Vanessa smiles and accepts it, her perfectly manicured fingernails curling around the can. “Thanks.”
“Pippa isn’t wearing her ring because it’s not here yet, but she looked so adorable in bed this morning, I couldn’t let the moment go. It just felt right, so I proposed … without a ring.”
For a second, Pippa looks shocked, but she hides the look quickly, obviously realizing I overheard at least part of the conversation. Vanessa on the other hand, doesn’t recover quite as quickly. She snorts soda out of her nose and takes a minute to fish a tissue out of her designer beach bag and mop at her face.
“Are you being serious right now?” she demands.
“Deadly,” I say.
Her haughty expression slips for a second, and she frowns slightly. “You’ve only known her for five minutes, Rhett. Is this a good idea?”
It’s not the reaction I expected, and I can see from Pippa’s expression that she is confused by the fact that Vanessa seems to be genuinely concerned about me rather than being catty.
“Five minutes, five years, love is love. What can you do?”
Vanessa straightens up and the softness leaves her face. Her catty expression returns, and her lips press into a thin line. She offers a clipped smile.
“Well then, congratulations, I guess.”
“Thanks,” I say neutrally.
She glances at Pippa again, clearly still unsure how to handle this new reality. “I’ll … I’ll let you two enjoy your day.
She pivots sharply, her designer sunglasses reflecting the sun, and strides off down the beach before she disappears entirely from view.
I exhale, and I turn to Pippa. She’s still seated on her towel, her expression a mixture of relief and disbelief. I sit back down beside her.
“I leave you alone for two minutes, and now I have to marry you?” I mock.
She laughs, a little breathless, shaking her head. “I feel like I just set off a bomb.”
“You did,” I say, letting the corner of my mouth twitch. “But a good one. And now she knows that you’re serious. That we’re serious. That she can’t just waltz in and think she still has some rights over me.”
Pippa leans against me slightly, and I feel the warmth of her shoulder against my arm.
“So … I did well?” she asks with a soft laugh, though the faint flush on her cheeks betrays the adrenaline still coursing through her.
I brush a strand of hair back from her face, holding her gaze. “You handled it like a pro.”
The waves lap gently at the shore in the distance. The tension has eased, replaced by a shared sense of victory and intimacy. I feel a lightness in my chest, the kind that comes from defending something, someone, that matters more than you realized.
“I think you’ve earned some peace. No more drama. Just the ocean, the sun, and me.”
“Peace with you around is like saying pineapple tastes good on pizza,” she says dryly.
“I like pineapple on pizza.”
“Oh, you animal, you,” she splutters.
Unconcerned with her outrage, I lie back and close my eyes.
For the first time in a while, I feel completely, wholly present. Not worried about business, not concerned about past mistakes or future complications, just here, with her, in this perfect slice of time.
Chapter Thirty-One
Pippa
The walk back to the beach house is strangely quiet. Not like how it was on our way to the restaurant. My stomach feels tight, a mixture of adrenaline. The ocean gleams to our left, sparkling in the late afternoon sun, but I can’t fully focus on it. My mind keeps replaying the exchange, my words, the way I’d stuttered like a fish out of water when Vanessa asked about the ring. And how I forced Rhett’s hand. I know he went along with my lie, but he couldn’t really do anything else at that moment.
