Page 36 of That Time I Kissed The Groomsman Grump
“Than both of us?” Hawk frowns. “Hmm.”
Watching him clamber out of the pool, soaked and shivering, is a pretty glorious sight. Kasey walks over, drapes an arm over his wet shoulders. “Way to lose graciously, Hawk.”
He turns to Natalie. “Don’t worry, darling. We’ll win the chicken fights.”
Darling?
Spoiler alert: Hawk and Natalie don’t win the chicken fights. Nella and Three do.
Then the triplets win the water balloon toss—after which Hawk points out they had two people on one side to catch the throws, so it wasn’tquitefair.
Kasey overrules him.
Amber and I win the sandcastle-building contest next. As a mom who brings her kids to the beach and the park all the time, Amber definitely had the edge. When it’s time for limbo, almost everyone unanimously votes to skip it. Except for Kasey. She’s the sole holdout who wants to prove how low she can go, but Natalie steps in.
“Let’s call it a day and give the trophy to Amber for being the best sport,” she says.
Hawk brushes sand off his shoulders. “Sympathy vote, eh?”
“More like pregnancy vote,” Natalie says.
“Fair enough.” Hawk turns to Kasey. “What about the other trophy?”
“Exactly!” Kasey grins. “That’s why we still need to limbo.”
“Hawk can take the other trophy for traveling the farthest,” Natalie suggests.
“Fair enough,” Hawk says.
“Anyway,” Natalie adds, “we don’t want everyone’s skin peeling on the day of the wedding, right, Kase? That won’t be good for pictures.”
Ah. Appealing to Kasey’s image of a perfect wedding album. Smart.
“I think it might be too late for Beau already,” Tess says. We all turn to check out the groom, and sure enough, his shoulders are already pinking up.
“That color will increase for several hours,” Darby points out.
Olivia cringes. “He’ll probably be fried by tonight.”
Kasey throws a towel over Beau. “You are not allowed to peel, Beau Slater!”
“Hey.” Beau appraises the wedding party. “You’reallgetting burned. We should probably get going soon.”
At Beau’s direction, the wedding party disperses to their chairs and towels, preparing to leave the beach. My gaze follows Natalie as she digs around in her bag, pulling out a gauzy cover-up. After brushing leftover sand from her body, she slips the cover-up over her perfect curves. I’ve been trying not to watch her, but she’s some kind of magnet for my eyes.
Wherever Natalie is, I’m aware. At all times.
I glance at Hawk just as Olivia approaches him, looping an arm through his. She says something in his ear, then tosses her head back. Within seconds, they’re heading in the direction of the bar. So I grab my towel, shake it out, then trudge across the sand toward Natalie.
Coming up behind her, I stand close enough to smell her tropical suntan lotion, but not close enough to touch her. I may want to wrap my arms around her, but I’ll maintain my boundaries. As a gentleman.
“For the record,” I say, my voice low, just between us, “I like the black suit better.”
These are the words that come out of my mouth. But what I’m actually thinking is,You’re the most gorgeous woman on this beach no matter what you’re wearing.
Nat spins around to face me, her cheeks glowing pink. This could be from the sun or a reaction to my compliment. Either way, a dusting of freckles emerges on her nose. It’s a perfect constellation. She looks down, smoothing her hands along the cover-up. The outline of the black suit is visible through the sheer fabric.
“Thanks.” She lifts her chin. “But it’s no turquoise bikini.”
