Page 32 of To Have and to Scold

“Do you know which beach?” I ask Elliott and Portia. “Have you asked for permission yet? You’ll need a permit for a gathering of more than twenty people—”

“Okay, wedding cop!” Portia giggles. “I was going to pick a spot, walk out there, feel the vibe of it, and go from there.” She scrunches her nose. “Do I really need a permit if it’s a public beach?”

“Yeah, I think you do,” Kate says. Her husband, Braden, has finished scraping off the grill. I can still taste the fall-off-the-bone honey-lemon chicken he made.

Thanks, Kate, for backing me up here. I do feel grumpy about the upcoming nuptials of my only brother. Maybe I’m protective of him.

“Well, I’m going back inside to start the dishwasher,” Kate says, Braden quickly offering to join her.

Portia jumps up out of Elliot’s lap. “Let me help. I feel like I haven’t gotten enough opportunities to get to know you.”

Kate agrees with a smile, and they head back into the house. Of course, Portia doesn’t know them. She barely knows Elliot.

I’m not being fair. Maybe once they tie the knot, if they actually tie the knot, I’ll come around. And I don’t dislike Portia as a person. I just dislike feeling like I’m losing Elliott.

I pick up a push broom and start sweeping off the deck. Elliott getting married means I’m going to lose my best manager. Ever since he came back to Willow Cove after graduating college, he’s proven himself indispensable. It will be rough to see him go, and not just from a work standpoint.

A fact that I’m backpedaling in my mind the moment Elliott opens his mouth, his voice low. “Now that we don’t havean audience, tell me the real story with Dallas Cardon.” He’s standing so close to me, he’s messing up my sweeping.

“The real story?” I blow out a slow breath and shake my head. “She’s Mayor Dobb’s wedding planner for her wedding venue business. I don’t know what else to tell you.”

“Oh, there’s plenty you could tell me. You’re just not ready yet.”

“Why did I ever hire you in the first place, little brother?”

His grin reminds me of when he was five years old, trying to convince me to play with him. “You hired me because after I’d been away at school for so long, you missed me.”

I groan. “Whatever.”

“So. About Dallas…”

“What about her?”

Duke spikes the ball, and it lands with a thud on the opposing side. He and Perry yell and body slam each other while King and Coop protest vehemently. I’m glad for the distraction in this conversation.

“Foot fault!” King complains, rushing forward, pointing to their imaginary line boundary. “That was an absolute foot fault!”

“It was not!” Duke insists, and the four of them turn to me.

“He was clean, right Beck?” Perry asks, placing his hands on his hips and breathing heavily.

I hold up my hands. “I have no idea. I wasn’t watching that closely.”

All four of them groan.

“Sorry!” I say.

“If you’re not going to play with us, the least you could do is pay attention and make some calls.” King says, reaching down for his water bottle and chugging it so much that it spills down the front of his royal-blue tank top.

“You all need women in your lives. Badly.” Elliott mutters under his breath. He gives me a smirk and peers at me. “So, about Dallas. She’s interesting.”

“If obsessed with being early to things and renovating Walter’s office is interesting, then, I guess you’re right.”

“You know, it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world to take her on a date. One date.”

“We’re working together. I don’t want to do that.” At least, part of me doesn’t want to do that. There’s another part of me that would like going on another walk along the beach with her.

“You haven’t been out with anyone since Chloe, and I think it’s been long enough—”

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