Page 19 of Sunsets at the Beach House

He blinked a few more times. Then a slow, easy smile spread across his face. “Yeah, I’d love to have kids.” The smile vanished a second later. “Wait. Do you not want kids?”

“No, I do. I do a lot. I just needed to know where you stood on them, because I’m sort of right in the middle of my child-bearing years and being with a guy like you, who’s got me thinking about the future, means I’m thinking about kids and if you didn’t want them—”

He took her hand. “I do. Like maybe three. But I’d be okay with two. Or four. I have three brothers and two sisters, so I kinda dig the idea of a big family.”

Trina exhaled and grinned. “You’re one of six?”

He nodded. “Crazy, right?”

“Not crazy. Super cool.” Trina’s excitement came back. She’d been worried over nothing. She squeezed his hand. “You know what? I just found out about and met my baby brother last night.”

“What?” Miles’s brow bent. “You’re going to have to explain that one.”

She laughed. “I will, totally. Maybe we should figure out what we’re getting first.”

“Right.” He let go of her hand, picked up his menu, then put it down again. “Hey, we’re good, right?”

She nodded, admiring his handsome face. He’d make a great dad someday. “We are so good.”

“Cool.” He went back to his menu.

Trina stared at him over the top of hers. Miles wanted kids. Lots of kids. She kind of wanted to text her mom and Mimi to tell them, but that was silly. She focused on deciding about her meal.

“Do you know what you’re getting?” Miles asked.

“I was thinking about the Surfer’s Delight. Veggie omelet with pepper jack cheese and a side of home fries.” She lowered her menu. “You?”

“I’m thinking the Elvis Special.”

Trina frowned. “What’s that? I didn’t see that.”

“Second under Pancakes.”

She looked. Banana pancakes layered with peanut butter and served with a side of bacon. She laughed. “That looks like a lot of food.”

“I’m going to hit the waves for a couple hours before I go in tonight. I’ll work it off. You’re welcome to come. Can you?”

“No. I’m driving my mom back to Port St. Rosa so we can get some more of our stuff and she can bring her car back.”

“Oh. Next time?”

“Definitely next time.” She put her menu down. “Can I have a bite of your pancakes?”

“You can have anything you want.”

She smiled. That had never felt more true.

Roxie went out for her beach walk as usual, but all the wedding talk had gotten her thinking about dropping a few pounds before the big day. Mostly so she could eat an extra slice of cake and not worry about it.

She added a few bursts of running to her walk. Near the end, she added some walking lunges. The sand made them trickier than usual. She made sure to take the stairs when she got back, too. She was dripping with sweat by the time she reached the first floor. No surprise there, since she’d stayed out longer and gone farther, thanks to the running.

Despite the sweat, she was glad she’d done it. She’d gotten in a great workout she hadn’t expected. She went in through the back sliders and looked through the reading nook at the bedrooms.

Trina’s door was open. Roxie knew she had already gone to breakfast with Miles, though, because her car hadn’t been parked under the house.

Roxie prayed that conversation went well. She knew how bothered Trina had been last night at the thought of having to break up with him. The last thing Roxie wanted was for that sweet girl to get her heart broken.

There would never be a good time for that, but now was especially not a good time. Not with the salon and the wedding to work on.

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