Chapter 42
Fires are cleansing, right?
Amelia
I’m not totally surprised when Alex gently wakes me up a couple of hours after we fall asleep.
“Amelia, baby, Lizzie needs you.”
He nuzzles my neck, and I’ve instantly found my new favorite way to wake up as his spicy scent surrounds me. I smile with my eyes closed, but then my brain makes sense of his words, and I blink a few times to see him hovering over me, his jade eyes bright.
“Hi, sunshine,” he says with a sweet smile before dropping an even sweeter kiss to my lips.
“Where is she?” I move to sit up and Alex hands me a pile of clothes. He’s already thrown on sweats and a T-shirt. I could really get used to seeing him like this. He looks amazing in his suits and ties, but there’s just something about a pair of low-slung grey sweatpants on a sexy man.
“Out in the living room.”
I nod and pull on the panties, shorts, and tank top.
“I’m going to hang out in here. Watch a movie or something. Give you two some time alone, but I’m nearby if either of you needs me for anything.”
“Okay. There’s no telling where her mind is right now.” After another soft kiss, we separate, and he settles on the bed, flipping on the TV.
Bean is sitting on the couch, staring straight ahead, but in that ‘not really seeing anything’ way. I drop to the cushion next to her and her head instantly falls to my shoulder, her hand gripping mine.
“We can’t go on a murder spree, right?” she wonders.
“I’d rather not go to prison.”
She sighs. “Yeah, I wouldn’t be able to live my best life there. And then they win. I refuse to let them win, Minnie.”
I squeeze her hand. “Good. They suck.”
We sit like that for a long time before she speaks again.
“I didn’t think he was the best guy in the world, but I never expected he could do something like this to me.”
The anguish in my best friend’s voice breaks my heart.
Calvin and Stephanie were smart to leave the resort because if either of them were still around here, I would probably end up spending the night in a jail cell.
I’m not usually a violent person. I’d much rather settle things with a good old-fashioned dance-off, Hollywood movie style.
“Are you imagining us challenging them to a dance-off right now?” Bean asks me.
“Yes, yes, I am,” I confirm. “Our group could take on anything or anyone they throw at us.”
“And at the end, Raelynn comes out and does a few moves, then throws hands like ‘take that, bitch.’ And they just slink away while everyone’s cheering for us.”
“I’d watch that movie.”
“Me, too.” She takes a stammered breath. “I didn’t think this was how my movie would end.”
“It’s not, Bean. This is the beginning of your movie. You’re going to get a job on a cruise ship in the Caribbean for the fall, meet some hot musician, have a whirlwind romance, and live happily ever after.”
She sits up, crinkles her nose, and purses her lips at me. “A musician on a cruise ship? That’s a terrible story!”
I shrug. “It’s like five in the morning and I haven’t slept much for the last few days, you get crappy stories from me in this situation.”
“No shit. I need to let you get some more sleep so you can help me decide where the hell I’m going on an adventure.
I’m going to call the airline and resort in Cancun tomorrow.
Change two tickets to one, pick a totally different place, and spend a week or two or whatever just finding myself or screwing my way through a baseball team or something. ”
“That’s a very specific game plan you have there.”
“I know, right? I’m much better at writing stories on very little sleep than you are. But seriously, can we spitball vacation spots at breakfast?”
I yawn and nod. “Yeah, I was going to do that anyway.”
She cocks her head questioningly. Shit, I didn’t mean to say anything, but this lack of sleep is getting to me.
“Your dad said we need a vacation from this vacation, and I’m supposed to pick a destination.”
“He’s right. It’s been a busy two weeks. And Min, you deserve this happiness. Just because my shit’s weird right now doesn’t mean you aren’t allowed to enjoy what you two are starting here.”
“I know. A lot’s happened in the last few weeks, so it’s kind of hard to figure out where we all stand on stuff.”
Bean gets to her feet, dragging me with her, and hugs me tight. “I’m going to go crash in one of the other bedrooms in here if you two don’t mind. In a few hours, we’ll get up, drink a shit ton of coffee, and make plans for two different vacation adventures. Just promise me one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“You won’t elope without me there. Screw everyone else, but I’m not being left out.”
“You’re adorably goofy. Go to bed. Wake me up whenever.”
I turn but she stops me. “Thanks for being my best friend. And the best kind of best friend. Today…or I guess yesterday…could have been a million times worse than it was. And I know it wasn’t just you that made it better, but like always, you took charge and made this day your bitch.
