Page 29 of The House on Firefly Beach
Quickly, Nate faced Sydney, putting his arm out and tossing a lemon in the air. To Sydney’s surprise, she was able to manage, keeping the lemon in the air.
“Here comes number two,” he said, tossing it into the mix with his free hand.
The lemon sailed up in the air and came down in her hand as if she’d tossed it up herself. She kept it going. He threw the third one up, and there they were: both of them working together like they’d done it all their lives. She kept her concentration, not wanting to break for a second, but wondering how long they’d been going.
When the timer finally went off, Malory moaned a loud, annoyed groan. “I cannotbelieveyou two pulled that off!”
Aunt Clara had burst into the room and asked, “What in the world is going on in here? You all sound like you’re having too much fun.” She winked at them.
“Theycertainly are,” Malory said.
She’d asked her crush Brian out, and they’d ended up dating for about six months before they finally decided they were better off as friends.
“Show me!” Robby said.
Sydney swam out of her memory.
“We might be a little rusty,” Nate said, positioning himself up next to her, making her pulse rise. He handed her a lemon. “We had gotten pretty good at it—we used to do it at parties.”
“Why did you come over again?” she asked, recognizing the incredible distraction he’d caused. She was running out of time to make the lemon bars.
“Stop trying to change the subject. Let’s show Robby,” he said, already tossing a lemon in the air.
Just like they’d never stopped practicing, she caught it, sending it back into the air. The lemon went around a few times before Nate sent the second one up. Pretty soon, they were juggling all three to Robby’s cheers.
Nate caught them one at a time, stopping and setting them back on the pile where Sydney had originally put them. “We make a good team,” he said, but when he said it, there was more to his observation than what was on the surface. “And by the way,” he added, “I just came by to say hi. Malory and Juliana have the whole cottage full of hairspray fumes while they get ready for the party, and I had to escape.” He gave Robby a wink, making Robby giggle. “Looks like we’d better get a move on with making these lemon bars. Wanna help, little guy?”
“Sure,” Robby said. Sydney couldn’t deny the curiosity in her son’s eyes when he looked at Nate right then, giving her two juxtaposed reactions: the first was the flutter in her chest at this little moment they were having together and the utter fear that Robby could fall for Nate’s charm as easily as she could.
The last of the lemon bars had come out of the oven, filling the air with the sugary sweet nectar of lemon and butter, and Nate had gone home to help get things ready for the party tonight. While Jacqueline ironed Uncle Hank’s shirt he was wearing to the party, Sydney grabbed her phone to check the time, and only then did she remember the push notification of the email she’d gotten. It had been from someone she didn’t recognize, but seeing the subject line now, it made her pause:NY Pulse Magazine Content Editor Position. Quickly, she set down the strappy sandals she was holding, opened up the email, and scanned the message.
Thank you for reaching out… The team has reviewed your submission and we’d like to set up a call… Could you send us available times and days…
Sydney clasped her hand over her mouth in complete shock. “Oh, my gosh,” she said from behind her fingers.
Jacqueline stopped and set the iron upright, turning down the radio that was playing beach tunes and fixing her eyes on Sydney. “What is it?”
“Uh… It could be nothing,” she said, the insecurity about her ability to compete with the applicants for that level of a writing position surfacing. “Hallie and I were messing around a few weeks ago and we sent my résumé to this big magazine in New York… They want me to call them.”
“Oh, Sydney, that’s amazing!”
“Well, let’s not get too excited,” she warned. It was more directed to herself than her mother.
Robby wandered into the room, wearing the new shorts Sydney had gotten a few weeks ago for church and a two-button Polo shirt. “How do I look?” he said, holding out his arms and tapping his feet in the loafers she’d asked him to wear tonight.
“If I was eight, I’d date ya,” Sydney teased.
Robby squeezed his eyes shut with embarrassment. “Mo-om.”
“What?” She dropped her phone onto the bed and took his hands, dancing with him. “You’re a chick-magnet,” she teased again.
“Mom!” he said, shaking his head. “That’s gross.”
Sydney laughed. “One day, you won’t think so.”
“I will always think so.” He made a face.
“One day, when you grow up, you might get married,” she said.
