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Skylar’s eyes bulged. “My dad has read this series?!”
Carly laughed. “Feel better now?”
“Honestly not sure how to feel about my dad reading sexy scenes,” she said and shuddered.
“As if he’s not having sex of his own...” Keith Beaumont had recently set sail for a three-month sailing trip with local meteorologist Monica Mallard, and Carly suspected there was more happening beneath the stars than just navigation.
“Please stop,” Skylar said as they stepped inside the air-conditioned store. “So, do you have a list?”
Carly handed it to her and Skylar scanned it. “‘Fringe and skirting, floral sheeting, three five-foot arches, festooning, paint...’” she read. “Maybe we should have borrowed Oliver’s truck.”
Carly’s cheeks flushed at the mention of Oliver and she cleared her throat. “The arches come in pieces, so we should be able to fit everything into our two vehicles.”
Skylar flipped to the other side of the page, where the list continued. “Maybe in two trips,” she said. “This is a lot of stuff.”
“I want the float to be the biggest in the parade.”
“Pretty sure you’ll accomplish that. Please tell me you’ve recruited more hands than just Dex and I?” Skylar said, looking slightly worried about her commitment to help.
“Don’t worry. I’ve got a group of nine.”
Skylar looked like she was mentally calculating who the nine could be. “Would a certain newcomer to town be among that group?” she asked casually, though the question was loaded with unconcealed curiosity.
Her cousin knew about her business dinner date with Sebastian earlier that week, and despite Carly’s insistence that it was just business, Skylar was definitely intrigued about the new man, insisting he was totally into Carly.
She knew Skylar and Rachel were right about Sebastian’s intentions and it did give her pause, but there was nothing she could do other than set clear boundaries and continue to express that she wasn’t interested in a relationship with him. Once he settled into town and met other women, he’d be fine. He’d move on to one of the many turned heads.
“Sebastian is helping, yes, but like I told you, we’re just friends and business associates. I want him to feel welcome in town and he’s trying to learn more about the community, so participating in the float build is a great way to do that.” She paused in the first aisle, next to the selection of paint. “I want as many different shades of blue as possible for the water. We need white for the waves and greens and golds for our Serpent Queen,” she said, picking up paint cans and piling them into the cart.
Skylar eyed the swiftly growing pile. “Seriously want that much paint?”
Carly shrugged. “Whatever we don’t use, I can donate to the community center. They are hosting a graffiti contest in September, repainting all the recycling bins throughout town, so it won’t go to waste. Can you grab the gold? I can’t reach,” she said, standing on tiptoes and straining to reach the top shelf.
Skylar, with her taller, five-foot-seven stature, reached it with ease.
“The other shade too,” Carly said and laughed at Skylar’s look. “Yes, I know it’s overkill, but I want an impressive float.”
“And it has nothing to do with the new tourism manager? Wanting to impress him?” Skylar asked, obviously not willing to let the more compelling conversation about Sebastian drop.
Skylar knew about her love for Oliver but thought Carly was wasting her time and energy. Skylar liked Oliver, but she suspected he wasn’t ready for a new relationship and she hated to see Carly pining for the man. And in the last two years, Skylar had been vocal about her opinion.
Unfortunately, there was nothing Carly could do about it. And this whole thing with Sebastian only solidified it. Sebastian was gorgeous, successful, funny, smart, interesting—a gentleman—and yet she felt nothing. Not one iota of a spark with him. She liked him. They’d be friends.
But no one other than Oliver had her heart.
Which made her cousin worry about her. A lot. Skylar would love to see Carly date someone else, find happiness and stop waiting around. Whether Sebastian was a perfect match or not, Skylar and Rachel were sure to push her in that direction.
“It’s true that I want to make sure Sebastian sees what effort we put into tourism events.” She’d say that much. It was important to show the community’s drive and spirit and reinforce the things they were already doing right. “Oh, but I’ve paired him with you and Dex for the float team.”
Skylar sighed. “Do I need to ask who you teamedyourselfwith?”
“Probably not,” she said, pointing to the containers of gold-and-green glitter. “Grab those. Please,” she added.
“Everything will be covered in glitter. Even us,” Skylar said.
“Everyone could use a little sparkle in their life.”
She and Skylar added the glitter to the already heaping cart. Then they headed to the fabric section, where Carly selected reams of green and gold material for parts of the Sealena figurine. She wanted movement on the float, not just a cardboard cutout. With several wind machines, she wanted to create the image of a real storm and show Sealena in all her fierce glory.
