He says it like it’s trademarked.
I don’t have the heart to say no.
Moments later, he slides a tall, frosty concoction across the counter, served in a giant plastic pineapple, garnished with not one but two umbrellas, and a small shish kebab of tropical fruit. One sip and I’m in trouble. Pineapple, banana, coconut, orange liqueur—and something else I can’t name but definitely feel behind my eyes.
It’s sweet. It’s dangerous. It goes down too easily.
Obviously, I order another.
I’m halfway through round two when Tay drifts up beside me, hair slicked back from the water, face suspiciously amused.
“Alphonso Special?” she asks, eyeing my drink.
“No comment.”
She leans her elbows on the bar. “So… not pregnant, then?”
I chuckle into my straw. “Not pregnant.”
She nods, not smug, just… observant. “Didn’t think so.”
I raise an eyebrow. “How long have you been sitting on that one?”
“Since the spa. I love Luna, but she can be a little… oblivious.”
Ha. “Well, she is a little distracted this week.”
Alphonso sets a drink in front of Tay without her even having to ask, and she takes a sip, her gaze focused on the beach, tracking Luna as she flits across the sand, glowing in a white gauzy cover-up and a fashionable sunhat.
“I’m so glad everything worked out for those two,” Tay says.
“I’m really happy for her.”
And I am.I really am.
But the words feel thick on my tongue. Like I have to force them into the air.
Tay shoots me a look over the rim of her drink. “But…?”
“But what? Nothing.”
But then, when Tay just keeps looking at me, I add: “Beckett and I are…”
My throat closes around the rest. I can’t even say the word.
“I get it.” Tay’s voice is soft now. “You don’t want your problems to take away from the wedding. You’re a good sister.”
I smile, but it doesn’t reach my eyes. Because the truth is…
I’ve spent my whole life being the responsible one. The good sister. The good daughter. The good wife. The good mom. The one who never made messes because I was too busy cleaning up everyone else’s.
And I was okay with that. It’swho I am.
But on the flip side of that…
Because my sister has been willing to make mistakes, she’s experienced more adventures than I’ll ever know. She’s taken the time to chase things, and now she’s getting everything she ever wanted.
And I’m… not.
