“Yeah, she does.” He pauses and then says, “Oh shit, that’s Franco.” Seeing Rook’s drummer, he’s starstruck. And it’s adorable.
“Where? Also, why are we whispering?”
He laughs but continues quietly, “He just walked out of the house, and he’s standing by the grill now.”
“Oh, yeah, that’s him. The tattoos are dead giveaways. Do you think that’s his wife? He’s married, right?” There’s a strawberry blonde in a leopard print dress standing next to him, holding a margarita glass.
“I don’t know. Probably?”
“Who are we spying on?” Jesse calls out from behind us, and we flinch guiltily and step back from the blinds.
“There are a lot of people on the deck next door. We’re trying to figure out who’s who.”
Fifteen minutes later,we find out when we ascend the stairs from the beach to the deck.
“Welcome!” Gus calls out. Long blond hair, deep tan, sunglasses, T-shirt, board shorts, and flip-flops—if you look up “surfer” in the dictionary, there should be a photo of Gus Hawthorne, and no further explanation would be necessary.
Like she can read my mind, Lola leans in and whispers, “He looks even better in person. That shouldn’t be scientifically possible.”
When we all say hello, I know I’m not the only one who’s starstruck. We’re all a giant bundle of nerves and excitement.
Unfazed, Gus turns to the brunette behind him. “Do your thing, sweetheart.”
Sticking two fingers in her mouth, she belts out a whistle that the neighbors down the street likely heard. The kids all freeze in place and go silent.
“Impressive.” Lola’s awe makes everyone laugh.
Gus looks at Lola and nods. “Right? I’m convinced it’s sorcery.” Then he turns to the sorceress and says, “Gracias,” before raising his voice. “Everyone, bear with me for a second so I can make introductions, and then we can eat.” He points at our group first. “This is Ever, Jesse, Sophie, Lola, Benji, and my girl, Mabel.”
“Don’t you know it, sugar,” Mabel says with a flirty grin. I’ve thought about it many times before, but I really want to be Mabel when I grow up.
We all wave to the crowd of strangers, and Ever squeezes my hand to ease my nerves.
I squeeze back to ease his.
Gus turns and points to the woman who whistled. “This is Scout, my queen, better half, and boss.”
Scout winks at Gus and then turns to us and says warmly, “Welcome, everyone. We’re really glad you’re here.”
Gus continues introductions. “You met Grace,” he says, lovingly running his hand through the hair of the little boy standing next to him.
Grace is beaming up at Ever. “Hey, Raven.”
Ever raises his hand in a wave and smiles. “Hey, Grace.” When he says it, the little boy’s cheeks glow red hot, and it’s the cutest thing I’ve seen in a long time.
Turning to look behind him, Gus says, “That’s Kate, my daughter, and Rebel, my goddaughter.”
Dark-haired girls who look to be close in age and a little older than Gracen, maybe eight, wave. One looks exactly like Scout; there’s no doubt who she belongs to.
Gus points across the deck. “Over there, that’s Keller, my stepbrother, with my girls Clover and Ruby.”
The man sitting on a bench is holding a sleeping baby in his arms. He smiles, gives us a lazy two-finger salute, and offers aquiet, “Hey, everyone.” The toddler next to him burrows into his side shyly like she’s trying to hide, and he wraps an arm affectionately around her.
Am I on a movie set? Why are all these people exceptionally good-looking?
Gus moves on to the teenager standing next to the Keller. “My niece Stella.”
The redhead we saw through the window earlier grins wide and says, “Hi, everyone.” She seems sweet and outgoing and reminds me of Benji’s friends at home.
