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Tim chuckled as he closed the trunk. “She sure did.”
“Thank you so much for all your help today,” Emily said. “Party days are always hectic.”
I smiled. “No problem. We loved every minute of it.”
“Especially all the screaming kids,” Lincoln teased.
Everyone laughed before Tim said, “Well, we better get going. I’m sure Piper is dying to play with all her new stuff, especially that tablet you got her.”
Piper hugged me, then Lincoln. “Yes, thank you so much. I can’t wait to use it.”
“You’re welcome, sweetheart,” Lincoln said, kissing the top of her head before pulling away.
I smiled at Tim and Emily, darting my eyes back and forth between them. “Any ideas for next week?”
Emily snapped her fingers, her eyes lighting up. “You just reminded me. We wanted to invite you over for a barbecue in a couple of weeks. We always have one right before school starts.”
I glanced at Lincoln. In all of our get-togethers, we’d never been to their house before. He nodded. “Sounds great.”
“Just let us know what to bring,” I added.
After saying our goodbyes, we headed to Lincoln’s truck. “So what do you want to do tonight?”
I thought for a second before suggesting, “It’s still early. Why don’t we see if we can get the old group together?”
A smile spread over Lincoln’s face. “That’s a great idea.” He took out his phone and started tapping on the screen. “I’ll text Tommy now.”
I grinned and took out my phone also. “I’ll message Beth.”
By the time we made it back to Beaufort, we’d been able to contact our old circle of friends and arrange to meet for drinks at Backstreet.
The group was already gathered by the bar when we walked in. Even though I’d been back in Beaufort for a few months, hanging out with high school friends and being back with Lincoln still seemed so surreal to me.
When I left for college, I never thought I’d come back home. And there I was in a pub with my old friends contemplating moving back to be closer to my daughter and make another go of it with Lincoln.
Crazy how the world worked.
Tommy saw us first, and his face spread in a wide grin. “Hey!”
His welcome got everyone else’s attention, and the group erupted in a roar of greetings and smiles.
Tommy walked up to Lincoln as Beth wrapped me in a hug. A tall man with dirty blond hair stood behind her, and as soon as I saw him, I recognized him from her description at the bar that one night and my memories from school.
“Hey, Ryan. Good to see you.”
“Good to see you, too, Liv. Never thought we’d see you back here,” Ryan commented.
You and me both.
Beth smacked her husband in the arm, frowning. “Why would you go and say something like that?”
His brow furrowed, confusion etching his features. “What?”
I chuckled. “It’s okay. I was just thinking the same thing.”
Beth gave me an apologetic smile. “Sorry, my husband is rude.” She glared at him before grabbing a beer from the bar and handing it to me.
“Don’t be so hard on him. He didn’t mean anything by it,” I said before taking a swig from the bottle.
