Page 33 of Tequila Lime and Sunshine

When they kiss, we all clap, and so do the onlookers on the beach. It’s almost impossible to have a private ceremony on the beach, but luckily, the Wilsons don’t seem to mind.

We follow them back to the resort and the private room they rented in one of the restaurants where champagne, cake, and beautiful flowers are everywhere.

Dinner is scallops with risotto and a vegetable medley, which I quickly scarf down. An afternoon full of mimosas on an empty stomach was not my smartest idea, but that seems to be a theme for this trip.

After dinner, we eat cake and toast the happy couple before the sliding doors open to the rest of the restaurant, where there’s a dance floor with a band playing.

Todd stands from the table and extends his hand to Susan to dance. They happily float off to the dance floor.

Their love is inspiring. If I ever get married, I hope my husband looks at me the way Todd looks at Susan. The way my dad looks at my mom. That’s the love I want. The unconditional, fight through the hardships kind of love. I want to believe it’s out there for me. Maybe I need to stop looking for it.

Holden and Carly make their way to the dance floor. My parents stand, and my mom looks over at me. “You coming, honey?”

“Oh, uh, I’ll stay here. I don’t have anyone to dance with.” I shrug it off. Normally, I would love this kind of thing. But being single kind of puts a damper on it.

A smirk crosses my mother’s face. “I’m sure Hawke will dance with you.” And with that, she walks off.

Hawke arches an eyebrow at me. “What do you say? Honor me with a dance?”

I stand. “Fine. But keep your hands where I can see them.”

He chuckles. “I hope you can see behind you because my hands are gonna be all over that ass.” He bites his bottom lip as he looks at my backside. My dress is light purple and fitted, and I’ll admit, I was hoping Hawke would like it when I put it on.

I swat at him. “Not around our families!”

He takes my hand. “Calm down. I know the rules, secret lover.”

I roll my eyes. “Secret lover? Really?”

He shrugs. “It feels mysterious.” He twirls me into his arms. We’re away from everyone else in our party, which is fine by me, and I’m sure Hawke positioned us like this on purpose.

Hawke links one of our hands, his other falling to my waist while my free arm wraps around his neck.

“Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?” he asks in a hushed voice.

“Hmm. I don’t think so.”

“Well, you’re gorgeous, Sunshine. I’d drop to my knees for you right now if I thought you’d let me get away with it.” His hand drops a little lower on my back. It’s been a long time since a man has given me butterflies, but the way Hawke’s looking at me—the way he talks to me—has my stomach in a frenzy.

The song changes, but we keep dancing. At one point, Hawke twirls me out of his arms and right back in, but this time our bodies are even closer.

“You know,” Hawke says into my ear, “I’m so glad things worked out for this trip. I’m glad my shoot got postponed. I’m glad my plane seat was coincidentally right next to yours, and I’m glad you agreed to let me stay with you. This has been the best trip I’ve ever been on. I’m honestly the luckiest son of a bitch in the world right now. Thank you, Summer.”

“Thanks for what?” I manage to choke out. I never expect him to be sweet so when he is, I’m thrown off my axis.

“For being you, Sunshine. My favorite person in the world.”

How many glasses of champagne has he had? I’m waiting for him to smile or laugh, but the look on his face says he’s being serious. “There’s no way I’m your favorite person in the world.”

“Oh, but you are.” I stare into his eyes, completely stunned. This is not the Hawke I was expecting on this trip. He’s sweet and thoughtful and funny, and I genuinely enjoy his company, which I never would have admitted to only a week ago. Hawke is so much more than I thought. So different from what I expected. And exactly what I’ve been wanting.

CHAPTER 16

Hawke

I gave Summer very specific instructions when I left the party.

She was to wait fifteen minutes after I left before following me to our room. The amount of control I had to have around our families tonight was insane. All I wanted to do was touch her. Kiss her. Peel that fucking dress off her. I felt like a caveman. I wanted to have her all to myself.