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“Well, for starters, I never knew I was such an overthinker. Never knowing how to behave in public, constantly fighting with myself about touching him. God, it was exhausting. But we talked about it. Like adults. You would have been so proud. And we’ve got a good balance now.”
“Yeah, the balance is looking pretty ‘committed relationship’ adjacent. Plus, I don’t think you used to be an overthinker, Mik.”
“No? You don’t reckon?” Mikayla chose to ignore the first part of Juniper’s reply and focus on the second.
“No, it’s a new development. Any other new developments in your life recently?”
Mikayla, feeling agitated, replied, “What are you getting at?” Her tone had more heat in it than she expected, surprising herself, so before Juniper could reply, she said, “Sorry.”
“No worries.”
Mikayla expected Juniper to pursue the matter and was getting ready to marshal her defenses. But to her surprise, Juniper dropped it. Mikayla breathed a grateful sigh.
Chapter 13
“I’m kind of regretting telling everyone I didn’t want a party.”
“Yeah?” Leah pulled her car to the curb at the end of Main Street. She switched the engine off and turned to look at Mikayla.
Mikayla sighed. “Yeah. I mean, you know me, I love parties. But, I don’t know…” She trailed off, struggling to pinpoint what was going on with her.
“You haven’t been yourself since we got back from Thredbo, really.”
“No, I guess I haven’t. And that was three weeks ago. It’s just odd, because I’m actually really happy. I really like what I’ve got going with Rafe. It works great, as always. I’ve got a lovely family and the best friends a girl could ever ask for. So why do I feel like shit?”
Leah reached over and rubbed her arm. “I don’t know. But I’m sure Rafe has something really lovely planned for tonight, at least. And hey, we could maybe go out tomorrow night, after he gets off work. It won’t be a proper party, but we can drink and dance.”
“Yeah, maybe.” She stared through the windscreen. The more she thought about it, the more she liked the idea. She’d been thinking this whole time that she didn’t feel like a party, but right at that moment, that’s exactly what she needed. Something to lift the slump she was in. “Yeah, that could really work. We’ll talk about it tomorrow at lunch.”
“Great!”
“Thanks! And thanks for helping me get ready,” she said, pushing the car door open.
“No worries. See you tomorrow.”
Mikayla scanned the beach as Leah pulled away, looking for Rafe. Her instructions were to dress up a little fancy and meet him on the beach at seven o’clock. She smiled as she caught sight of him, sitting on a picnic blanket, gazing out at the ocean. Realizing she wasn’t going to make it across the sand in her heels, she slipped her shoes off and walked towards him. He turned as she approached, smiling at her as he got to his feet. He was so gorgeous that the sight of him had her heart lurching in her breast. He didn’t take his eyes off her, even as she stopped in front of him.
“Hi.”
“Hi. You look beautiful.”
“Thanks. Leah did my makeup and chose my dress. She’s like my personal stylist.” She wore a white lace, long-sleeved dress that hit her mid-thigh, leaving her long legs bare. She’d left her hair out, flowing down her back in long, loose waves, because she knew he liked it like that.
“She does good work.” He pressed a featherlight kiss to her lips. “Would you like a drink?”
“Sure.” He leaned down to pick up two wine glasses from a little fold out table that sat on top of the picnic blanket he’d laid out. “This is really amazing.” She took the glass from him with a smile, then feeling all warm and fuzzy at what he had organized for her, stepped closer to him. She pressed herself against him, sliding her hand up his chest to his neck, pulling his head down to kiss him softly. She sighed when he put his arm around her waist, deepening the kiss so that their tongues entwined, sending a little thrill of heat through her. She pulled back, knowing that if she didn’t stop now, she’d want to take him, right there on the beach.
So instead, she smiled again as she drew away, gesturing to the picnic he’d laid out. “Thank you for this.”
“You’re welcome.”
They sat down on the rug as the sky glowed with a soft golden light in the setting sun. Mikayla curled her legs under, trying to pull the hem of the dress down, sighing with frustration.
“You’re a shocker.”
“I know. Why couldn’t I just wear jeans?”
“You could have. I said wear something a little fancy. I didn’t say you had to wear a dress.”
