Page 15 of Tell No Lies

I bit my lip, thinking. Food always won with him.

Aubrey: I’ll make you dinner on Sunday when I get back.

Carter Blackwell: Done. What do you need?

I covered my face with my hand to hide my smile. That was too easy.

Aubrey: Make Brandon take Liv out. They need a weekend off.

Carter Blackwell: I’ll see what I can do.

Aubrey: Thanks. Have a good weekend.

Carter Blackwell: I’ll try. XX

What? Now it was XX! What did that mean? I knew I would have to ask the girls for their opinion, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to tell them who said it. I knew they all thought Carter was cute, and he was always around when they were over, so they liked him. I didn’t know what they would say about this, though. He was older. He was also so sweet and caring. And so very, very handsome.

The bell rang, interrupting my daydream. Well, that was one good way to pass the time. I threw my things into my bag and slid my phone into my pocket.

I saw Mckayla walking ahead of me with Sean. I called out, making them turn. When I caught up with them, we joined the masses heading out to the parking lot. Mckayla was bouncing as she walked, practically skipping.

“Someone’s excited.”

She turned and stuck out her tongue, a gesture that I returned.

Sean laughed at us then waved at Mike, who was walking toward us with a hundred-watt smile. He looked as excited as Mckayla.

“Hey, guys, we’re meeting up over here to make sure everyone has a ride and knows where to park.”

We followed him over as the group gathered. He stood at the front with Tony and Caleb. Slowly, the group quieted and waited expectantly for them to speak.

“Alright, the boats have been figured out, and a text was sent with the names of who’s on Tony’s and who’s on Caleb’s. Did everyone get that?”

Everyone nodded. They were much more organized than I’d expected.

“Great. Both boats are at the Balboa Marina, and we got approval to leave five cars there, so we have to carpool. Let’s figure that out. Group up with who you’re planning on driving with, and we’ll go from there.”

Talia grabbed each of us and called for Cassie to join. “You’re with us. We got a suite on Caleb’s yacht if you don’t want to camp.”

Cassie laughed and nodded. “Shelby and Jess are sharing a tent and invited me, but the boat sounds way better!”

“Great. Do you have your bag here?”

“Yeah, it’s in my car. I’ll go grab it.”

While we were talking, Mike organized everyone else and made sure they were clear on what was going on.

Alexis tapped her foot impatiently. “Can we go already? Mike is turning this into a field trip.”

I laughed at her comparison. She was right, but I was grateful someone was taking charge.

Talia rolled her eyes and waved for us to follow. She led us to her Jeep. “I think we can figure out what to do.”

☼ ☼ ☼

We pulled up to the marina and parked in a reserved spot. After grabbing our bags, we made our way to the entrance. Talia led the way, walking confidently to the gate, where she met a young-looking man in a preppy uniform.

“Hello, ladies. Can I help you?”