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“Almost everything,” Aria agreed.
As Lola and Tommy walked hand-in-hand, Aria turned to meet Cole’s gaze. “You were incredible.”
“I thought you had to be at the bar?” Cole said with a laugh.
Aria jumped up, remembering she’d left Steve there by himself. “I have to get back!”
Cole cackled and grabbed her hand, and together, they sped off to save Steve from the barrage of sailors coming to get their drinks. At the entrance, Aria said goodbye to Cole and forced her way through the crowd, where she found Steve sweating, manic.
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” Aria said as she scurried to pour a pint.
“You saw your man get second?” Steve asked with a wink.
“I did,” Aria confirmed, placing a pint on the table and taking a wad of cash. “It was incredible. Thank you for that gift.”
Steve shrugged and continued to pour, helping Aria get through the mad rush that stretched on and on, through that hour and into the next, until Aria was finally allowed to leave for the day. Steve ducked under the bar as two other employees from the bar began to fill the space that Aria and Steve had left, then lifted his hand to high-five Aria.
“What a day. We did our own race right here at the bar.”
“That’s right,” Aria said, smiling before she walked out of the crowd and back into the splendorous sun to find Cole.
Overwhelmed with adrenaline, Aria sprinted through the celebratory crowd, everyone with drinks in hand, their eyes alight as the sun burned down upon them. Aria headed for where Cole had tied up his boat, where he found Whitney and her boyfriend, Rowan, with beers, their feet slung over the side of the dock.
“Aria! Hey!” Whitney waved.
“Great job today,” Aria said. “Have you seen Cole?”
“He was just here. I think he went to get more drinks,” Whitney explained. “He’s been eager for you to get off of work, you know.”
Aria blushed and turned, her eyes scanning the crowd for some sign of him. For some reason, she felt really anxious and just wanted to be beside him and tell him again and again how brilliant he was.
Aria pushed through the crowd, then met Elsa and Carmella again, both of whom held glasses of wine.
“Hi, Aria! I bet you’re over the moon.”
“I am,” Aria said. “Have you seen Cole?”
“We just saw him about five minutes ago,” Elsa said. “He’s been making the rounds, from friend group to friend group to family.”
“The race never ends,” Aria joked as she hurried off, intent on finding him.
Aria stepped from the mass of the crowd, crossing her arms as she surveyed the back of it. Because so many people were at the party, her cell service was finicky, and Cole wasn’t answering his phone. For some reason, she felt as though he was now looking for her, too, as though he’d run into both Whitney and his mother, who’d said she was somewhere out there.
Aria took a deep breath and returned to the crowd with her eyes peeled for him. She pushed herself down the boardwalk, listening to conversations about the race, Whitney Silverton’s big return to the world of sailing after “that incident,” and Cole Steel’s assured future in sailing. Still, she couldn’t find him.
When Aria returned to Cole’s boat, Whitney and Rowan were gone. Aria sighed and crossed her arms, set on waiting there for Cole until he returned. But when she lifted her eyes to the horizon, she saw someone familiar walking toward her. For a moment, her heart stopped beating.
There, wearing a beautiful two-piece linen summer outfit, her long hair styled beautifully, and her makeup without a single color out of place, was Bethany Baldwin. And she looked at Aria with big eyes, filled with emotion, as though she’d been out in the world, hunting for her, just as Aria had been hunting for Cole.
ChapterNineteen
Aria couldn’t believe it. Her mother, Bethany Baldwin, was in her single-room apartment, her hands wrapped around a mug of tea and her eyes flitting about, taking stock of how little the place was. Surprisingly, Bethany hadn’t said a single thing, not since they’d walked in together after the drive from the dock. The Bethany that Aria had always known would have already pointed out the wear and tear of the floorboards. She would have asked how Aria could have possibly fallen asleep on such cheap bedsheets.
Back at the dock, Bethany had spoken very quietly to say, “Can we go someplace to talk?” And Aria had been so stricken at the sight of her, there in the place she’d run to hide from her family, that she’d guided her back to her Chevy and driven them back here.
“Is the tea okay?” Aria asked nervously, still standing.
Bethany nodded. “It’s wonderful.” Aria was pretty sure she hadn’t taken a sip yet.
