Page 80 of See You Next Month

“Hey, maybe she’ll find someone on these trips!” Dana exclaimed.

Isabella smiled. She wondered if maybe Kelsey already had.

“Here you go,” Riley said, walking up and handing Dana the air pump. “Can you take your mom’s place? I need her up here to help me with something.”

“Sure. I’ll tell her. Thanks,” Dana said and started to walk back to the beach. “Hey, Isabella, I’d share my mom with you.” Then she ran off the patio.

“What was that?” Riley asked.

Isabella shook her head. “I’m not sure.”

Kelsey walked up to the patio and Isabella noticed the fine sheen of sweat on her shoulders. Why is that so hot?

“Come with me, you two,” Riley said, leading them into the bar. “I have something I want to show you.”

Isabella and Kelsey exchanged a look and followed Riley into Peaches. She led them through a door at the end of the bar and up a flight of stairs. She opened another door into a large room that took up the space over the bar.

“This is lovely,” Isabella said.

“Alex and I love it up here. She keeps asking me if I want to live in a house, but this is where we fell in love and I don’t want to leave it.”

“It’s beautiful,” Kelsey said.

“We have everything we need. This is the living area and kitchen. That door leads to the bathroom and this is our bedroom,” Riley said, walking into the other room. “Come on.”

They followed her into the bedroom and out a door that led to a patio.

“Oh my God!” Isabella exclaimed.

“Just wait,” Riley said. “One more flight.”

They walked up a set of stairs that opened up to a rooftop deck.

Kelsey gasped. “You can see forever up here.”

“Now you know why I don’t want to move,” Riley said. “Okay, I will take care of the kids while you have a moment of peace. There’s beer in that little refrigerator.”

Isabella took a moment to look around the space. There was a couch with tables and lounge chairs that looked out over the water.

“This is incredible,” Kelsey said.

“Yeah, and so are you,” Isabella said.

Kelsey turned around and smiled at Isabella.

“I told Riley we had something important to talk about, but we haven’t had a moment alone the entire trip,” Isabella said.

“I know and it’s been killing me,” Kelsey said.

“Let’s sit,” Isabella suggested.

They settled on the couch and Isabella looked at Kesley. “You are so beautiful.” She ran her fingers through Kelsey’s hair. “I see a few strands of gray.”

“You put them there.”

“Me?”

“Yes, by saying things like that.”

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