Page 2 of Beach Vibes

Beth turned in to the industrial area where the Costco was located and drove toward the sprawling building at the end of the street. As she headed through an intersection, her gaze drifted to a large billboard on her right. Immediately her entire body went on alert as her brain struggled to comprehend what she was seeing. She instinctively turned toward the billboard—and accidently steered in that direction as well. Before she could slam on the brakes, she’d driven off the road, up onto the sidewalk (mercifully empty of pedestrians), stopping less than a foot from a fire hydrant.

It took a couple of seconds for her to start breathing again. Adrenaline poured through her from both the near accident and the billboard itself. She managed to put the car in Park before turning off the engine and getting out to stand on the sidewalk and stare in disbelief.

The billboard was huge and showed a happy couple staring into each other’s eyes. Not really noteworthy if she ignored both the fact that the man in question was her ex-husband, Ian, and the heartfelt message next to the photo.

Patti, you mean the world to me. I’m so grateful to have found you. I love you. Will you marry me?

* * *

She pressed a hand to her chest, as if to keep her heart from jumping out and flopping around on the road. Her brain was still having trouble processing what she was seeing, and she honestlydidn’t know what was more confusing to her. The billboard itself, the fact that it was two blocks from Costco, or that her very ordinary, believer-in-a-routine ex-husband had proposed in such an un-Ian-like way. Oh, and maybe the fact that he had obviously moved on and fallen in love with someone else while she hadn’t been out with friends, let alone a man.

Ignoring a sudden wave of sadness, she sagged back onto the driver’s seat and pulled her phone from her handbag. Within seconds she was on Instagram and scrolling through to find Ian’s account. As their divorce had been as low-key as their marriage, she’d never blocked him, and apparently he’d never blocked her, either. Which meant she could see everything he’d posted for the past couple of weeks in color photographs and videos.

If the picture of the two of them holding champagne glasses and smiling at the camera was any indication, Patti had said yes. But instead of staring at the happy couple, Beth found herself searching the crowd of friends that was gathered around them. Friends she’d thought had been her friends as well, back when she and Ian had been married. The three couples had been tight, hanging out together, even taking the odd vacation as a group. But when the marriage had fallen apart, she’d discovered she was actually only the friend-in-law. The other two women hadn’t wanted to get together and had finally explained they were picking Ian. At the time, that had hurt about as much as the end of her marriage.

She flipped through more pictures and saw one of Ian and Patti with Ian’s large, extended family. The family she’d thought of as her own, appreciating the sheer size and volume of get-togethers. Growing up it had just been her, her brother and her mom. She’d always dreamed of being part of a big family, and with Ian, that had happened. Only once she and Ian split up, her relationship with them had ended as well.

Beth dropped the phone on the passenger seat and stared at the billboard. Ian was getting married again, to Patti—whoevershe was. They would have a life, possibly kids. All the things she’d thought would happen when she and Ian had been together. Only they hadn’t.

She knew she didn’t want him back—their relationship was long over. But she did envy his future, or at least all the possibilities. Ian had kept living his life and looking for ways to be happy.

And hereshewas, in her car, alone and semi-friendless. Except for Jana, a relatively new friend she really liked, there was no one. Yes, she’d done great things with her business, but what about her personal life? Why was she half-parked on a sidewalk, staring at a billboard while on her way to Costco? Didn’t she want more?

A sharp pain cut through her—two parts regret but one part intense longing for more than the nothing she’d apparently chosen. She needed friends in her life and possibly a man. While the latter seemed like more than she could comfortably take on right now, the former was doable. She was a good person. She was likable. The friend thing shouldn’t be so hard.

She needed more than just work, she told herself. She needed to get out of the house and start doing things. Anything. Beginning right this second. Or possibly after she made her Costco run. But today for sure.

* * *

“What do you call a paper airplane that can’t fly?”

Jana Mead was already smiling, even as she turned from her computer to the man standing just inside her office.

“I don’t know,” she said, appreciating the happy anticipation that accompanied Rick’s unexpected visit. In the past couple of weeks, he’d stopped by a few times, always with a dad joke and an invitation to coffee or dinner or a picnic. So far she’d managed to resist saying yes to his very tempting suggestions, but even as she repeated, “Whatdoyou call a paper airplane that can’t fly?” she felt herself weakening.

“Stationery.”

She laughed. “Okay, I’m writing that one down. I may have to explain the difference between stationary and stationery to the younger ones, but my oldest niece will absolutely love the joke.”

“Excellent.” He stepped a little closer. “How’s it going?”

“Good. Busy, as always. What about you? How many lives did you save today?”

“Just a couple.”

Rick was a big-shot surgeon while she was a part-time medical billing clerk who spent her days fighting with insurance companies over coverage. Which one of these was not like the other? He was about five-ten with dark hair and eyes and an aura of quiet confidence. Fit without being too muscled, and good-looking enough to make a woman look twice.

“Impressive,” she told him.

He shrugged. “It’s just about the training and, you know, some skill.”

“I think it’s about more than that.”

He shoved his hands into his front pockets and drew in a breath. “I’ve asked you out three times, and you’ve said no every time. I get it. You’re not interested.”

He hesitated as if unsure what to say next, which gave her time to want to pound her head against the desk, mostly because shewasinterested. Very interested. When she saw him, she got thatwhooshingsensation low in her belly—the one that made a normally sensible woman want to ignore her vow of “no guys—not now, not for the next ten years” even when she knew she couldn’t afford to get involved with anyone.

There were so many reasons. She was the single mother of a precocious four-year-old, she was in the middle of her last semester at community college where the calculus class she was taking was kicking her butt, and she had this job. Dinner with a man? Who had the time?

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