Page 28 of Beachside Kisses With My Best Friend

I chuckle. “Sorry.” Walking back around to the couch, which I’ve already arranged with a few pillows and quilts, I sink back into the cushions. “So? Need anything else?”

She plops down beside me, bowl of popcorn in hand. “I don’t think so.” Her fingers travel along the patches of the quilt my grandma made before she passed. “I still feel bad you’re staying out here.”

“Nah, it’s fine.”

She throws a kernel at my head. “Your back is going to be killing you after a week or two.”

“You know I tent camp on the hard ground several nights a week when I’m taking groups out on tours, right?” Picking up the discarded kernel, I toss it in the air and catch it in my mouth.

“I know, but…” She huffs, and her glasses steam momentarily. Removing them, she cleans them with the edge of her shirt, giving me the tiniest glimpse of the pale white skin above the rim of her pants.

I glance away. “There aren’t any good alternatives. I don’t want Ryder to lose his room—that’s sure to get back to Constance and Larry. And I’m not making you share either. I want your new home to be as comfortable as possible.”

“I know. I still feel bad, though.”

“Don’t. You’re helping me out of a jam. It’s worth it.”

“You’re helping me too.” Sighing, she grows quiet, and I don’t have much else to say, so I turn up the volume on the TV and watch the Rams get crushed by the 49ers, over and over again.

Marilee lays her head back against the couch cushion and, grabbing her phone, flips to an e-book app—probably to read the latest novel by Abigail Fox, her favorite romance author. I love that she’ll sit here with me even if she doesn’t care at all about sports.

At halftime, I stand to refill the popcorn bowl, which I’ve demolished, when there’s a knock on my door. “Did you invite anyone over?”

Her head pops up over the back of the couch. “No.”

I set the bowl on the counter, stride toward the front door, and look through the peephole, but it’s dark. Covered. Are the neighbor kids being obnoxious again? I fling open the door. “Gotcha!”

But instead of surprised teens, I find an entire group of friends spread out on my front lawn. A chorus of voices cries out, “Congratulations!”

Broad-shouldered Landon Bennett and Blake have got a banner stretched between them, brunette twins Kelsey and Elisse Loveland—along with Lucy and her cousin April Reynolds—are carrying platters of food. And former bodyguard Frederick Shaw and his newly affianced Princess Chloe Huntington flank them all, carrying bottles of wine.

“Uh.” It’s all I can say, because what in the world? “Lee?”

She appears at my elbow, wrapped in one of my quilts. Her eyes are wide. “What are you guys doing?”

“We are here to celebrate your nuptials,” Chloe says in her British-like accent as she looks at Lucy beside her. “A little bird told us the two of you finally got married.”

Finally, huh? Geez.Subtle, Chloe.

Lucy flashes us an apologetic smile. “Sorry. I know they weren’t our beans to spill, but Chloe can be very scary when she’s sniffing out a secret.”

“What can I say? It’s a gift.” The princess, who is all dignity and grace, holds up the wine and flutes in her hand. “Now, can we come inside, please? Since you insisted on leaving us out of the actual ceremony, we insist on throwing you a bit of a last-minute wedding shower.”

“Um, sure. Come in, come in.” Marilee waves to our friends, who rush forward and give us hugs.

Within seconds, everyone is inside. Food and drinks have been set on the counter, and Elisse has gone through my cabinets to find plates and napkins. Now all of our friends surround us, their eyes wide, expectant.

“Well?” April, who at five feet nothing is even shorter than Marilee, pushes her red bangs out of her eyes before brandishing a hand on her hip. “What gives, guys? How did this happen? When? Was it a secret romance?” She sighs happily. “Friends to lovers is my absolute favorite trope.”

From what Marilee has told me, April—an aspiring author and avid reader—is always seeing things in story form, not reality.

“So. Um.” I clear my throat. “The little bird who informed you of our marriage should havealsotold you that our marriage is…not exactly conventional.”

“Exactly.” Marilee twists her hands in front of her body. A nervous laugh titters out of her. “Jordan’s custody of Ryder was questioned and?—”

“Oh, the little birddidtell us all of that, including the fact that the reason for it is a secret.” Elisse moves behind the kitchen island and begins to remove the foil from the dishes, shooing Landon out of the way as she goes. “But we all thought maybe it was just an excuse to finally be together without having to admit your true feelings.”

I groan inwardly. Leave it to Elisse…

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