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“Right here, hon?”
Her eyes snapped open at the sound of her husband’s voice. Her eyes took a moment to adjust, and sure enough, they saw both Harrison and Grant. They carried the shade and the umbrella, and Bea could only stare as they started to set it up.
“What are you doing here?”
“Getting you ladies ready for Beach Day,” Harrison said.
“You call me when you’re about done,” Grant said. He grinned at her and handed Harrison a rubber mallet. He faced her and brushed his lips along her cheek. “Ya’hear, Bea? I’ll come help you take it all down.”
“I have a meeting with a client,” Harrison said. “But if it’s before or after that, I’ll come too.”
“Thank you,” Bea murmured. Blake returned with her chair and the box of snacks, and within minutes, the perfect spot for the perfect day on the beach was set and ready to go. Voices came her way, and they could’ve belonged to anyone. Another family arriving. A group of teen girls.
They were Bea’s friends, and her heart swelled with love for them. To her surprise, Lauren led the way, and her whole countenance brightened when she saw Blake standing there. “Well, well,” she said, plenty of flirt in her voice. “What’s a man like you doing here?”
He laughed and slid his arm along her waist, pulling her right against him. “Waiting for you.” He leaned down and kissed her right there in front of everyone, and Bea pressed one hand to her pulse as if getting ready to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
“Wow,” Cass said. She sucked in a breath as her eyes moved past Lauren and Blake and caught sight of her husband. “You big, fat liar.”
Harrison chuckled and shook his head. “I didn’t lie. Iamgoing to Gourmet Goods…right after this. Isn’t that right, Grant?”
“I’m dying for some of their chocolate coffee,” he said in an over-exaggerated voice.
Cass kissed Harrison quickly too, then set up her chair right next to Bea’s. The other ladies did as well, and it was Joy who bumped Lauren and said, “Oops,” in a loud voice, as she was still kissing Blake.
Bea looked away as the men left, and once everyone had gotten a favored beverage and found a spot to sit, she started spraying on her sunscreen. The others did too, except for Sage, who wore a tank top and a pair of shorts and said she never wore sunscreen, and she’d be fine.
“All right,” Bea said. “We need updates. Lauren is obviously all the way to making out with her boyfriend in public.” She gave the dark-haired woman a semi-sharp glare.
“I…” Lauren shrugged and said nothing more.
“Wow,” Cass said.
“Yeah, wow,” Lauren said back. “You start with your honeymoon, which none of us have heard more than three words about.” She cocked her eyebrows, and Bea’s attention zeroed there, because she’d love to hear more about Cass’s adventures in Europe. Lauren was right; Cass had barely said anything about it.
“It was really amazing,” Cass said. Her voice took on a wistful quality. “Such old history there. Buildings from the eleven hundreds, when we were nothing here.” She smiled around at everyone and took a sip from her can of ginger ale. “Beautiful architecture. Great sight-seeing tours. Wonderful food. In Italy, we had the best pizza I’ve ever put in my mouth. I can’t describe how it was different, only that it was.”
“It’s the cheese,” Lauren said, her eyes out on the constantly moving water. “They have incredible cheese in Italy.” She glanced around at everyone. “In Belgium too.”
Cass smiled at her and talked about a winery tour in the south of France that had Bea’s jealously kicking into a new gear. She’d been competing with Cassandra Haslam for as long as she could remember, and Bea reminded herself she didn’t need to do that. She could be thrilled for her friend and still enjoy her own life.
“All right, that’s all,” Cass said, and Bea covered her hand and squeezed it. She met Bea’s eye, and Bea gave her a smile that she hoped conveyed to Cass how much she loved her.
Cass squeezed her hand back, so she thought it did.
“What other news?” Bea asked. “Joy? What’s going on with you and Chester?”
“Oh.” Joy took in a full breath, her chest rising in her cute pink and white striped swim tank. “I broke up with him last night.”
“What?” Lauren barked. “Why?” Bessie had caught up to her then, and she asked the second question at the same time Lauren did.
“Because,” Joy said, her voice semi-annoyed. “I don’t live here, and he does. I’m going to be gone for nine months, and I’m not that interested in him to maintain the long-distance relationship.”
Bea caught her saying she’d be gone for nine months, not for good, but she catalogued it away for later.
“Plus, there’s your backup boyfriend,” Lauren said.
“He is not my backup boyfriend.” Joy shot her a death glare, and Bea leaned forward.
