Her feet carried her through the kitchen and then into the dark living room. She flipped the switch on and stumbled backward into the wall. Of all the things she had expected, this was not it.

Lydia and Preston were lying on the couch, their clothes were rumpled, and they were making out like it was the last thing they were ever going to do.

“What the fuck?” Trihn cried.

“I THOUGHT YOU SAID THEY WERE ARGUING, TRIHN,” Linh said. She had been following close on Trihn’s heels and witnessed what was happening on the couch. “I should have realized that was teenager code for wanting to be alone in the house.”

Trihn just stared open-mouthed at the display before her. On the inside, she was raging. What the fuck could have happened in the span of an afternoon to go from Lydia yelling at Preston about cheating on her to making out on the couch? There was no way they should still be dating. It made zero sense.