Chapter 13
Glenna stretched out on a lounge chair, her skin still prickling from the shock of cold water after she’d cannonballed in with Kelsey. There would never be a day when the sound of her little girl’s laughter, a sound she had feared she’d never hear again, didn’t make her heart feel full.
Petra floated nearby on an inflatable unicorn, one arm draped over her eyes, the other lazily trailing in the water.
“You’re gonna burn if you don’t reapply the white stuff,” she called.
Glenna smirked, reaching for the sunscreen bottle beside her. “Since when do you care about my skin?”
“Since Gunnar threatened to waterboard me if I let his guests turn into lobsters.” Petra finally peeked out from under her arm, squinting. “Besides, you’re pale enough to crisp up like bacon.”
Kelsey splashed Marissa, who yelped and retaliated with a wave that sent the little girl shrieking toward the shallow end. Glenna’s chest tightened with something dangerously close to happiness. Was this how normal people lived?
Sign me up, I’m all in.
Siobhán emerged from the villa, balancing a tray of iced drinks. “Lemonade for the princesses, and something stronger for the adults.” She handed her a glass, the condensation already beading down the sides. “You look like you’re about to melt into the chair.”
Glenna took a sip, the tart sweetness cutting through the heat. “I think I’ve died and gone to heaven.”
The ice clinked in the glass as she took another sip, the lemonade sharp enough to make her eyes water.
Kelsey’s laughter bubbled up again, as she tried and failed to dunk Marissa’s head underwater.
The Italian woman pretended to gasp for air, flopping dramatically onto her back before pulling Kelsey into a hug.
This isn’t real.
The thought was unwelcome, but it slithered in regardless.
None of this is yours.
Siobhán dropped onto the lounge chair beside hers, her dark hair damp at the temples. “You’re thinking too hard.”
“Am I that obvious?”
“You’ve got guilty mom written all over your face.” Siobhán nudged her with a toe. “Relax. She’s happy. You’re both here. That’s all that matters.”
Glenna exhaled, watching Kelsey clamber around Marissa, chattering in broken Italian. “I don’t even know what to do with this.” She gestured vaguely at the villa, the pool, the women lounging like they didn’t have a care in the world. “I’m used to fighting for every damn thing.”
“Yeah, well.” Siobhán adjusted her sunglasses, her voice dropping. “Sometimes the fight just changes.”
Kelsey splashed Marissa again, and the woman let out a mock scream, lunging after her.
“Did you get it?” Serena flopped into the sun lounger.
“I did.” Siobhán fanned herself with her ereader. “Echo Kent is to die for, but Mason Hughes is giving him a run for his money.”
“Don’t give me spoilers,” Serena grumbled, “or I’m going to drown you in the pool.”
“Liar.” She glanced at Glenna and must have seen the confusion on her face. “The new Riley Edwards is out and it’s epic.”
“Okay, but if we’re talking books, I need recommendations. I haven’t read anything in years that wasn’t a parenting forum or a ‘how to survive on minimum wage’ blog.”
Siobhán snorted, adjusting her sunglasses. “Well, we’re fixing that. Immediately.” She grabbed her phone, thumb flying over the screen. “Riley Edwards’ Red Team series. Start there. Military romance, but like—actual military. None of that fluffy stuff. These men have cahones.”
Petra sat up, the unicorn float hissing under her. “Oh, god, yes. And Kris Michaels’ Kings of Guardian and the OG Guardian Security. If you like your heroes broody, lethal, and packing enough trauma to fill a duffel bag, she’s your girl.”
Marissa, draped over a chair like a sun-warmed cat, lifted her head. “Olivia Michaels’ Watchdog Security. If you like stories with woofers, hard-headed heroes and awesome heroines, don’t go past her.”
Kelsey cannonballed into the pool again, sending a wave sloshing over the edge.
Jorja, sprawled on her stomach with her feet kicking lazily in the water, groaned.
“I’m telling you, you’re all been sleeping on Cristin Harber.
She’s back writing, you heathens. Titans?
I have to fan myself every time Jared Westin makes an appearance.
” She pointed at Chari, “don’t you go telling Nemo I said that, because he’ll tell, the Jerk-God, and then he’ll pout for hours that I’m?—”
“Fawning over a fictional dude, when you have the real thing here at home,” all the others chimed in to finish.
They are crazy.
“Wait. Cristin Harber’s writing again? Since when?”
Siobhán’s grin was all teeth. “Since now, and if you don’t one-click every single one, I’m telling Kelsey you’re hoarding her gummy bears.”
Glenna gasped, mock-offended. “You wouldn’t.”
“I would.” Siobhán’s finger hovered over her phone. “One. Click.”
Laughter bubbled up inside her as she snatched up her own phone and tapped furiously. The screen lit up with a confirmation—purchase complete. Something warm unfurled in her chest, dangerous and sweet. This was indulgence.
A Cristin Harber new release…what a treat.
Jorja sat up, water sluicing off her skin. “Okay, but we can’t forget the real question.” She turned to Glenna, eyes gleaming. “Audiobook or paperback?”
