Page 84 of Skylar

“You’ve planned quite the party, bro,” Aiden said.

Aiden was a bit surprised to see Skylar in the front seat next to Cole. He’d thought that she might decide not to come because he’d be there, too.

He would have liked to think it meant that she was starting to be okay with him being around. However, he wasn’t sure that was the case. It was likely that she was there because going out on the lake was something she’d always enjoyed.

They were the first ones to reach the place where Cole had rented the boat. He and Skylar waited at the car while Cole went to check in with the rental place.

“Are there others coming?” Aiden asked.

“Yeah. Wilder and Lexi, and Kayleigh and Hudson. I think Layla and Amelia might join us, too.”

“And their boyfriends?”

Skylar gave a soft huff of laughter. “Don’t let Blake hear you call them that, or he might ban you from ever seeing Shiloh.”

Aiden grinned. “Well, I definitely don’t want that.”

“Poor girls,” Skylar said. “Their dad keeps pretty tight tabs on them, I think.”

“Isn’t Layla eighteen already?”

“I think her age is irrelevant to Blake. She could be thirty, and he’d still probably be protective of her.”

Aiden didn’t bring up how her parents had felt when they’d first moved past the best friend’s little sister/brother’s best friend relationship they’d had to something more serious. It wasn’t a time he really wanted to revisit.

“Okay, you two, let’s grab the food,” Cole announced as he strode up to them where they stood next to the car. They’d left the confines of the vehicle since it had been getting a little warm.

After grabbing their bags from inside the car, they helped Cole gather up everything in the trunk, then made their way down the dock to where the boat was moored.

“This looks great, Cole,” Skylar said as she climbed onto the boat.

“I thought so from the pictures online.”

Aiden followed Cole on and set his bags down on the bench seat that ringed the area beneath the canopy. Cole took the things Skylar held, so Aiden held out his hand to help her onto the boat.

She hesitated, and Aiden slowly closed his hand and began to lower it. But then Skylar reached out and grasped his arm. Aiden automatically tightened his forearm so that he could support her as she stepped onto the boat.

“Thank you,” Skylar said as she released her grip on him.

“You’re welcome.”

Even with her boot on, she maneuvered around the boat quite well, helping Cole empty the bags onto the small table.

“You remember how to drive something like this?” Aiden asked.

“It’s like riding a bike,” Cole said. “I’m sure.”

Aiden wasn’t so sure that was how it worked, but he figured his friend probably remembered enough that he’d be able to navigate a pontoon. If it was a speedboat, Aiden might have had a different feeling about Cole piloting them around.

It wasn’t long before more people arrived, including Layla and Amelia. When they said that their friends—who happened to be boys—would be joining them, Cole walked with them to the parking lot.

Aiden watched as Cole stood with his arms crossed, his tall form towering over everyone else.

“What’s he doing?” Kayleigh asked as she came to stand beside Aiden.

“I think he wants to see if the one boy’s sister drops him off.”

“A sister?”

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