Page 32 of Taming Waves

I glance in the mirror and see that she’s frowning.

“Audrey,” I call, and her eyes find mine.

“I’ll stop at the market if you want,” I offer.

She smiles. “Yes, please.”

We park on the street between Wade’s and Lennon’s homes, and Anson and I grab the grocery bags.

Audrey didn’t just pick up a bottle of wine. She grabbed a few bottles, mixers, and cocktail condiments.

Lennon greets us at the door.

“Welcome,” he says, swinging it wide in invitation. “What’s all this?” he asks, eyeing the bags.

“Audrey bought out the alcohol section of the market,” Anson says as he hefts his load onto the living room bar.

Once inside, the girls are quickly whisked off to the kitchen, where Avie, Eden, and Amiya are fluttering around, and Lennon, Anson and I join the boys outside.

Wade is manning a grill while Sebastian and Dillon are seated around a clay firepit. Lennon walks over to help Wade, and we fish beers out of the cooler by the door before taking a seat.

“Smells delicious. What are you cooking?” I ask as I open my bottle.

“Ribs are in the smoker. And chicken is on the grill,” Lennon calls.

“That’s what I’m talking about,” Anson belts.

It’s a perfect night for a barbecue. The weather has been beautiful since the storm. During the day, temperatures have been in the high sixties, and at night, they dip to the mid-fifties. There’s a light breeze, and the sky is filled with stars this evening.

“I see you talked Audrey into coming,” Sebastian says.

Anson snorts. “More like he forced her.”

Sebastian raises his brows.

“She asked me to pick her up and take her to get her car. We took a detour first,” I say.

“Smooth,” Sebastian notes. “Though I’m not sure kidnapping is the best way to a girl’s heart.”

I shrug. “Desperate measures, man.”

“What’s the deal between you two?” Wade asks.

I catch sight of her through the glass doors. She has a martini glass in her hand, and her head is thrown back as she laughs at something Amiya said.

“The deal is, we’re friends, and I have three months to convince her that we can be more.”

Wade lets out a whistle. “Three months? That’s not a lot of time.”

“I seem to remember you convincing Eden to fall for your old grumpy ass pretty quickly,” Dillon quips.

He cuts his eyes to his son and starts to offer a retort but stops short.

“True. I guess if I could land that beauty, anything is possible.” He extends his bottle to me. “Good luck.”

“He’s gonna need it. She’s a firecracker,” Anson says.

“Those are the best kind,” Lennon quips.

---