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“Oh.” I laugh. “I guess I should’ve assumed you knew each other.”
She waves her hand. “No worries. Why don’t you set up your stuff over with the rest of us,” she suggests, pointing to a group of people about fifteen feet away.
“Sounds good,” Darius agrees, and we move toward them. “Tillie,” he calls out, and her head turns from where she’s digging in the sand. “Come over this way, please.”
Nodding, she stands and grabs her bag of toys before following us. I love that she did what he asked without any issues. My kid is the best. I’m not sure how she’s turning out so well. Neither Ryan nor I had the best examples to go by. I’m grateful she’s so well adjusted and easygoing. It gives me hope for her teenage years. Hopefully she doesn’t have the rebellious genes I did at that age.
The sand filters through my sandals as I trudge along the soft surface. My stomach fills with anxious energy. I’m about to meet more people that Darius knows. I didn’t realize this would be the situation when I asked him to come to the beach with us. When he suggested Folly Beach, I agreed because it’s a favorite of ours. I wasn’t expecting him to contact a friend and make arrangements to see them. And now I’m meeting people in my bathing suit and coverup. Ugh. Not an ideal situation for me, but I’m going to make the most of it because I get to spend the day with the two people I love most in this world.
Darius is swallowed up by a crowd of people. Everyone’s happy to see him, and it takes a few minutes before he gets a chance to introduce me. In addition to Ace, Mariko, Levi and Leah, there’s Knox and his wife, Delaney. Darren and his wife, Kendra. My head spins from all the names I’ll need to remember.
“Tillie.” I call her name and gesture for her to come over. When she’s beside me, I introduce her to Three, who’s Levi and Leah’s son.
“Your name is Three?” she asks.
He nods. “Yep. It’s my nickname.”
“I have a nickname too, but I don’t like it,” she says.
“What is it?”
“Tillie Bean. My auntie Wendy calls me that.”
“It’s like jelly bean,” he says, and they giggle.
“Want to build a sandcastle with me?” she asks.
He nods vigorously. “Sure.” The two of them run over to her bag of toys and kneel in the sand.
“Well, that was easy,” Leah says. “We should sit down while we can.”
“That sounds good to me. I usually spend most of my time in the water with her. Maybe with Three to play with she’ll be content for a bit.”
Darius sets up our beach chairs next to the others and we sit down. He opens the cooler we brought and pulls out a margarita for me. I can’t remember the last time I had an alcoholic beverage but maybe it’ll help me feel less anxious. Removing the cap, he hands it to me and I gulp down a large mouthful before he’s grabbed a beer for himself.
Leaning his head back on the beach chair pillow, he turns toward me. In the bright sunlight I can see all the shades of brown that make up his irises. His black lashes are so thick they cast shadows on his face. “I’m so proud to introduce you to my friends, agápi mou.”
And just like that, all the insecurity I’ve been feeling disappears.
I smile at him. “I’m proud to be with you, o paíktis chókef mou.”
CHAPTER20
DARIUS
“So,are the Coyotes going to win the Stanley Cup? And don’t say yes just because it’s your team. Be honest,” Knox says.
“Of course I’m going to say we’ll win. Don’t you guys think you’re going to win the Super Bowl every year? If my teammates and I don’t believe in our capabilities, why would other people?”
“Good point,” Ace says.
“So, is the girlfriend new?” Levi glances at Evie standing at the edge of the water with all the ladies and children.
“Relatively new, but I knew right away she’s a keeper,” I say, setting my beer in the drink holder on my beach chair.
Knox laughs.
“What’s funny?” I’m a pretty laid-back guy, but if he mocks my relationship with Evie, I’ll kick his ass.