Glenna blinked. “I… don’t know? I haven’t?—”
“Audio,” Petra and Siobhán said in unison.
“Paperback,” Marissa argued. “You can dog-ear the good parts.”
"You heathen." Serena swatted at Marissa. "Why am I friends with you again?"
Jorja waved a hand. “Narrators make it better. Trust me. A good voice can turn a ‘he growled’ into a full-body experience.”
Glenna’s face heated. She took a long sip of lemonade, the ice clinking against her teeth. “I’ll, uh. Try both?”
Kelsey surfaced beside the chair, gripping the edge with both hands, her dark hair plastered to her skull. “Mommy. I'm hungry.”
The lemonade glass sweated in Glenna’s grip as she set it down. Kelsey’s words snapped her back to the present, the easy chatter about books and audiobooks dissolving like sugar in hot tea.
“Hungry, huh?” She reached down, brushing a damp strand of hair from Kelsey’s forehead. Her skin was warm from the sun, her cheeks flushed with the kind of exhaustion that came from hours of unbridled joy. “You burned off about a thousand calories splashing Marissa like that.”
Kelsey giggled, kicking her legs lazily in the water. “She started it.”
“Oh, I definitely started it,” Marissa agreed. “But you finished it. Like a tiny, vengeful mermaid.”
Petra snorted, swinging her legs off the unicorn float. “A mermaid with aim. I’m impressed.”
Glenna stood, brushing off her thighs. “C’mon, kiddo. Let’s go raid the kitchen before you turn into a prune.” She held out a hand, and Kelsey grabbed it, her small fingers slipping into Glenna’s palm like they’d never been apart.
Siobhán tossed Glenna a towel. “There’s leftover pasta in the fridge, the pantry’s got enough snacks to feed an army, or shop in the pantry for anything you want to bring back to your place.”
“It feels like I’m feeding an army sometimes.” Not that she was ever going to complain about it again.
“Or one growing six-year-old,” Jorja added, wringing out her hair. “Seriously, Kelsey. Where do you put it all?”
Kelsey skipped beside Glenna as they headed toward the villa, her wet footprints darkening the sun-bleached stones. “I’m a shark,” she declared. “Sharks eat all the time.”
Glenna laughed. “Well, this shark’s about to get fed.”
Kelsey tugged her hand. “Can we make grilled cheese? Please?”
Glenna hesitated. “I don’t know if they have?—”
“They have everything,” Kelsey insisted, bouncing on her toes. “Gunnar showed me. He said his kitchen’s got magic in it.”
Glenna raised an eyebrow. “Magic, huh?”
“Uh-huh. Like, the fridge always has cheese, and the bread doesn’t get moldy ever.”
Glenna bit back a smile. “Well, if Gunnar says it’s magic, I guess we’d better test it.”
The kitchen was cool and dim after the glare of the pool, the air conditioning a blessedly silent hum. Kelsey bolted for the fridge, throwing open the door with the dramatic flair of a game show host revealing a prize. “See? Cheese.”
Glenna leaned in, surveying the shelves. Blocks of cheddar, gouda, something soft and white wrapped in parchment. A wedge of Parmesan.
Jesus.
“Okay, kid. You win. Let’s gather what we need and take them back to the suite, ‘kay?”
“Yes!” Kelsey grabbed a stool, dragging it to the counter with a scrape of wood on tile. “I’ll help.”
“From the chair?”
“I’ll tell you where everything is.” Like a freaking queen, Kelsey directed her to the pantry, and Glenna grabbed bread, mayo, and some pickles. A red-and-blue bag caught her eye.
“Hey, Kels do you like Tayto chips?”
“Crisps, mommy.” Kelsey called back, “they’re Irish and sooooooo yummy.”
She ain’t kidding.
“Okay then.” Glenna brought a pack of them, too. “Come on, chicky, let’s go get some food in your tummy.”
“Yay!” Kelsey raced ahead. The second she got in the door, she raced down the hall. “I gotta potty.”
Glenna washed her hands at the sink, and pulled out a pan.
That will work.
“I’m back.”
“Hey, Back. Wanna sit on the counter?”
“Mommy.” Kelsey squealed at her teasing and lifted her arms.
“Oops, I thought we were calling you Back today.” She sat her on the counter. “Your job is to hand me everything. Got it?”
“Got it.” Kelsey handed her a slice of bread, her small face scrunched in concentration. “You’re gonna make it extra crispy, right?”
“Extra crispy,” Glenna confirmed, layering the cheese between the slices. Then she flipped on the gas burner to get the butter sizzling. Once the sandwich was in, she pressed down, and the bread hissed where it met the butter.
Kelsey wriggled on the stool. “Zorro likes his sandwiches cut die-a-bag-nel.”
Glenna blinked for a second while she worked out if die-a-bag-nel was an Italian word for something or a Kelseyism.
Diagonal.
“Does he now?”
“Uh-huh. He says it’s tactical.”
A laugh burst out of her, sharp and unexpected. “Tactical grilled cheese. Of course, makes sense.”