” Her serious face morphs into a humored smirk.
“No wonder you got the job as Dad’s secretary and he fell madly in love with you. ”
I roll my eyes. “My official title is Personal Assistant, and I’m fucking amazing at my job. Now, to bed with you, or I’m going to spend my morning finding you a job on a cruise ship.” I walk toward the closed door of the bedroom where Alex is waiting for me.
She laughs. “I love you, you asshole. Though I’m disappointed that you put on your own clothes instead of one of Dad’s shirts for this talk.”
“Love you too, Beanie Weanie.”
My smirk over my shoulder makes her narrow her eyes, and then they go wide.
“I knew it was you! Henry and Raerae won’t stop calling me that! Damn you, Minnie!”
“It’s been hilarious, but it was actually Haven that started it.” I open the door, turn and blow her a kiss, then close it behind me. I climb into bed and curl up on my side next to Alex, my head on his chest. He pulls me close, and we’re both asleep again in minutes.
In the morning, we make our way down to the coffee bar and then the dining room.
No longer fighting our feelings or hiding our relationship, Alex sits close to me and can’t seem to stop touching me in one way or another. Not that I mind in the least. His arm is around the back of my chair, and he’s running his hand up and down my arm softly.
Bean’s off on another tangent, this time about how she never wanted to go to Cancun in the first place. We’ve let her bitch about whatever she’s needed to.
My dad sits down at the empty chair across from me and smiles at Bean. “Hey, sweetheart. I was thinking of asking your dad here to join me for a round of golf if that’s okay with you.”
“Oh god, he’d probably enjoy that a lot more than hearing me complain all day, and then I won’t feel bad when I drag Minnie back to the spa.” She tilts her head thoughtfully. “Actually, I want to go to the nail salon and get rid of the wedding nails. Then maybe the spa.”
“Whatever you want, BW.”
She glares at my shortened form of Beanie Weanie. “I’m going to get some bling on my middle fingers so you never miss it when I flip you off, MM.”
Dad looks at Alex and shakes his head with a grin. “I can’t even understand them sometimes anymore. It’s like when they were ten and made up their own language.”
I choke on my coffee laughing. It started as a way to swear without the adults knowing, and we had an entire notebook full of fake words by the end of the school year. Neither of us remembers much of it anymore, but our versions of ‘fuck’, ‘shit’, and ‘suck it’ are ingrained into both our memories.
Alex’s green eyes sparkle as he looks at us. “A whole secret language, huh?”
“Oh yeah. I think I still have the notebook somewhere.” Bean grins back at him. “But anyway, please go, Dad. You’ll have a better time with Barry than you will with us unless you’ve suddenly discovered a love of manicures.”
“Pretty sure I’d choose almost anything over a manicure.” He turns to my dad. “What time are we hitting the course?”
“Half an hour. Your dad is already out there, trying to teach your mom how to play. Grant and that boy who better not break Haven’s heart so I don’t have to murder him are teeing off with us.”
“Dax, Dad. His name is Dax, and something tells me we don’t need to worry about that,” I say.
“And you’ll have plenty of help hiding the body if it does come to that,” Alex tells him.
“I’ll need it.”
Bean chuckles. “You two are dreaming if you think either of you will get to him before Grant does. I’m still half convinced he and Haven are really twins.”
“Lizzie, I love you, but I’m not having this conversation with you again today. They’re not secretly twins separated at birth.” Dad stands and looks at Alex. “I’ll see you in thirty minutes.”
He claps Alex’s shoulder as he walks past and grins at me. After being worried about my dad accepting our relationship, a smile takes over my face at the sight.
An hour or so later, Bean’s nails are hot pink, mine are bright blue, and our middle fingers are accented with glitter and jewels. Is it slightly immature? Sure. Do we care? Not even a little bit.
As we’re leaving, Haven walks in wearing a hoodie that’s about five sizes too big.
“Ooh, I like. Those would make flipping Grant off even more fun than normal. I figured I’d take advantage of Raerae hanging with Henry and the guys golfing, and come get rid of these fancy ass things.” She wiggles her French-tipped fingers at us after pushing her sleeves up.
“We’re hitting the spa again now. Come find us or text us when you’re done. We’ll have lunch and chat. Maybe have a movie night or something,” Lizzie tells her.
“Um, did you know they have a game room here?” Haven asks us.
“What?” We both answer in unison like cartoon characters.