Page 37 of New Day at the Beach House

“So am I,” Jules said. She meant it, too. She’d gone from having her doubts to feeling that bubbly excitement that came with knowing she had a good thing on her hands.

And this was shaping up to be maybe the most exhilarating thing she’d ever done musically. Having Cash and Jesse along for the ride was only going to make it more fun.

Jesse rubbed his hands together. “All right, I know we have a ton of work to do but there’s not too much more that we can get done tonight, other than I can show you the studio. But before we do that, why don’t we celebrate?”

Cash was clearly on board. “Sandbar sundaes?”

Jules laughed. “I’ll stick with a glass of champagne, if that’s what you were offering.”

“Anything you want,” Jesse said. “Sandbar sundaes included.” He picked up the house phone and ordered a bottle of champagne and a sundae for Cash.

When he hung up, Jules cleared her throat softly. She’d made her decision. How could she not with all Jesse was doing for her? “There’s one more thing.”

“What’s that?” Jesse asked. “Did we forget something?”

“No, it’s not like that. It’s just, I was thinking—I’d like to debut the song here. Live. What do you think?”

A slow smile spread across his face. “I think that’s the second-best thing I’ve heard all night.”

She frowned. “Second-best?”

He nodded, eyes lit up and filled with amusement. “The first best was you singing Dixie’s Got Her Boots On.”

Trina slept hard. The day—and night—had worn her out. Eating a big old piece of pie for dinner probably hadn’t helped, no matter how delicious it was, because within an hour of getting home from the play, she’d crashed hard.

But sleep was good and necessary, and she didn’t mind it one bit. Now that she was awake, however, she wanted coffee. She’d need it, because she had a few things she wanted to get done before she and Kat went to meet Miles and Alex for their day of surfing. Which sounded so fun she could barely stand it.

Trina pulled on her robe, putting her phone in the pocket, and went out to the kitchen. There were no lights on and no signs of life, proof that both her mother and grandmother were still asleep.

They’d probably crashed just as hard as she had. They’d shared the same sort of day. And, of course, Mimi had overindulged slightly.

She’d want coffee for sure, so Trina quietly got a pot of coffee going, then slipped outside to sit on the deck and watch the day arrive. The sun was up but just barely, leaving a few strands of pink in the sky. Looked like it was going to be a beautiful day.

Just right for spending time at the beach and in the water. Her tan might actually turn into something after today.

She checked her phone. There was a message from Miles. Missed you last night. Looking forward to today.

Smiling, she texted him back. Same here.

She was about to go and check on the coffee when her mom came out with a cup. She put her phone on the cushion beside her. “Morning, Ma.”

“Morning, Trina. How did you sleep?”

“Like it was an Olympic sport, and I was the gold-medal winner.”

Her mom laughed. “Good for you. I slept pretty hard, too. And based on how much rum I think your grandmother had, I wouldn’t look for her for another couple of hours.”

Trina snickered. “Mimi and Miguel sure are something together.”

“They are,” her mom said, coming to sit by her on the sofa. “It’s like they revert to being teenagers. But I say good for her. Good for both of them. We should all be that lucky to find companionship like that at their ages.” She lifted her cup to her mouth. “At any age, really.”

“I agree. Although you and Ethan aren’t doing too badly.”

Her mom smiled and took a sip of coffee. “No, we’re not.”

Trina got up. “Going to get coffee. I’ll be right back.”

“Take your time.” Her mom leaned back and put her feet on the table. “I don’t plan on leaving this spot for a while.”

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