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It’s a beautiful, sprawling house with board and batten siding and a graceful porch and curved gables sweeping over the roof. Will taps at his phone, and one of the three garage doors opens. He pulls in and parks in a spot. “Go around to the front. I’ll meet you there.”
I almost tell him we don’t need to, but the first breath of fresh air changes my mind. It smells clean out here. Sunny. Peaceful, like a vacation should be.
Mia clutches my hand. “This place is enormous,” she whispers. “It’s so big, Bristol.”
Ben’s eyes shine. “Are we really staying here?
“We arereallystaying here.”
As we step up onto the porch, Will opens the front door. “I checked it out, and I think it’ll work.”
It’ll work,like this giant mansion of a beach house might not be good enough for us.
One step into the foyer, and I’m…speechless.
It’s airy and white. Soaring ceilings. A wide, elegant staircase leading up. Sunshine on hardwood floors.
“What do you think?” asks Will, peering up at the ceilings with us.
I get on tiptoe and kiss his cheek.
“Oh, good,” he says. “Come see the bedrooms.”
He’s brought our bags in, and we all carry them upstairs together. The twins sprint down the hall and find a big room with twin beds, done up in shades of blue, with its own balcony overlooking an incredible view. There’s a gorgeous back patio, apool,a stretch of green, perfect grass, and then the ocean. Rocks rise out of the waves on one side, a dock on the other.
The twins find the attached bathroom next. “Two sinks!” Mia says. “Ben.Two sinks.”
Will puts a hand on my waist, and I could die of happiness. His touch says that this weekend doesn’t have to be so heavy. Maybe here he won’t have to hold himself at arm’s length. “We have a bedroom too,” he murmurs.
It’s the biggest bedroom I’ve ever seen, and the most stunning. It also has its own balcony. Everything shines—the warm wood floor and the fresh cream walls. It glows, like magic. A soaking tub. A shower. A walk-in closet. A sitting area. I don’t know I have my hands to my heart until Will strokes his fingers over my knuckles.
“There are other rooms if you’d rather have your own.”
I turn around and kiss him. Hard. He makes a scolding noise, licks my lip, and pulls away. “I can’t lock us in here and fuck you right now, Bristol. Behave.”
But he smiles when he says it.
Then his phone vibrates in his pocket. Will keeps his arm around my waist and takes it out to check. I feel him tense, just a little. “They’re here.”
“Mia. Ben,” I call. “Come downstairs. Will’s family is here.”
“Hisfamily?” Mia says, her voice going high. “What family?”
Will laughs. “My brothers. You’ve met Sinclair. I told you I had another one. Emerson brought his wife. They’re pulling in now.”
Right on cue, the doorbell rings. Then someone pounds on the door. A muffled voice that sounds like Sinclair’s saysrude, Will.
Mia takes a tiny step toward Ben, and he taps her elbow, his hand mostly hidden by her arm.
“He’s kidding,” Will says. He leads the way down the stairs and opens the front door. “You’re not the FBI, Sin. Don’t bang so hard on the door.”
“I’ve banged other things harder.” Sinclair steps inside, his arms full of grocery bags. He breaks into a smile at the sight of all of us. “Hey, guys. Did you get flattened by any creepers today?”
Ben rolls his eyes. “You know they blow up.”
“Oh, right.” He shakes a lock of dark hair out of his face. “Kitchen?”
Will waves. “It’s that half of the house. Enough room to cook for fifty people.”
