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“We’ll work out some times,” I reply. “Mondays we’re closed, so we can always gather then. We also don’t open until five on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so mornings on those days are open.”
Lu just shakes her head. “It’s still too generous. And what if I, like, lose my mojo, or can’t come up with anything? Then I’ll be wasting everyone’s time.”
“What if you get your mojo back?” I counter. “You won’t know until you try. That’s all I’m asking, Lu.”
She laughs again. “That’s it. You just want me to try to write a cookbook in your incredibly beautiful, incredibly successful restaurant’s kitchen. No biggie.”
“It’s your restaurant.” I reach down to thumb away her tears. “Always has been, Lu. You know that. And since you know that, you know there’s no pressure.”
Her chin wobbles. My chest goes soft. I grab her chin between my thumb and forefinger, steadying her. Running my thumb over her lips.
“I can’t believe this is real,” she whispers.
“No pressure,” I repeat. “But I would like to see you make Virginia proud.”
Lu offers me a watery grin. “No pressure.” She blows out a breath. “Okay.”
My heart leaps. Eyes sting.
“Okay,” she says again, laughing hard enough to make me laugh too. “I don’t know when I’ll be able to get in here, but I will definitely try. Jesus, Riley, I’m just—I’m overwhelmed. And ridiculously excited.” She grabs my face and kisses me. “Thank you.”
“Can I help?”
She cocks a brow. “Only if you show up shirtless.”
“Pretty sure that’s a health code violation, but I’ll make anything happen for you.”
Alex hands us drinks in plastic cups as we exit Stede’s a few minutes later. Mine is virgin, Lu’s isn’t.
“Don’t worry, it’s not the rum punch,” he says to Lu, making her laugh. “I went light and refreshing this time—not strong at all.”
I sip it. It’s sweet and a little tart. “Sex on the beach?”
“I heard the rumors.” He smirks as he tosses the cocktail shaker into a nearby sink. “Y’all have fun.”
Lu leans her head against my shoulder as we walk to my golf cart. “But we haven’t had sex on the beach.”
“Not yet.”
“Right answer.”
I glance up at the sky. I’m glad Alex poured us a refresher. The sun is still hot, the breeze humid.
“Feels like a Sheryl Crow kinda night, doesn’t it?” I reach for Lu’s drink and put it beside mine in the cart’s cupholders.
“Yes.”
Climbing into the cart, I gesture to her phone. “Do your thing.”
She scrolls, finding a playlist. “All I Wanna Do” comes on as I put my hand on Lu’s thigh and pull out of the marina. She sips her cocktail. Raises her arms when “If it Makes You Happy” comes on, belting out the lyrics.
She is so fucking sexy. The dress. The tan. The joyful, ridiculous way she sings, like she doesn’t give a shit who’s watching.
Her abandon is infectious. I join in, giving the lyrics everything I’ve got. Lu grabs my free hand and holds it up, hollering. People stare as we pass. Lu just sings louder. I do too. Her voice cracks on a high note, and I cover for her in a falsetto I didn’t know I was capable of.
She laughs, hard, and suddenly I’m laughing too. The kind of laughter that makes my sides ache and my eyes water.
“We’re terrible,” she gasps.
“You’re terrible. I’m Mariah fucking Carey.”
She gives me a shove, laughing so hard it becomes silent heaves as she buries her head in my shoulder.
“Stop making me laugh!”
“You stop making me laugh.” I wipe my eyes. “We need to get it together, or Coop and Goldie are going to think we did something crazy on the way over. Fucked in public or something, right here on the side of the road.”
Lu falls back on her seat, hand on her forehead. “If only.”
“Soon, Legs.” I reach for her thigh and give it a squeeze. “Just say the word if you wanna disappear for a minute or two tonight. I wasn’t lyin’ when I said I can make it quick.”
“But can you make it dirty?”
I cut her a glance. “Like you even need to ask.”
We’re right on time when we pull into The Ocean Club’s parking lot. Coop and Goldie are already on the terrace. Their parents are there, along with a gaggle of nieces and nephews. Abel is in attendance—he’s one of the groomsmen—while Tuck is providing whatever muscle Marianne’s team needs.
Interestingly, Tuck’s sister Jen is here too. His daughter, Katie, is running up and down the boardwalk that leads from the club to the beach.
I introduce Jen to Lu before pulling her in for a hug.
“Tuck asked me to help out with Katie so his nanny could have a break,” she murmurs. “But really, I think he needed a break from the serious case of blue balls she gives him.”
“I heard that, and it’s not true,” Tuck grunts. He’s on a nearby ladder stringing bistro lights across the terrace. “Maren had to study.”
