Page 30 of A Whim and a Prayer

Winnie crushed her in a tight hug. “Yes, my best friend, who’s seen this awful infatuation I‘ve had with Brayden for over five years now and knows this is my chance to put it to rest once and for all, one way or the other.”

Abby grunted. “It’s the ‘other’ that has me worried, Dennehy.”

Winnie pulled back with a conciliatory smile. “And the best friend who would never squeal to anyone about this, right?”

Abby’s lips jabbed into a scowl. “Yeah, but what about the ‘other’ best friend, huh? Beck will go crazy if he sees you with McCarthy.”

Pulling her perfume from her purse, Winnie dabbed it on her wrists and behind each ear, then adjusted her pale-blue silk dress—the one that matched her eyes exactly. She dropped the perfume back in her purse and clutched Abby’s arms, a final plea in her eyes and tone. “I know, which is why this is so perfect! I’ll never have this chance again—approaching Brayden without Beck or anyone else around, so just give it to me as a birthday present, will you?”

Abby’s mouth clamped in a pout. “Only if I can take back the earrings I got you.” She pointed a finger in Winnie’s face. “Okay, Dennehy, I’ll cover for you this time, but you best come right back with no damage done, do you understand?”

Giving another squeal, Winnie crushed her in a final hug. “Yes, I understand, and I promise—a hello, goodbye, and maybe one dance on the other side of the room, then I’ll be back in a flash.”

“I doubt that,” Abby muttered. With a quick glance around, she prodded Winnie with her hand, shooing her away. “Go on, then, you little brat, before anybody sees anything. And I’m going to the restroom again so I don’t see anything incriminating either.” She brandished another finger. “But not one kiss, you got it?”

“Yeah, I got it.” Winnie zeroed in on Brayden with a firm press of her smile, tossing a cheeky grin and a wave over her shoulder.

“Not one kiss,” she confirmed under her breath as she made a beeline for the bar, lips easing into a silly grin.

Hopefully way more.

Chapter Nineteen

Beck glanced at his watch and groaned as he sprinted down the boardwalk to the Oceanview Ballroom at Revere Beach, dodging people left and right with breathless apologies while loose boards rattled with every step. Waves crashed against the moonlit shore as loudly as his shoes against the weathered walkway, the ocean as black as his mood right now, since the boss had kept them longer than he’d said. Then he’d had to go home to shower and shave, which meant he was almost two hours late.

Confound it all, he hated being late! He huffed out a noisy blast of air. Especially for Winnie’s birthday celebration.

Rushing past the pillars of endless arched doorways, he finally ducked into one of the double doors with the least people in line, his impatience twitching as he waited to pay the entrance fee. The scent of salty sea air blew through the open doors along with a coating of beach on wooden floors worn smooth by sand and foot traffic.

Once he paid, his stomach growled as he jogged past the crowds buying concessions, the smell of popcorn and hot dogs reminding him he’d had no time to eat. The loud thump of music from the dance floor upstairs kept pace with that of his heart as he tore up the long wooden staircase to the second floor, handrails polished smooth by thousands of hands.

Entering the ballroom, he stopped to catch his breath. Warmth from sweaty bodies fairly shimmered off the dance floor like heat off the asphalt outside the docks of The Herald in the middle of summer. The room throbbed with life—Lindy Hoppers whirling and kicking on a circular dance floor in the center of the room while musicians gleamed with sweat, lost in the rhythm of jazz and swing.

Stifled by the heat, he immediately jerked off his navy suit coat, his starched white shirt now as limp as him. But at least his red tie was crisp and his oxfords polished to a shine. As he made his way to their usual table on the far side of the ballroom, he scanned the crowd for a glimpse of Winnie, not really wanting to see her in the arms of someone else, but more than aware of the eventuality. She was eighteen now, no longer on the verge of womanhood.

God help him, she was there.

He swallowed hard at the thought, half grateful she was finally of an age that didn’t make him feel quite so guilty, and half scared to death someone would swoop in and steal her away. He’d never worried about that before she’d turned fifteen, because he knew their friendship was too deep, too ingrained in who they both were, to ever end.

But the moment he’d seen that moron McCarthy kiss her in that fateful school play, everything had changed for him. As if the touch of a man’s lips against hers had pulled the pin of a grenade, igniting a jealousy that had detonated his world as he’d known it. Unleashing alarming feelings he’d never experienced before, along with a deep-seated guilt that gnawed at his soul.

Because suddenly he wasn’t just a protector or a guardian or a big brother she adored.

He was a twenty-year-old man attracted to his best friend.

Who just happened to be a fifteen-year-old girl.

Even now, the pain of that moment washed over him, scalding the back of his neck. It had forced him to bury that unwanted attraction so deep, it almost never reared its ugly head. Instead, he’d channeled his feelings into an intense desire to love and protect, as if he and Winnie were blood. And in a strange way they were—two lost orphans who’d formed an unbreakable bond.

“A threefold cord is not quickly broken.”

The verse from Ecclesiastes 4:12 whispered to his soul, calming his heart because it was true. God had brought them together, and God would see them through.

“For crying out loud, Campbell—it’s about time!” Teddy rose to shake Beck’s hand with a crooked smile, aiming a thumb over his shoulder at Winnie’s friends. “My dogs are barkin’ because as the token male, these girls have kept me busy.” He held up a palm to the girls. “Not that I’m complaining …”

Beck draped his suit coat over an empty chair as he scanned the table with a smile, sending a wink Kat and Marilyn’s way. “What? Where’s Will?” he asked, giving playful pinches to Abby’s and Laney’s shoulders in greeting as Bella returned from the dance floor, breathless, giving Beck a fast hug.

“Where do you think?” Abby nodded to the dance floor. “Practically haven’t seen hide nor hair of Kelli and him since we got here.”