Page 83 of New Day at the Beach House

How are you feeling today?

A little sore, she typed back. But I took Advil like you said.

Good. Stay hydrated. You’ll feel better soon, babe. Have a great day.

“Babe” made her smile. You, too. Yesterday was great!

So are you.

She sent a heart back to him. How nice was it to be involved with a guy like Miles who wasn’t just sweet and considerate, but an actual adult? She’d dated too many guys who’d seemed like overgrown children. No more of that.

As she put her phone down, her mom came up the outside steps, dressed in her gym shorts, sports bra, and tank top.

“Hey,” Trina said. “I didn’t know you were up already.”

“Up and just finished two miles.” Her mom pushed her sunglasses on top of her head as she came through the screen door. She wiped a little sweat off her forehead. “Please tell me you put coffee on.”

“I did. Waiting on it myself. Although it might be ready now.”

Her mom smiled. “Did you have a good time yesterday?”

Trina nodded. “Surfing was so much fun. I actually managed to stand up a few times! Only for about a second, but I still did it. Only downside is I am sore today. Surfing uses way more muscles than you might think. Especially my core. Man. I might be moving slowly until this Advil kicks in.”

“The best kind of exercise is the kind you don’t know you’re doing.”

Trina laughed. “That’s exactly what it was like.” She put her stuff aside. “Let’s go see if that coffee’s ready.”

They went inside, the aroma of freshly brewed coffee greeting them.

Trina inhaled. “That is seriously the best smell.”

“I agree.” Her mom got cups down from the cabinet.

Trina leaned against the counter, feeling every muscle as she moved. “How was pizza night with Ethan?”

“Really nice. Your grandmother headed over to Miguel’s not long after we ate, so Ethan and I went for a walk on the beach. We ended up sitting by the pool for a while and just talking. It was nice. Oh! Kat’s ex showed up. But that happened when we were out walking the beach, so we missed all the drama.”

Trina straightened. “Ray was here?”

“Yep.” Her mom nodded. “Claire actually texted me to apologize about the noise, which was how I found out. Danny and Alex ended up escorting him off the property. They took him to the Best Western in town and made him get a room. He was pretty drunk, apparently.”

“Wow. Kat must have been upset.”

“I think she was all right. Danny and Alex acted pretty quickly.” Her mom filled her cup, then filled Trina’s.

“Still,” Trina said.

“I know.” Her mom got the creamer out and set it on the counter by the sugar. Roxie wasn’t using sugar lately. She’d switched to packets of the fake stuff.

“What time did Mimi get back?”

“No idea.” Her mom popped the top of the creamer bottle and splashed some in. “But it was after I went to bed.”

“And before I came home.” Trina fixed her coffee, too. “She certainly enjoys her time with Miguel, doesn’t she?”

“She does. Makes me happy. She’s got new life in her.” Her mom sipped her coffee. “That is good. Not that your grandmother was in a bad place or anything like that, but she’s just got a pep in her step, you know?”

“I do.” Trina tipped her head toward the porch. “Let’s go back outside so we don’t wake her.”

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