Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 103102 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 516(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 344(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103102 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 516(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 344(@300wpm)
“Anything good?” She raises a brow.
“Not by your standards.” I pull my Kindle from behind me and place it in her palms.
She wakes the device and scans the home screen. “None of this is dirty.” She points to an especially dry business book. “Well. Maybe this.”
“I told River the same thing.”
“Oh?” She raises a brow.
“Spreadsheets are sexy.”
This time, her laugh is soft. “We feel sexy in our element. We feel sexy when we feel competent.”
Is that it?
“Usually, we think of men that way. They want to feel useful. Sometimes, to an unhealthy degree. But it’s true for women, too.”
“Maybe that’s you,” I say. “Writing about sex.”
“It is me.” She nods. “And it’s you.”
My eyes go to Lexi and Fern and River. Even with Fern right there, Lexi wraps her hand around River’s arm.
She laughs as if he’s the funniest guy she’s ever met.
She’s flirting.
She’s going to keep flirting.
I need to stop her, but I’m already too tired of this.
“You’re not in your element here,” Ida says.
I force myself to look away, but Ms. Beau’s gaze isn’t any easier to take. “What are you talking about?”
“Your sister. Is she serious with that boy, Jake?”
“She was,” I say. “She…”
“Has cold feet?” Ida offers.
Yeah. That’s it exactly. I nod.
“I had them, too,” she says. “Even though I loved Benjamin. I loved everything about him. But I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be a wife. It wasn’t a great time to be a wife, but that was only part of it.” She looks at her grandson as he smiles back at Lexi. “There was another part, too. The same fears about forever.”
That’s hard to believe. “You look so happy in pictures.”
“We were. I was over the moon. But the second he mentioned marriage, I felt that fear. And your sister is like me.”
“Obsessed with sex?”
She laughs. “She values her freedom, but she loves him.”
“She does.”
“You want them together, too, don’t you?”
I nod.
“So why are you sitting here?” she asks. “Keep my grandson busy for a while.”
What?
She lets out an easy laugh. “I guess you need a little help.” She waves to her grandkids.
Immediately, Fern and River turn to her. They drop the smiles and adopt serious, almost concerned, expressions.
Weird.
Really weird.
“River, sweetie, could you do me a favor?” she asks.
He practically runs to us.
“Don’t fuss, sweetheart.” She pulls her sunglasses from her bag and slides them on. “I only want a little quiet.”
“Quiet?” he asks.
“Yes, you kids are too loud. Can you grab me an iced tea?” she asks. “Take Deanna with you.”
He looks at me as if he’s going to ask why, but he doesn’t.
“And Fern, why don’t you show Lexi that cute lifeguard we were talking about?” Ida suggests.
Fern laughs.
Lexi, too. “A cute lifeguard? Okay. I’m willing to bite.”
Ida turns to me. “Why are you still standing there? You look like you need caffeine as much as I do.”
Why is she on my side?
I don’t know, but, for once, I don’t question the good fortune. I jump on the chance.
I take River’s arm and lead him away from the beach.
To somewhere else. Anywhere else.
As long as I keep him distracted.
Chapter Fifteen
River
Newport Beach is nothing like its name. Well, it’s new money the way the name Newport suggests, but it’s not quaint or cute and homey.
The residents disagree. Especially along this stretch of the beach.
This coffee shop sure is determined to call itself quaint. Hardwood floors, wicker chairs, Surf’s Up and Life’s Better by the Beach posters on the wall.
It’s small and cute and completely full of shit. The same as the beach-going patrons sipping lattes from ceramic mugs. The same as all the coastal cities in the county.
Sure, the cities are less stuck-up closer to Los Angeles (and San Diego), but they’re all expensive places, filled with wealthy people who are determined to hold onto their surfer roots. Or artistic roots, in the case of Laguna Beach.
When I first got to Huntington Hills, I stared at the wide streets and clean sidewalks with wonder. Could a place really be this beautiful, charming, peaceful?
It looked a lot like the Riverside suburb where Mom lived, but it was so much more picturesque. Not to mention cooler. It’s probably ninety-five degrees in Riverside today. With the beach breeze, the seventy-something weather isn’t just comfortable. It’s perfect.
And, here, in this small coffee shop, with all the windows open, we’re basically in paradise. If paradise is a Mediterranean climate and a bunch of suburbanites who think they’re slumming it because they bought a three-year-old car.
As a kid, I marveled at the money everywhere. I’d seen it at my grandma’s place, sure, but I was never there long enough to notice the Ray-Bans or wander the outdoor mall with the koi pond.
At thirteen, I loved and hated it in equal measure.
For a long time, I wanted to fit into the big, beautiful world. Lexi Huntington was my role model. She wore designer clothes, but she never called attention to them. She kept her hair and makeup perfect, but she never looked like she cared about them. She charmed guys and aced classes.