Page 107 of Beach Vibes

His mouth twisted. “I’m sorry.”

“Thanks.”

She drew back and wiped her face. “You don’t have to sit here, Kai. You can go to work. I’m going to get my things and head home.”

“You all right to drive?”

“Yeah. I’m all right.”

She wasn’t, of course. She might never be again.

* * *

Beth spent the rest of the afternoon trying to get in touch with her brother. She left messages and voicemails and nearly went by his house. She didn’t think he was on call, and she didn’t think he was with Galaxy. Jana was studying for finals, so unlikely to be hanging out with him. But no matter how many times she reached out, he didn’t call her back.

Her mind went to the darkest of places. Was there a third woman he was seeing? Yet another life he was going to destroy? She paced and cried and flung herself on her bed, yet nothing changed. She still had to deal with the fact that her brother had lied so fundamentally about so many things. She had no idea what was real with him and what wasn’t. Was he in love with Galaxy? Did he prefer Jana? And in the end, did it matter at all?

Almost worse, she’d been a part of it. She’d enabled him. She wanted to say it had been unwillingly—that she’d been sucked into his game unknowingly. Except shehadknown about Galaxy. She’d confronted him and told him to choose. Then she’d kept his secret. She had lied for him because he was her brother.

No, she thought as she sat on the edge of her bed. That wasn’t the real reason. She’d lied for him because she hadn’t wanted to lose the happy life she’d finally found. She’d wanted to keep Jana as her best friend and Teddy as her lover and their kids asher family. She’d wanted them all to get closer. She’d wanted the fantasy, and she’d been willing to sacrifice what was right to get it.

Every few minutes, her brain circled back to how they’d come to this. When had Rick changed? They were supposed to be a team—they’d always been there for each other. She couldn’t reconcile what she knew with who she thought he was. Just a few days ago, he’d talked about how grateful he’d been that she’d steered him in the right direction. He’d said that Jana was the one and that they were happy together. He’d never once hinted that he was still seeing Galaxy.

She glanced at her watch and realized she had to get ready for her “double date” with Jana and Teddy. That or cancel. She honestly didn’t know what to do. Faking her way through the evening seemed impossible. But if she didn’t go, she would need an excuse. It seemed having her period was the only lie she was good at these days, and she couldn’t use that one again.

Plus if she showed up, she could drag Rick into a corner and have it out with him. Because she was done keeping his secrets. Either he told the truth or she did.

Just thinking that statement made her sick to her stomach. Jana was going to be hurt, and Teddy would protect his sister. Rick might have been the one who cheated, but Beth had known and was guilty by her sin of omission.

She sucked in a breath and crossed to her bathroom. Her hands were shaking so much, she could barely put on makeup. She gave up on eyeliner and just put on a little mascara. She had already put her hair in hot rollers, so that was easy. Once in her closet, she thought about the restaurant where they were all meeting. It was nice but casual. She slipped on a sleeveless dress and sandals, then pulled out the rollers and fluffed her curls.

As she collected her bag and her keys, she fought against the sense of dread building inside of her. Everything about the moment felt inevitable. From the second she’d seen Rick with Galaxy,she’d known she was going to pay the price, and that time was now. She wanted to be optimistic, but she couldn’t see any way this night ended well.

She was the first to arrive at the restaurant. She handed her keys over to the valet and paced in the foyer while she waited, her body on edge, her mind racing. Her emotions alternated between rage and bitterness. She wanted to scream at Rick and demand he not mess up her life. She wanted to know when he’d changed and have him tell her how she hadn’t noticed. She wanted her old brother back—the one who never knew what to say and who came to her to help him navigate the emotionally confusing world he existed in.

“Well, you’re beautiful. Are you waiting for someone, or can a guy dream you might be single?”

She turned and saw Teddy walking in, Jana next to him. His smile was familiar, as was her body’s reaction to him being near. She instinctively rushed toward him, arms outstretched. He caught her and hung on to her so tightly, she couldn’t breathe.

This, she thought frantically. This moment, this man. This was what she wanted, what she needed. He was everything and more, and she was in love with him. She probably had been from that first night.

He drew back just enough to lightly kiss her. She didn’t want to let him go, but reluctantly released him. His smile returned.

“That was a really good greeting,” he teased. “Makes me want to go outside and come back in again.”

“You can if you’d like,” she told him, doing her best to act normal when she mostly wanted to beg him to run away with her. Only there was nowhere to go that the truth wouldn’t follow.

She turned to Jana and hugged her. “How’s the studying going?”

Jana groaned. “Good, I think. Either I’m totally prepared or I don’t understand the material at all.”

“I think that means you’re prepared.”

Teddy put his hand on the small of Beth’s back. “Shall we get our table or should we wait for Rick?”

“Why don’t you two get the table and I’ll wait here for Rick,” she said, not quite meeting his gaze. “I want to talk to him about Agatha for a second. It won’t take long.”

She thought they might push back or at the very least question her, but they both just nodded. Teddy gave her a quick kiss before he and his sister went to the hostess and gave their name.

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