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My heart dropped, and I immediately looked at Keegan. He’d had a heart attack a little over a year ago, and I knew I wasn’t the only one who went there with my thoughts.
Standing, Brax looked at his father. “Dad?”
Keegan held up both hands. “I’m fine. We’re both fine. We have some news we’d like to share with you, and since you’re all here, now’s the time. If you don’t mind, Ruby brought your drinks into the office.”
Brax moved his chair out of the way and held his hand out for Addie, helping her slide out of the booth. He did the same for Palmer and Sutton. The three sisters started for the back as Brax held his hand out to me.
“Oh, I’ll wait here.”
“No, you won’t,” Brax said.
Barbara looked at me. “Harlee, honey, that includes you.”
Turning to look back, Brax smiled at his mom.
“Me?” I asked.
Barbara held her hand out and I took it, sliding out of the booth. “I may not have birthed you, young lady, but you are just as much a daughter to me as my three girls. Now, come on, we have some news to share with everyone.”
“I knew it was coming, but I’m still in shock,” Sutton said as I helped her unpack a box of shirts she’d gotten in today. They bore the name of her shop, Coastal Chic, along with her sunset logo.
“They seemed so happy about their decision to sell the restaurant to Ruby,” I said.
She stopped and smiled. “They did seem happy. And I can’t believe they’re going to Italy!”
“Can you blame them? Since I’ve known them, they’ve been at that restaurant nearly every day, except for when your dad was sick.”
Her smile faded some as she folded one of the shirts and stacked it on the counter. “I don’t blame them at all. I know this is something Mom has wanted for a while now, especially after Dad had his heart attack. Maybe someday we can all go on a big family vacation.”
“That would be fun.”
Sutton stopped folding and looked at me. “You and Brax…”
I felt my cheeks heat. “Me and Brax.”
She reached for my hand, and I paused in my unpacking. “There’s something about you today, Harlee. You have a glow about you.”
“That’s called having hot sex, Sutton.”
Jerking her hand away, she rolled her eyes and laughed. “Gross! That’s my brother.”
I shrugged. “Not gonna lie, your brother is—”
“Please don’t say another word.”
Laughing, I let out a long, contented sigh. “I haven’t been this happy in so long, Sutton.”
“I think Brax is feeling the same way. He looked so happy this morning, and when he saw you, I could see it written all over his face. The way he lit up.”
I started to say something, and she held up a hand. “Please don’t say it was from all the sex you had.”
“Okay, I won’t say that. But I will say, I think we’ve both been so stubborn. Maybe me more than him. That night we spent together, I was so hurt when he pushed me away. I mean, I knew I always had a crush on Brax, but something changed when we were together, and I swore he’d felt it too.”
Sutton nodded. “The difference is, he got spooked. Lord, doesn’t this story sound familiar.”
We both giggled.
“How do you think Ms. Seaside knew about you two?” she asked.
“My guess,” I said, grabbing another shirt and handing it to her, “is that someone, maybe even Ms. Seaside herself, saw Brax going home with me. We weren’t hiding anything when he stood on the front porch and kissed me like he wouldn’t see me for months.”
Sutton sighed. “Oh, I just love this. My brother with my very best friend. It just makes my heart feel so—ouch!”
I dropped the shirt I was holding. “What’s wrong?”
“The baby kicked me! Hard.”
“It’s a boy.”
She rubbed along the side of her stomach. “Either that or a future soccer player. That was the biggest one so far. Speaking of…this might be too soon, but do you want kids?”
“Yes,” I replied without even having to think about it. “Brax and I actually talked about it last night. I think it was between when he took me against the wall and when we had a late night-snack before sex on the kitchen floor.”
Sutton blinked several times. “How many times did you guys do it?”
“Four—if you don’t count the two times in my office yesterday.”
“Your office? Oh my gosh, you did not!” she said with a chuckle.
“We did!”
“Making up for lost time, I’d say. This calls for new lingerie.” She slipped off the stool and headed toward the area of the store where she kept the lingerie she’d helped design with a friend from New York. “We just got in this baby blue set that would make your eyes pop!”
I followed her and nearly gasped when I saw the lace nightie. “I love this! And you have it in my size.”
