Page 25 of Beachside Kisses With My Best Friend

“Last chance to back out.” Jordan is not a goofball, but he’s not overly serious either. Neither of us are the life of the party or the party poopers. We are solidly in the middle—and in the middle together.

But right now, he’s giving off seriously solemn vibes.

“Doyouwant to back out?” I ask.

He hesitates, frowns. “I don’t want either of us to regret this. Maybe we should think?—”

“Maybe we should. But I think I’d arrive at the same conclusion. Ryder’s what matters, yes?”

“Well, yeah, of course.”

“And no matter what happens, we will continue to be best friends. Remember our agreement?”

When composing our list of rules to sign, I suggested that if either of us wanted out sooner than a year, we’d do it, so long as it wouldn’t negatively affect Jordan’s custody battle or my financial situation.

We both signed it, and thinking of that reminds me that this will all be okay. We have an out in our back pocket.

Slowly, Jordan nods and blows out another breath. “All right, then. Let’s do this.”

“Let’s. Except…”

“Except?”

My eyes search the chapel, almost frantic. Despite the glass, something about being inside suddenly makes my chest tighten. “I need air.”

“Okay. We can take a few extra min?—”

“No, not like that.” I purse my lips, my gaze finally landing on a patch of grass near the bluff outside. “Can we do the ceremony out there?”

His brow furrows. “Sure…”

“It’s just.” How do I explain? “I love that you chose a place that means a lot to me. That we aren’t doing this at some sterile justice of the peace, because that’s not who we are. But something about being married in a church, knowing…”Knowing that we are saying vows that are just for now. Just to save Ryder.“Well, I don’t really want to get struck by lightning on my wedding day.”

He laughs, a sound that eases the tightness in my chest. “You’re the last person in the world that would happen to. But I understand. Hang tight while I go talk with the site coordinator and see if we can move things outdoors.”

“K.”

He heads up front, pulling the man aside and talking with him. Lucy looks back at me, eyebrows raised. I turn toward the window again, meditating on the peace I will surely feel when all of this is over.

A touch on my elbow startles me.

“Sorry.” Jordan’s there, his voice low as he turns me roundabout to face him and Clipboard Man. “Marilee, this is the site’s event coordinator and officiant, Terry Maxson.”

“Hi, Marilee. Call me Terry.” Terry reaches out with his smooth, pale hand, and his mustache twitches as he smiles. “Jordan tells me you’d like to move things outside, and that’s perfectly acceptable. If you’ll just follow me, we’ll get things going.”

And before I have a chance to respond, he’s headed out a side door, Lucy and Blake close on his trail.

“You good?” Jordan reaches for my hand.

I swallow, take it. “All good.”

My heels click on the polished wood floor as we approach the door, hand in hand. My breathing ratchets up as my dress swishes against my legs, but Jordan is my anchor as he’s so often been. His hands aren’t soft, and I wouldn’t expect them to be with the way he’s outdoors and rock climbing and constantly doing sporty things. All of my attention zeroes in on a callus on his thumb, which wends its way back and forth over the top of my hand.

Why is that tiny motion so…intoxicating? All-consuming?

We step out onto stone steps that lead down into a small clearing. Here, my nose catches the sea-salted air, and my ears catch the whistling breeze. Then, we stand facing each other as my eyes catch a wink of something diving in the distance. A whale, maybe?

I haven’t gone whale watching in forever, but it’s something Mom and I liked to do together. So this… It feels almost like a gift, an assurance that everything is going to be okay.

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