Page 35 of Beach Vibes

Teddy dismissed the comment with a flick of his wrist. “That’s not who you are.”

“You know that, but she doesn’t. I didn’t mean it. We were being funny. But it’s a lot less amusing when the guy in question is her brother. Worse, apparently Rick has a history of dating women who take advantage of him, so of course Beth’s going to go on alert to protect him. Combine that with what I said and me not knowing who Linnie’s dad is and him saying I was a receptionist when I’d said I was in medical billing.”

“Which you are. He should know that.”

“He does now, but having it come up makes it sound like I’ve been lying to one of them. Conversation at dinner was stilted, and that’s the good part. I felt stupid and small, and I know she’s upset, which means what? She doesn’t want me dating her brother?”

Teddy looked at her. “You have to breathe.”

“I’m breathing. If I wasn’t breathing, I couldn’t be talking.”

He held in a smile. “I meant breathe intentionally.”

“This is not a good time for one of your woo-woo lectures about the forces of the universe and how we’re all one.”

He flashed her a grin. “Thank you for clarifying how you feel about my work.”

“Shut up.”

“You shut up.”

Despite her angst, she managed a smile. “You’re saying I need to step back from the situation and be a little more rational? I get that. But I also feel really crappy about the whole evening.”

“Do you like Rick?”

“What? Of course I do. He’s a really great guy, and the chemistry’s a plus. I’m being careful because hey, disaster relationship last time, but yes. I like him.” She groaned. “He’s so unaware. He actually thought we all had a perfectly good time tonight. Like he didn’t feel the tension at all.”

“Do you believe him?”

“Yes.” Rick was many things, but emotionally insightful wasn’t one of them. “I don’t believe he would want to hurt me or his sister. Not on purpose. But wow, was that a dumb thing to do.”

“This is the same guy who entertains you with dad jokes?”

Oh right, she thought. He was, and in that context, wouldn’t he think the surprise reveal would be fun for all?

“Good point.”

“I have more. Beth’s your friend. Trust your relationship and trust her. From what you’ve said, she was just as shocked as you were. Getting over something like that takes time. But you have a connection, and you need to respect that and give her a chance to come through.”

He was making sense, she thought. “You’re saying I’m jumping to conclusions.”

“I’m saying you don’t have enough information. Maybe it wasn’t as bad as you thought.”

“Maybe it was worse.”

He grinned. “Gotta love the optimism.”

8

“Oh, dear. You waited up. This can’t be good.”

Beth wanted to protest her aunt’s assessment of the situation, but there was no point. She’d already tried going to bed and found there was no way she could relax enough to sleep. After thirty minutes of tossing and turning, she’d pulled on yoga pants and a T-shirt and had settled in the family room until Agatha’s return.

“Come with me,” her aunt said, leading the way to the kitchen. She pulled a bottle of brandy out of the liquor cupboard and poured them each a small amount in a snifter, then moved toward the back door. Beth followed her, pausing only to grab a hoodie from a hook.

They settled on the patio. The night was still and just a littlecool. She put her glass on the small table between them and pulled on her hoodie before zipping it and collapsing into the chair.

Even in a residential area of Malibu, they were too close to city lights to see any stars. Planes flew overhead, zipping to LAX from all over the globe. Beth remembered how when she was a little girl, she thought the moving lights were shooting stars and used to wish on them. Mostly her wishes had been about their mom changing so she would want to keep them safe—a dream that never came true.

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