Free Love Scars by Lark Lane Page B

let her knees fall apart. She wasn’t wearing panties.
    Within a week we were engaged.
    Holly picked out a massive rock for her engagement ring. It dwarfed her delicate hand, but she managed to lift it well enough to wave in front of her girlfriends as often as possible. It cracked me up.
    I’d already bought the house on the island for Mom and Scarlett, and when I brought Holly out to tell them the news, Scarlett raged. You’re too young . She never liked Holly, not even from before the money when I pointed her out among the cheerleaders once at a basketball game.
    But Mom said why not let love have its way. Jaxom can afford it, she said. Some of the best marriages started out young, she said. Not hers, but many did.
    There was only one bug in the bouillabaisse, and that was Brad. Before the money, he’d found Holly slightly irritating. After the money, he hated her. She took up my time, time he and I used to spend brainstorming plans for BlueMagick, the tech company we’d dreamed of starting since grade school.
    There was plenty of time for all that. “Shit, dude,” I told him, “we aren’t even twenty yet. Find a girl and we’ll all party together.” But whenever Holly was around, Brad wasn’t.
    He made an exception for my mom’s birthday. Scarlett invited us all out to the island for dinner, and when Holly and I drove up to the house Brad’s ratty old Land Cruiser was parked in the driveway.
    “I need to buy that dude some new wheels,” I told Holly.
    “A black and silver Range Rover,” she said, not missing a beat. “He deserves something nice.” She was wonderful. I just wished Brad could see it.
    Scarlett met us at the door. “Brad’s with your mom in the garden,” she said. “He’s installing some solar lights, her birthday present.”
    As we crossed the threshold, Scarlett gave Holly a severe look. Holly missed it, but I didn’t. Scarlett raised an eyebrow at me, defiant. She was never going to accept us getting married. To spare Mom’s feelings, she wouldn’t actually say anything, but Scarlett was always brutally honest with me.
    We had dinner together on the lanai. The view of the water and the sea breeze created a sense of tranquility, but toward the end of the meal I realized Mom and I had been doing most of the talking. Scarlett had contributed a few mm-hmms and ain’t that the truths , but Brad and Holly barely said a word. 
    “That was great, Scarlett. Thanks.” Brad finally spoke. He laid his napkin down. “If you all don’t mind, I’ll excuse myself. I want to finish up with those lights before it gets dark.”
    Holly’s eyelids were lowered, her attention fixed on her plate. I realized she was blushing, and it dawned on me then. Brad loved Holly too. I felt like a shit. All this time the poor guy had tried to keep his distance, and I’d been pushing the two of them together. It must be hell for him to be around us.
    “You go on, honey.” Scarlett refilled Brad’s glass of lemonade. “Take this with you.”
    While Scarlett showed Holly some of Mom’s sculptures in the living room, I helped clear the table. In the kitchen, Mom was scrubbing out a pot. “When Scarlett cooks, I clean.”
    “Not on your birthday,” I said. “Let me do that.”
    “Thanks, Jaxom. Her spaghetti sauce is so good because she lets it simmer it all day, but she always burns the bottom of the pot.”
    “I didn’t know Brad was going to be here,” I said. “If he works until dark, he won’t have time to get in line for the last ferry.”
    “He can stay in the guest room,” Mom said. “You and Holly can have your room.”
    Holly and I had been planning to stay the night, but I wasn’t going to do that to Brad. “I think we’ll take the ferry back and come for a longer visit some other time.”
    “That’s probably best,” Mom said. As usual, her voice was gentle but strong, making nothing sound full of meaning.
    “It’s funny. I thought he didn’t like her,” I said.
    “He