Page 64 of Hide Away By the Sea

“Since I haven’t gotten to talk to you in a few days, you don’t mind if I stay over a while?” Seth asked, sitting down in the recliner across from Jensen.

Jensen chuckled and shook his head. “Sorry about that, man. They had me knocked out.”

I dropped off Jensen’s bag into his bedroom and joined them in the living room, sitting next to Jensen on the couch.

Jensen smiled at me and nodded over at Seth. “Should we tell him the good news?”

Seth’s eyes widened in anticipation as he looked back and forth between us. “What did I miss?”

Jensen clasped my hand and smiled at his friend. “Everleigh and I are getting married.”

Seth slapped his knee and burst out laughing. “Well, I’ll be damned,” he exclaimed, coming over to us. He hugged Jensen and then leaned down to embrace me. “Congratulations.” He stepped back and sat on the edge of the coffee table. “It’s about time,” he added happily.

Jensen nodded. “You’re right, it is. And speaking of the wedding, I want to ask you something.” He moved closer to him and smiled. “Will you be my best man?”

Seth hooted and hollered with excitement and jumped to his feet. “Hell yeah, I will.” He rushed over to the refrigerator and pulled out two beers. “This calls for a celebration. Hope you don’t mind if we useyourbeers for this special occasion.”

Jensen chuckled. “Not at all. But I don’t think I’m drinking tonight. Too many pain meds in my system.”

Seth laughed. “Oh yeah, that’s right. No alcohol for you, then.” He put one of the beers back and grabbed a bottle of water in its place. He handed that one to Jensen and tapped his beer against it. Seth was nothing but smiles and I loved it.

“Have you told your parents yet?” he asked me.

Jensen looked quickly over at me. “You might want to do that soon. Now that we’ve told Seth, the whole world will know.”

Seth snorted. “Thanks, man. I can keep a secret, you know.”

Grinning, I glanced down at my phone; it was four o’clock. My parents would still be at the clinic.

“Actually, do you mind if I go see them now? There’s something else I want to talk to them about.” Jensen’s brows furrowed and I waved him off. “I’ll tell you about it later.”

Seth moved over to sit beside Jensen and slapped his shoulder. “Go. We’ll be fine here. We need to figure out the bachelor party anyway.”

Rolling my eyes, I let go of Jensen’s hand and kissed his cheek. “Don’t get too carried away,” I said playfully.

Jensen turned to me and pressed his lips to mine. “We won’t. I promise.”

“Do you mind if I take your Bronco? My car’s still at my house.”

With everything going on, I haven’t had a chance to grab mine. Plus, it was nice driving his car; it was a part of him.

Jensen nodded toward the door. “Get out of here. You don’t ever have to ask me that.”

Seth chortled. “That’s right. Once you’re married, what’s his is yours and what’s yours is . . .” He took a swig of his beer and laughed again. “Well, it’s yours, too.”

I winked at him and stood. “Exactly.” But then, I turned to Jensen, my expression serious. “I’m kidding. I don’t think that way at all.”

Jensen chuckled. “I know.” He waved for me to leave. “I’ll be fine. Go talk to your parents. I’m ready to hear what they say about the wedding.”

They were going to be ecstatic about everything. I said goodbye to them and grabbed the car keys off the counter. As I got into the Bronco, I could still hear Jensen and Seth’s laughter. It was just like old times.

With Jensen being fine and everything falling into place, I felt alive and so full of joy that I thought I’d explode. The wind whipped through my hair as I made the short drive to downtown Southport to my father’s medical practice. There were so many things I needed to tell my parents that I didn’t know where to start first.

When I arrived, I parked out front and bounded up the stairs to the door. My mother was at the desk when I walked inside, writing something down on the calendar. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a low ponytail, and she wore light pink scrubs. There was no one in the waiting room which was perfect. She looked up and her eyes widened when she saw me.

“Hey,” she exclaimed, getting to her feet. “I kept waiting for you to call and tell me you got Jensen home okay.”

I walked behind the desk and gave her a hug around her neck. “Jensen’s home,” I said, letting her go. “Seth’s with him right now.”

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