Page 37 of Beach Vibes

“You have, and your loyalty is admirable. I just hope you’ll consider that this time around, you might want to think about being Team Jana, as well. To be blunt, my dear, she didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Unless she’s dating Rick because he’s a surgeon and she doesn’t care about him at all.”

“Quite the leap.”

Beth thought about Jana recalling Rick asking her out. He’d said she glowed. Jana had been starry-eyed and hopeful and genuine.

“I don’t know what to believe,” she admitted.

“I hope that’s true. Because making up your mind before you have all the facts may cost you a friendship, and that’s something you would regret for a very long time.”

* * *

Beth almost didn’t show up for her shift at the food bank. She’d also debated bringing sandwiches, as was their thing now. She both wanted and didn’t want to see Jana. While part of her missed hanging out with her friend, part of her couldn’t get past the voice that whispered she was only interested in Rick because of what she could get from him. Awful and judgy, but also the truth.

In the end, she packed the picnic basket and arrived righton time. When she saw Jana, she smiled and waved, then went back to work. But as the time grew closer to six, she found herself fighting nerves and wishing for a reason to simply duck out without speaking to her friend.

At the end of their shift, she collected the basket from her car and went out to the tables behind the food bank. There were a few clouds in the sky, and the temperature was cooler than usual. Beth slipped on her jean jacket and waited for Jana to appear. A minute or so later, her friend walked out. They stared at each other without speaking, as if they were waiting for the other one to speak first.

“Are we okay?” Jana asked, her voice tentative.

Emotions rose inside Beth. A simple enough question and one for which she didn’t seem to have an answer. Except she found herself wanting to move close to hug Jana and swear that yes, they were fine.

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “That evening was so strange and confusing.”

Jana’s chin came up. “It was the same for me. I can’t believe you never said his name.”

Beth blinked. “Excuse me?”

“You never said Rick’s name. You said ‘my brother’ but never ‘Rick.’ I know you didn’t do it on purpose, but it was so shocking when I realized you were his sister. If you’d called him by name, we might have put all this together.”

There was a perspective, Beth thought in surprise, because one of her complaints was that Jana never called Rick by name, either. She thought back to their conversations and couldn’t remember what she’d done. It was definitely possible that she’d never actually said theRword at all.

“That makes me feel foolish,” she admitted, relaxing a little. “How could we both have avoided actual names?”

Jana managed a faint smile. “Not just us, but your brother as well.”

Beth nodded, remembering Jana mentioning that the night of the very awkward, totally uncomfortable dinner. She knew she had a decision to make. Either she trusted her friend or she didn’t. The bottom line was she wanted Jana in her life. Their relationship was important to her, and she didn’t want to mess it up.

“How about from now on we name everything?” Beth suggested. “People mostly, because while I happen to know this table likes to be called George, admitting it would get weird.”

She waited to see what Jana would do. She figured the other woman could easily dismiss her and walk away. Thankfully Jana grinned and walked toward the table.

“George? He told me he liked to be called Stan.”

Beth laughed, and they both sat down.

“What a mess,” she said as she opened the basket. “All of it. I’m sorry things were unsettled. It’s hard to reconcile who you are with how my brother described you.” She handed over a chicken Waldorf salad sandwich and a to-go container of the store’s popular broccoli salad.

She looked up. “He only said good things. It’s just how he phrased them. You know how he is.”

Jana hesitated. “He can see the world in a different way.”

“Absolutely. Plus I’m protective. He and I look out for each other, so I went on alert, which I wouldn’t have done if I’d known you were the woman in his life.”

“I get that,” Jana said quietly. “When he took me home, Rick talked about the other women he’s dated. The ones who were in it for what they could get. You’re worried I’m one of them. Or just as bad, that I’ve played you.”

Beth did her best not to shift on her seat. While that had been her first reaction, she knew it wasn’t a rational one. “How exactly were you going to play me? Our meeting was totally random. It’s not as if you were waiting for me to apply to be a volunteer here so you could become my mentor and then secretly date my brother.”

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