Aurelia rolls her eyes. “Are you just in town for Marg Fest?”
Luna stirs in my arms. I look down at her, seeing her little lips form like she’s looking for a bottle.
“Ah, sort of, I guess.” I look around for the diaper bag.
I see the pink backpack on the sand, zipper half open with baby bottles inside. I bend down and start searching for the pacifier while attempting to keep Luna in the same position so she doesn’t wake up. I finally find it, rising up to face Will and Aurelia again. I attempt to give the wiggling Luna the pacifier, and she sucks it right into her mouth and settles down again.
“Sorry. Yeah, I’m just here for a few days.” I look back up at them, but this time, I’m met with Summer’s pale green eyes.
She’s staring at me, wide eyes shifting from my face, down over my exposed chest, to the sleeping baby in my arms. I’m wearing swim trunks and a blue floral shirt that was already unbuttoned when Alani handed me the baby.
Summer’s mouth falls open like she can’t believe what she’s seeing. I lift a curious brow as her gaze trails over me again, and she licks her lips.
“Um, hi, Summer,” Aurelia says.
Summer starts like she’s waking up from a dream and turns to the voice. “Aurelia! Will! Oh my gosh, I didn’t see you there. How are you?” She’s practically shrieking.
“We’re good.Will is performing today.”
Summer nods. “Sure, of course. How exciting! When are you on?” Her voice sounds more high-pitched than usual.
“We need to head that way now actually. But we’d love to get together with you two while you’re in town. I’ll text you, Dayton.” Will raises a hand as he and Aurelia turn to walk away.
I face Summer after they leave. She’s wearing a neon-green triangle bikini top with matching bottoms and a fishnet cover-up tied around her hips. Her long hair is in a braid over her shoulder.
Perfect to hold on to.
Stop. Not now. She’s probably still pissed at you.
Luna stirs in my arms again. I begin swaying side to side the way I’ve seen parents do when a baby starts to wake up from a nap. She stops moving and spits the pacifier out onto the ground. Summer bends down to pick it up. It’s covered in sand. She places it on the towel beside the diaper bag.
“Whose baby is that?” she asks.
“My buddy Reed’s. He’s running a marg truck.”
She twirls the golden ends of her hair around her finger. “And he askedyouto babysit?”
“Don’t sound so surprised. Kids love me.”
“Because they’re not old enough to know better,” she mumbles.
Her eyes roll over me again. I can tell her mind is churning, like she’s dying to say something. She blinks, looks down at the sand, then back up at Luna.
Part of me feels like I need to apologize for what I said in the bungalow about her and Axel. I wouldn’t even know where to start with an apology to Summer.
If you’re in the mood to apologize, it really should be about what you did with her pictures.
I’ll take what I did with those pictures to the grave.
Savannah walks up behind her with Mia and Juniper, saving me the trouble of thinking of what to say to make amends. Summer and I went to high school with them. They’ve always been inseparable. Savannah whistles under her breath when she sees the baby.
“Oh my, whose kid is that?” She grabs Summer’s arm and turns to shoot her a look I can’t interpret.
Mia and Juniper snicker, whispering to each other.
“What’s so strange about me holding a baby? She’s sleeping.”
Savannah waves a hand, smirking. “No, no, it’s not that. It’s just … it’s a good look for you. I think it suits you. I can’t believe you haven’t been swarmed by women.” She gestures over me.
