Chapter Twenty-Seven
Today I feel like a little kid, despite the situation. I get to have a sleepover with my best friend. Even if it means that her fiancé is sitting in my driveway, keeping an eye out for my insane ex—or worse, my father.
Giving Athena her commands, she sits in place and waits for me to open the door and welcome the guest in. Her tail whips back and forth across the floor. If I had to guess, Aubrey is about to get a face full of her tongue in puppy kisses.
“Hey!” I say, opening the door to find Aubrey on the other side with her way-too-large overnight bag. “What the heck did you bring?”
I give Athena the hand signal to come greet our guest. She does exactly what I thought she would and sits at Aubrey’s feet and kisses her hand until Aubs bends down to give love to her.
“Oh my gosh. Too much. I didn’t know if it would be hot or cold in your bed. I mean when Wyatt is here, I assume hot… Ew, wait… Are the sheets clean?”
“Freshly laundered this morning.” I nod.
“Okay, good. I brought all the ingredients for hot fudge sundaes.” She empties the bag out onto the counter. “And new smutty books for us to read together. And face masks. And your favorite red nail polish for manis and pedis.”
“Aubs. You didn’t have to bring all this stuff over.” I pick up the bottle of nail polish and, sure enough, it’s Ring the Alarm, my favorite fire-engine red.
She busies herself in the kitchen, putting the sundae supplies away. “Of course I did. Not only is this the first sleepover we’re getting in Maine, but it’s kid free and the stress levels are high. So all the pampering is needed.”
She hugs me and hands me the book she brought while Athena sniffs at our hands and the book.
“Are we reading first? I’ve been strictly instructed that we do not go out on the patio in the hammocks. Or to the beach.” I roll my eyes.
“Probably the smart choice when there’s two assholes out there who want you and our man dead.
Which by the way, he just dropped it on his family that he loves you and you love him, and you didn’t even give your bestie any of the details?
” She crosses her arms and taps a foot, showing her annoyance with me.
“I’m sorry. I got kind of… preoccupied for a minute.”
“I bet you did. Any surface in this house you didn’t get preoccupied on?” She laughs.
Looking around, I answer, “Mmmm. Probably not.”
“Come on. Let’s go snuggle my new friend and read our book. I heard chapter five is a good one.” She gives me a wink, and I lead her to the bedroom with a bowl of M&M’s.
Bringing my hand from my side to my shoulder with my palm facing up, I command Athena. “Come.”
She hops into action, following at my side, looking like she’s in a dog show with her perfect posture and pointed nose. The only thing that sets her apart from a perfect show dog is that she hops a little as she walks from excitement.
“She’s beautiful,” Aubrey says, looking back at her.
“She’s the best. And such a snuggle bug. I thought she was going to suffocate Emma the other night during our movie. She was laid out across her neck, body stretched out, showing off how long she is.” Scratching behind her ears, she preens at the attention.
Opening the bedroom door, Aubrey’s mouth drops. “Girl, how do you ever leave this room? Tell me this is your favorite room in the house.”
I take in the bedroom from her eyes. The back wall is one large slider with an attached deck, overlooking the section of his yard open to the beach and cliffs.
An Alaskan King bed sits as the focal point of the room with one of Liam’s headboards on a sage green accent wall that draws your eye to this area right after the stunning view out of the slider.
“I actually don’t even know if I can pick a favorite room. Wyatt did such a good job renovating this home, I think every room is my favorite for different things.”
Hopping into the bed, I pat at the end for Athena to join us. Raising the head of his adjustable bed so we can read and sit comfortably, Aubrey joins us.
“That’s it. Book club will be held in this bed from here on out. Esther can bring coffee.”
“Oh, but that’s a good idea! We could do a traveling book club and each take turns hosting!”
My phone buzzes next to me on the bed.
Wyatt: I miss you.
Me: In bed reading with Aubs and Athena.
Wyatt: Jealous. I want to be in bed with you.
Me: If you were in bed with me, we wouldn’t be reading.
Wyatt: True. What book are you reading?
Me: Shattered Dreams by N. Thompson. The new book club book. Don’t tell me you’re behind!
Wyatt: I’ve been a little busy… giving you your own spice scenes to fantasize about. Can’t have you falling in love with a new book boyfriend. Is it spicy?
Me: Would Esther pick anything else?
Wyatt: My man, Franklin. He’s still got it.
Me: You are so weird.
“What are you smiling about? Do I want to know?” Aubrey asks, tucking her own phone under her leg.
“Wyatt thinks Franklin and Esther are freaks in the sheets.” I giggle. Saying it out loud makes him sound like a weirdo.
