Page 64 of Reverb
Marcella was the one to wave away the words and answer. “Eh, Dom loves being manhandled by that man.”
Mish nearly choked on her tonic water. What she said was true and not a great secret, but she’d never heard Marcella comment likethatbefore about any of them.
David was laughing, but silently.
“Oh, come on.” Marcella gestured at the couple still bobbing around in the pool.
“It’s not that...” Mish stopped, put her glass down, turned to Marcella, then gave her a gentle punch in the arm. “You’re comfortable around us now, huh?”
Marcella leaned her head back. “No idea what you mean, Mish Sullivan.”
This time, David’s chuckle was audible.
“Don’t you start.” Mish leveled a look at him. “Or I’ll throw you in the pool, too.”
He crossed his arms. “I’d like to see you try.”
Oh, it wassoon. She sprang on him, and luck was with her, because he must not have anticipated her movingthatfast. She got him over her shoulder in a fireman’s carry before he croaked out a curse.
They weren’t that far from the pool. Only took a couple of steps to cross the distance.
“Mish.” David sounded both exasperated and amused. “Don’t do something you’ll regret!”
The boys were cheering from the pool, egging her on.
“Don’t think I’m gonna regret this.” She pitched him forward into the pool, but he caught her arms as he fell, his grin wicked, and there was no way she could pull back from his weight taking them both into the cold water of the swimming pool.
Her laugh and his mixed during that fall until there was only the crash of water, then silence when she dropped below the blue surface until she burst forth into the air.
Before they’d hit, David had let go. She had no issues coming up for air. Neither did he—though he’d lost his sunglasses somewhere in the pool. His teeth flashed in the sunlight, dark eyes crinkled with joy and laughter.
Her heart tried to leap from her chest from the sight and the sound.
There was a splash behind her and a streak of red-orange, then Marcella’s dark head broke the surface. They were all here andhers. Her family, her shield against the world and all the fears in her heart. Her strength to move forward, to perform and play and sing the words and music Ray crafted.
She didn’t even care if there were photographs. She floated over to David and pulled him into an embrace, one he slid into easily, as if their bodies already knew each other.
They did. He laid a hand on her shoulder and his smile was brilliant. “No regrets?”
“None,” she said. They treaded water together, lazily rotating in the process. “Thank you.”
A flash of confusion. “For what?”
“For being here.” This wasn’t his job. This was friendship. And trust. She flicked her gaze over David’s shoulder and found Zavier hanging on to the pool’s edge, chatting with Marcella and Ray.
David turned and followed her focus. “You once told me I should ask Zavier about friendship.”
“I did. You should.”
His expression was thoughtful, but after a moment, it turned devilish. “Later, I think.” Then he dunked her under the water.
Well, she deserved that. When she surfaced again, she splashed him, which turned into an all-out water fight between them all, until they were laughing too hard.
Ray held up his hands. “I’m turning into a prune. I gotta get out.”
They all did then, but not before David dove to the bottom of the pool to collect his sunglasses. After drying out a little and collecting their things, the whole lot of them ended up back by the table Mish had claimed before. The woman from earlier had gone, but new guests had arrived, and everyone seemed to eye their group.
She glanced at David and yeah, he’d already scoped out the other guests. “I’m guessing there will be pictures up of all of that by tomorrow.”
