AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She put her hand in her husband’s face. “Yes. Now, stop bothering me while I read.”
I snorted as I lathered another layer of tanning oil on my legs. Technically, I wasn’t supposed to change my appearance between one week and the next for the film, but that was what makeup was for.
“You’ve already read that book before,” he said, reaching for it. “Isn’t that the sexy Fae male alphaholes?”
“Derek Ballentine, so help me God.” She jerked the book away from him.
He only gave her an insufferable smirk and dropped his sweaty Carolina-blue UNC hat onto her head. She was already entirely hidden under an umbrella, so she wouldn’t lobster. The hat was merely a taunt, considering she had gone to Duke.
“Ew! Gross, Derek.” She flung the hat off into the sand.
“You love me.”
“Yes, but none of us know why,” I muttered.
Marley chuckled. “For real.”
“Because I’m irresistible,” he said, lounging back against her legs. “Obviously.”
“Obviously,” Marley said with an eye roll.
Maddox snorted from his seat opposite us. He’d gone into work for a few hours and then met us at the beach in the afternoon when Ash and Amelia showed up. He’d been sketching in his notebook and drinking the beer that Ash had brought in a cooler.
Up until Derek had plopped down, Amelia had been tanning with me, and Ash had been throwing a football with Derek. But Amelia wanted to go in the water despite what was surely too cold temperatures for me, but Ash had obliged. She was currently squealing as the water lapped at her thighs. Ash looked like a sun-kissed god as he strode into the water, unperturbed.
“Why didn’t you get in the water?” Marley asked Derek. “Then, you wouldn’t be bothering me.”
“I prefer to be on the water, not in the water, Minivan,” he said, the nickname dripping with affection. “That’s why we’re going sunset sailing tonight.”
“I prefer to be indoors,” Maddox said under his breath.
I couldn’t help it; I laughed. “Oh, you poor baby introvert.”
Another scream ripped from the water, and we all turned to watch Ash tackle Amelia into the oncoming wave. They came up, sputtering. Amelia slapped him across the chest. Whatever she said to him was lost to the wind.
The three of us slowly turned to look at Derek. We’d been waiting all morning to see if he’d realize what was happening with them. They’d been friendly all day. But I knew Ash Talmadge, and I knew what he looked like when he was into someone. I’d watched him with Lila my entire life. And though I doubted he’d ever look at anyone like he looked at Lila, I could tell that he was falling for Amelia.
And we were waiting for Derek to see it too.
“What?” he asked. “Why are you all looking at me like that?”
Maddox finally sighed. “Do you not see what is right before your eyes?”
“My sister and best friend are in the water.”
Marley covered her face with her book and giggled.
“He’s into her,” I filled him in.
Derek sighed. “Yeah, I gathered.”
“And you’re okay with it?” Marley gasped.
“No,” he said, heat in his voice. “But also … yes. It depends.”
“On what?” I asked.
“Lila.”
We all sighed at once. Didn’t it always come back to the lovely Delilah Greer?
“Man, I thought you were going to get in a fight today,” I said with a laugh.
He shook his head. “Nah. Ash knows where I stand regarding Mia. I wouldn’t fucking care if they dated. But …”
“But Lila,” Marley finished.
“Yeah.”
Ash Talmadge had loved one person, and he’d spent his life chasing her. Lila being happy with someone else hadn’t stopped him from falling back into her orbit over and over again. Two years wasn’t long enough to know whether or not it would last. I wouldn’t wish Ash Talmadge on anyone until he was over her. If he could ever get over her …
“Oh my God,” Amelia gushed when she reached our setup in the sand. She grabbed her towel and wrapped it around her body as her teeth chattered. “It is too cold for that.”
“You’re the idiot who wanted to go in there,” Derek pointed out.
Amelia rolled her eyes. “Thanks, ass.”
“Ash didn’t seem to care,” I pointed out.
He was striding back toward us, but he didn’t even look cold.
“He doesn’t count,” Amelia said.
But her eyes landed on him, and she was drinking him up. Because the secret I knew was that Amelia Ballentine had been into Ash for all those years he was into someone else. She might be able to hold him off for a little while, but she didn’t want to hold him off forever.
“So, how’s the movie going, Josephine?” Ash asked when he dropped into a seat next to Amelia.
I eyed him skeptically. “You really want to know?”
“I asked,” he said simply.
We’d had our differences, but he seemed sincere. So, I started talking about the movie. I even got Maddox in on the conversation.