Her nose crinkles in disgust. “Okay, you two are seriously wrong. Why the hell are you even talking about Esther’s sex life?”
I shrug. “I bet Franklin has it going on. He was hot.”
Wyatt: Pick a scene. Send it to me. Then make sure Aubrey sleeps in the guest room.
Me: She’ll be mad at you for ruining our sleepover.
Wyatt: Should be home at three AM. Make sure you’re naked and ready for me >
Me: Yes, Sir.
“Wyatt says you need to be in the guest room by three AM.” Sliding down on the pillows and snuggling into the big down comforter, I grab the book, opening it to chapter one.
“Seriously? He’s ruining our sleepover to get some ass?”
“I told him you’d be mad.”
She mutters under her breath. “Whatever. I can’t even complain because I’m so happy for you. I’m setting the timer for twenty minutes. Let’s get chapter one and two done.”
Athena huffs between us, stretching out and pushing against my legs with her paws. She’s supposed to stay at the foot of the bed, but she likes to creep up when she thinks you aren’t paying attention, and then you end up with a paw to your eye when she has puppy dreams.
“Twenty minutes.” I nod. Looking at my best friend snuggled in my boyfriend’s bed with our smutty books out in the open, it hits me all of a sudden. A year ago, this never could have happened. James would have lost his shit if I read smutty romance.
“Am I not good enough for you? You need to read this fucking filth to get through a night with me?” Slaps. Punches.
Now, I have a man that not only reads them with me, but re-enacts them. Tears well at the corners of my eyes.
I scan the first page, trying to will the tears back before letting my eyes settle on the first sentence.
Yup, this is the life I want. No, this is the life I need. The tears are replaced by a smile as I forge ahead.
Aubrey and I read until dinner time when Cooper brings us takeout from Rebels. I was going to be kind and let Cooper eat inside the house, but she quickly shooed him out so that we could continue our girls’ night.
“I’m really thankful for this new family of yours. Anna taking the kids so you guys can babysit me as a grown adult is something she shouldn’t have to worry about, but she does it without complaining. I want to get them something to say thank you,” I say, taking my first bite.
“You know you don’t have to. They’re happy as a stuffed pig to have the kids on overnights.
I secretly think Anna misses the noise of six kids in her house.
Meanwhile, I’m loving the quiet with just my one gone.
She’s a super mom. I have no idea how she survived six, especially those men. ” She shakes her head.
I can’t imagine these Keaton boys when they were teenagers. They’re trouble enough now when they’re all together. And after seeing the way Cooper and Wyatt were ready to come to blows, I can only imagine the number of holes in walls and broken vases from their childhood.
“Which is exactly why she deserves a treat. Something special for her and Nathan.”
“Anna has been saying that she wants to go on a whale watch with everybody. She tried to plan it last year, but with the inn and Olivia, it just never worked out.”
“That sounds fantastic and like a perfect opportunity for me to get them something.” Grabbing my phone, I quickly search for local whale watches. “Look, there’s one available next weekend.”
I turn my phone to Aubrey so she can see.
“Oh, that would be perfect. Let me check with everybody else.” She picks up her phone this time and sends out a group chat for all the women, minus Anna.
Aubs: Sophia and I want to book a whale watch for your parents next weekend. Is everyone free on Saturday?
Emma: Hell yeah. Let Rome check with Jasmine to see if she’s okay taking the Saturday night crowd by herself.
Evelyn: You can count me and Hunter in!
Willow: Yes! Finally Gunnar and I won’t miss something. We will be back in Balsam Cliffs on Wednesday.
Willow: Oh! And Candace and Jeremy will come with us and bring the baby for everybody to meet finally!
Violet: I have to check with Gran and Esther to see if they can cover the inn, but I will say yes for both of us for now!
Aubs: Perfect. We are going to go ahead and book tickets. If you can’t come Violet, we will just have two extra.
Violet: I already heard back from Gran, she said ‘of course’.
Emma: Rome said that Jasmine owes him so count us in too.
Locking her phone screen, Aubrey sets it back on the table. “Sounds like a done deal. Let’s book those tickets. Oh wait, should you check with Wyatt?”
“No, I have his schedule already. He’s off on Saturday, but I’ll tell Kane that he’s on his own here.”
Me: Are you good being here on your own Saturday so that the family can go on a whale watch?
Kane: Sure, I’ll just have Wyatt tell the chief to keep my number unblocked. I haven’t seen any activity lately. Not even any cameras around the area in Massachusetts, where Hugh was picked up before.
Me: Fantastic. Thank you so much, Kane. We really owe you one.