Back Simmer Down
Chapters (31)
  1. Cover
  2. Praise for Faker
  3. TITLES BY SARAH SMITH
  4. Dedication
  5. Chapter 1
  6. Chapter 2
  7. Chapter 3
  8. Chapter 4
  9. Chapter 5
  10. Chapter 6
  11. Chapter 7
  12. Chapter 8
  13. Chapter 9
  14. Chapter 10
  15. Chapter 11
  16. Chapter 12
  17. Chapter 13
  18. Chapter 14
  19. Chapter 15
  20. Chapter 16
  21. Chapter 17
  22. Chapter 18
  23. Chapter 19
  24. Chapter 20
  25. Chapter 21
  26. Chapter 22
  27. Chapter 23
  28. Epilogue
  29. Acknowledgments
  30. About the Author
  31. What’s next onyour reading list?

I spin around and slow-walk through the haphazard maze of booths. My well of patience is tapped dry for nonsense like this.

“Hey, wait! Nikki!”

When I turn around, Finn’s brow is wrinkled to hell. He wears the worry on his face like a blemish. It just looks unnatural on his boyish face. “I’m sorry. Truly. I didn’t mean to make light of things.”

He shakes his head, glancing off into the distance before looking back at me, concern radiating in his eyes. Now that we’re standing up close, I notice that his eyes are a touch greener than his brother’s. I wonder if he’s worried about someone filming our little scene and uploading it online. That’s exactly what I’m thinking.

Thankfully, no one seems to have noticed us. Everyone is milling around the booths, chatting and perusing.

A heavy sigh moves through his chest. “You’re right. Callum is an absolute knob sometimes, but he really does mean well.”

I scoff. “So being rude and disrespectful is perfectly fine if he ‘means well’?”

The frenzied way he shakes his head catches the attention of a nearby arts and crafts booth operator, who squints at him in confusion before looking away.

“No, that’s not . . . Here, I’ll try to explain. I was having a hell of a time getting my business off the ground here. I love food, I love cooking, I love feeding people. I’ve done it my whole life, and my dream has been to have my own restaurant in Hawaii. But I was clueless when it came to the business side of things.”

He holds the boba tea up to me, but I shake my head. He takes a sip. “Long story short, I tried to do everything on my own at first—I wrote a business plan, applied for a loan, bought equipment. I drained my savings. I had no idea what I was doing, and before I knew it I was in debt to my eyeballs. When Callum got word, he dropped everything—his finance job, his flat in Chicago—to move out here and help me. I probably would have lost everything if he hadn’t done that.”

A crack forms in my steely hate for Callum. The knotted muscles in my shoulders loosen. What an incredibly kind thing to do for his little brother.

“He’s completely turned things around for me. Did loads of research on the food truck industry, Maui’s economy, the most popular tourist spots. Pretty much everything I should have done in the first place, but never even thought about. He was the one person who reached out to me when no one else cared.”

“Not even your parents?” I say before I can catch myself.