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Kinsley: Yes! No worrying!!!
I dropped my phone back down and we hustled down to the beach so we could relieve Penn of his duties. He went to shower and left Liam and me to light all the candles. No big deal, right? Wrong. Who thought candles on a beach was romantic? There’s this mysterious force at the beach that never stops. Locals refer to it as wind, and it majorly fucked up our plan.
So there we were unable to light a single candle while we also attempted to protect the entire setup before Becca showed up. This was actually much harder than expected considering the seagulls assumed the rose petals were some kind of food. They kept swooping down and stealing petals, almost taking me out in the process and pooping on at least three of the unlit candles. Sorry Becca, hope you like your romance with a side of bird flu.
"You know we should at least get one of these strawberries," I pointed out.
Liam chuckled. "We can make chocolate covered strawberries, babe."
My brows perked up. "You have the supplies?"
"Strawberries, chocolate, and Kinsley— yes," he winked. I shivered at the thought of melted chocolate and Liam in the same vicinity.
I was still attempting to light the first candle just as Penn came back down to the beach.
"She's five minutes away! You guys have to go!" he said, hurrying us along. In a flurry of movements, we picked up the extra lighters and trash and ran up onto Liam's porch without explaining the fatal flaw in his plan. He’d figure it out soon enough.
“WAIT! THEY AREN’T LIT,” he yelled.
Liam glanced over toward me with a wicked smile. “Run!”
We weren't planning on watching the entire thing, but I had to see Becca’s reaction when she stepped outside.
"I don't want to watch for long. It feels like we're invading their privacy," Liam said, sitting down next to me on the porch.
"I agree."
Liam’s hand stroked my leg and goose bumps bloomed beneath his touch. If he kept it up, we’d miss the entire thing.
"Oh, she's here!" Liam said, pointing to where Becca was exiting the back of Penn's house. I could barely see her through the tall shrubbery that outlined Liam’s porch. She was wearing the blue dress and she looked absolutely stunning. The sunset silhouetted her from behind and her bright blonde hair shone against the vibrant backdrop. She'd slipped her shoes off so she could walk in the sand, and the second she saw the sight before her, her hands flew to her mouth and she froze. Tears burned the corners of my eyes as I watched her step closer to the ring of unlit, poopy candles.
Liam's arm stretched across my shoulders and he swept the tear from my cheek without saying a word. Penn was talking to Becca, but we couldn't hear what he was saying. I assumed he was telling her how much she meant to him. Then he paused his speech and Becca threw herself into his arms. I had to fight the urge to cheer for them. They were finally getting their happy ending and I knew they both deserved it.
"I'd assume that was a yes, don't you think?" Liam asked.
Penn and Becca were kissing, his arm was slung low around her waist, pulling her against him with fierce intensity. It was our time to leave.
"I think so," I said with a giant smile.
Liam mirrored my smile and then pulled me through the back door into his house.
"What about those chocolate covered strawberries now?" he asked as I finished off my glass of champagne.
"How about we skip the strawberries?" I asked with a suggestive gaze.
Chapter Thirty-Two
I felt the wind rushing past me as I pushed myself to pick up the pace. I was beating my previous times, but it wasn't good enough. My sprints needed to be faster and my skills had to be perfectly honed if I expected to make it onto the Olympic team.
I'd been training every day, harder than I had in my entire life, and I knew I had a fighting chance at getting an invitation for tryouts. There wasn't a woman in America training harder than I was. Becca would join me on most days, and we'd push each other past our limits. Everything had fallen into a routine. She was staying at Penn's house in Malibu more and more often, and I was leaving my things at Liam's house whenever I stayed there. We'd drive to practice together, stay after to continue training, and then head back to Malibu afterward. Liam and Penn would get home around the same time and we'd cook dinner, hanging out together a few times every week.
I hadn't officially decided to move in with him, but it seemed like eventually I'd wake up one morning and all of my crap would be at his house. Liam thought he was being sly, transitioning various things slowly so that I couldn’t protest. One day he'd cleared out half of his closet. The next, I had a few drawers in the bathroom to leave all of my stuff. Tomorrow, I’d have monogrammed towels and he’d say “Oh, weird how did those get there?”
