“Please, she could be dancing in front of you in a string bikini and you won’t look up from your computer screen,” Slater said, laughing.
“Okay, okay,” Connor said in his best dad voice. “That’s enough. I have two kids at home; I don’t need two more here.” Then he laughed. “And speaking of, let’s finish eating and get cleaned up so I can go and spend time with them. I’ll grab everything we need for s’mores if you want to join us.”
“Sounds like a plan!” Slater said, and everyone agreed.
And Connor tapped out a quick text to Lexi letting her know what they were thinking.
While the guys were doing their thing, the girls got together to do theirs.
Lexi wished that Kelsey was here to be part of this first official girls’ night, but she knew that the next time she and Jayce came to visit, they’d make it happen.
Right now, they were hanging out at Walker and Harlow’s cabin. Ruth was watching the kids, so this was a real girls’ night out for her, Harlow, Maisie, and Nora.
“I’m really glad you guys invited me,” Nora was saying as Harlow poured her a glass of sangria. “I feel like all I do is work and go home, so…thanks for including me.”
“It’s our pleasure,” Maisie told her. “How are you enjoying Harbortown and the resort?”
“Honestly?” she asked with a nervous laugh. “It was a bit of a culture shock. I’m used to working in some remote places, but this isn’t quite the same. There’s stuff close by, but it’s such a tiny town that there isn’t really a whole lot to do. That’s why I don’t mind working extra hours. It keeps me busy.”
“I was born and raised here,” Harlow explained. “My dream was to make enough money to move away, but once I met Walker and we traveled a bit for his job, I missed it. This is going to be our home base, so to speak. But we’ve got this new resort that we’re going to start work on in the new year.”
“Ooh…I didn’t know you guys had a starting date! That’s exciting!” Maisie said with a bright smile. “And any decision on a wedding date? Will it be before or after the work on the new resort?”
They were sitting around the small kitchen table noshing on chips, guac, salsa, and queso while they waited for their dinner to be delivered from the hotel restaurant. “Funny you should ask,” Harlow said after a moment. “We’re thinking of a New Year’s Eve wedding.”
They were all talking at once.
“Oh my goodness! How fun!”
“Think of the amazing party we could throw!”
“And the entire resort would already be decorated! It will be so festive!”
“Yes, to all those things,” Harlow laughed. “But what about you and Connor, Lex? We don’t want to step on anyone’s toes. So if you’re planning a holiday wedding…”
“Honestly, we haven’t talked about an exact date. We both agreed that we don’t want a long engagement, but…” She sighed. “As much as I have, like, zero love for his parents, I’d feel terrible if they weren’t there. It would just be something else they would hold against me.”
“That’s bullshit,” Nora said, making them all look at her. “It seems to me that they did all of it to themselves.” When they all simply stared at her, she shrugged. “Slater filled me in on all the drama.”
“Okay, I know this is completely off topic, and I swear we’ll come back to weddings in a minute,” Maisie said with a mischievous grin aimed at Nora. “You and Slater. Is there anything…there?”
Her bark of laughter made them all jump a little. “Absolutely not! Ugh. He’s like a brother. And not in a good way.” She must have realized how that sounded because she quickly explained. “We have been friends for over six years, and I respect him as a friend and coworker, but I’ve seen the way he treats relationships, and that’s not appealing to me at all.”
“When you say treats relationships, you mean…?” Harlow prompted.
“I mean, he’s not interested in anything serious. He’s a big goofball whose only interest is having a few nights of fun and then disappearing into the wilderness with a tour.” She took a sip of her sangria before adding, “I love what I do, but I’d really like to do a little less guiding and adventure stuff and see what having a normal life is like. That was the appeal of coming here to Harbortown. I’d love to meet someone and…you know…have the house with the picket fence.”
This was quite an admission, Lexi thought. She and Nora worked closely together, but she never showed this side of herself, and it just made her like Nora even more.
“I can tell you’re trying not to say something, Lex,” Nora said with amusement. “So come on. Out with it.”
“This is just a side of you I haven’t seen in the office. You carry yourself like a badass woman who doesn’t need or want anything. Like you have everything you want. It’s kind of nice to know that you’re not looking at all of us like we’re weirdos because we’re getting married and doing the whole…house with the white picket fence thing.”
“Are you kidding? That has been my dream. My parents were both adrenaline junkies, so I get it from them. And it’s been a blast, but now I’m ready for something stable. Comfortable. Something that doesn’t leave me feeling so alone at the end of the day.”
As if of one mind, Lexi, Harlow, and Maisie all stood and went behind Nora to hug her. They laughed, but they all also held on for longer than was expected.
When they were all seated again, Nora reminded them of the original topic of conversation. “You were saying, Lexi? Connor’s parents? The wedding? Feeling bad?”
