Page 87 of Beach Vibes

Galaxy? Who named their kid that? But before she could react, the other woman immediately brightened. “Finally! I’ve been dying to meet you. Oh, wow! Rick’s sister. You’re the best.”

Galaxy stood—and it turned out she was very tall—and folded Beth in a close hug that surrounded her with a familiar scent. One she’d experienced before, although she couldn’t place where.

“Join us,” Galaxy said happily. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you. This is great. Do you live nearby? I know you have that sandwich shop, right? Surf Sandwiches. It’s so cute.” She beamed with happiness, even as she took Rick’s hand in hers.

Too much was happening too fast, Beth thought. Any second now the room was going to start spinning, and once that started, she was terrified it would never stop. She felt sick to her stomach, confused and more scared than she’d ever been in her life. Because however she tried to explain away what she was seeing, there was no way around the fact that Rick was cheating on Jana. No, Rick was cheating on herfriend. A concept she couldn’t grasp—probably because she didn’t want any of this to be happening.

“I need to get back,” she said, aware her voice sounded stilted. “I have to…” She couldn’t think of a lie, so stopped trying.

“Oh, that’s too bad.” Galaxy sounded genuinely distressed. “It was so great to finally meet you. We need to get together.”

Beth ignored that and stared at her brother, who was watching her without speaking, his expression completely unreadable. She had no idea what he was thinking, but shouldn’t he be upset or guilty or horrified or something? Only he wasn’t any of those things—at least not on the surface—and in some ways that was the scariest thing of all.

She nodded at both of them and quickly left. Once out of the store, she dumped her coffee and croissant in the trash and hurried to her car. She started the engine and quickly drove away. It was only when she was back in her familiar neighborhood that she allowed herself to think about what had just happened.

She’d seen Rick with another woman. Rick was cheating on Jana, and from the looks of things, he’d been doing so for a while. She remembered the quick burst of scent when Galaxy had hugged her and suddenly recalled smelling it on her brother. But when… She pulled in to her driveway and parked, then closed her eyes. He’d hugged her, she thought, focusing on the feel of that so she could—

“Oh, God!” It had been the night she’d met Teddy. She’d arrived first, and when Rick had shown up, she’d asked if he’d changed fabric softeners. But it hadn’t been that at all. He’d smelled of Galaxy’s perfume!

She pulled her phone out of her bag and texted her brother.

Call me!!!!!

* * *

They had to talk. They needed a plan. No, not a plan. First she had to figure out what on earth was happening. How could Rick be cheating? He barely knew how to date. He was socially awkward and just so eager to be with Jana. He talked about her like she was his princess or something. And yet there was another woman in his life.

Her brother was cheating on Jana. He was risking his relationship with her. He was putting her own wonderful friendship at risk. Worse, he was cheating on Teddy’s sister, and Beth was caught in the middle of something so big and calamitous that she couldn’t figure out what to do or think or say. All she knew for sure was it was going to be really, really bad.

* * *

Beth spent the next twenty-four hours trying to catch her breath. She was still reeling from the revelation and waiting for her brother to get in touch with her. But no matter how many times she texted and called, Rick stayed silent. She alternated between fury and fear. No wonder he’d been upset when he’d discovered she was seeing Teddy. At the time his reaction hadn’t made any sense, but now she totally got why he’d been pissed. Her dating Teddy was one more connection—one more variable in what she would guess was the juggling job that was his dating life.

She spent a restless night and a crappy morning trying to shake a headache that clung tenaciously, no doubt a combination of exhaustion and worry. A low sense of dread followed her everywhere,and she alternated between telling herself she had to come clean with Jana and mentally running in the opposite direction. Worst of all, for the very first time in her adult life, she didn’t want to go into the store. She didn’t want to see anyone or talk to anyone. She was terrified that Rick would show up to talk and afraid he wouldn’t. Having Teddy stroll in would be a complete nightmare, because what was she supposed to say to him? “Hey, I just found out my brother’s cheating on your sister, but you and I are still okay, right?”

Fortunately her work ethic was strong, and right on time she parked her car behind Surf Sandwiches. She got through the morning without anyone asking if she was all right, even though she checked her phone every fifteen seconds to see if she’d heard from Rick.

The lunch crowd was especially busy—something for which she was grateful. Hustling to get everyone’s sandwiches made quickly and correctly distracted her from her sense of dread. She started to feel like she could breathe again and her headache seemed to fade, right up until the shop door opened and Dex stepped inside, all four kids with him.

Beth’s first thought was to bolt. She could hide out in back until they were gone.Like they wouldn’t notice?she asked herself. At least Teddy wasn’t with them, she thought gratefully. Dex and the kids she could handle. Sort of. If she ignored how guilty she felt.

She stepped out of the work line and went to greet them. Linnie rushed toward her, Orchid at her heels. Magnolia and Atlas both smiled at her, as did Dex. She hugged the children.

“This is a surprise,” she said cheerfully. “You’re here! I hope everyone is hungry.”

“It was early release day for Teddy’s kids,” Dex said easily. “We were talking about where to go for lunch when Magnolia suggested we come see you.” He ruffled Linnie’s hair. “I knewthis one would have a cow if she wasn’t included, so here we are. You okay with the invasion?”

“I’m delighted,” she said, knowing her only reason for lying was the “Rick issue.” If she hadn’t known about Galaxy, she really would have been genuinely happy to see Dex and the kids. “The lunch rush is slowing, so if you want to get sandwiches and eat either in here or outside, there’s going to be plenty of room.”

“Outside!” Orchid jumped in place. “Like a picnic! Please, Dex. Please!”

“I’d like to eat outside, too,” Magnolia said. “It’s pretty here with the ocean across the street.”

“Outside it is,” Dex said. “All right. Let’s go pick sandwiches.” He winked at Beth. “I hear you have a famous collection of PB&J choices.”

Beth pointed to the board. “You’re right. We do. One of my favorites is peanut butter with breakfast cereal. You get to pick the kind. Or we can do a grilled PB&J.” She saw Dex grimace and grinned at him. “I could suggest something else for you. Maybe a fried chicken BLT with jalapeño honey.”

“I could go for that,” he admitted.

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