Chapter Five
The ride to the next stop couldn’t go fast enough.If Amy could think of a way to look behind her and steal a glance at Ray without getting caught, she would.
“Don’t you agree?”Doug asked, except she had no idea what he was talking about.
“I, uh…”
Doug crossed his arms and swallowed a smile.“Mind wandering again?”
She should have figured with the type of work her brother had done that he’d be aware of everything around him, including her inattention.“Sorry.”
“You realize, unless he’s from San Francisco, there’s not much point in getting… friendly.”
The way he nearly choked over that last word had Amy covering her mouth so not to laugh at him.And no way would she tell him Ray was from Oklahoma.
“Don’t look at me that way, Amy Elizabeth.I know of what I speak.”
“Are you giving her trouble?”Emily asked from across the aisle.“Don’t you pay a bit of attention to him, Amy.Big brothers are annoying that way.”
“I beg your pardon?”Doug’s eyes formed two perfect circles.
“You should see the grief my brother gave the two of us,” Emily continued, ignoring her fiancé.“Especially after he figured out we’d been slee—”
“Billy,” Doug cut Emily off, even though Amy knew darn well what she was about to say, “had every reason to be concerned about his sister’s well-being.”
“And yet here you two are, on the verge of getting married.”This time Amy crossed her arms and leaned back.
From across the aisle Emily flashed her a thumbs-up.
Amy was really going to like having a sister.
The tour bus pulled up to its next stop and Amy scooted to the edge of her seat, more excited at a chance to visit again with Ray than in seeing the famed beaches or the men riding the impressive waves to shore.
“Were you planning on jumping over or under me?”Doug asked.
Though Amy knew very little about sports, she did know the best defense was a good offense, and she had no intention of making excuses for herself.“Were you this difficult when I was four?”
Doug cracked up laughing.“As adorable as you were at four, I didn’t have to worry about who was trying to get into your pants.”
“Okay, children.”Emily pushed to her feet and, shaking her head, stretched out her hand to her fiancé.“I feel like a romantic walk on the beach.”
A huge grin spread across Doug’s face.
Amy now realized he lit up that way every time he looked at Emily.Just watching the two of them made Amy feel warm and fuzzy, and also really wishing she had someone to take romantic walks on the beach with and to curl into that someone’s shoulder afterward.“Go on.”She shooed her brother into the aisle and followed behind him.
At her first step off the bus, Amy almost lost her breath.The view was just as beautiful as the pictures she’d seen online.The bus driver had said the size of the waves depended on the time of year, and today they were spectacular.Slipping out of her flip-flops, she moved forward.“Wow.”
“Agreed.”
“Oh!”She jumped, not having heard Ray step up beside her.
“Sorry.Didn’t mean to startle you.”
“No.I was just lost in the view.I’ve lived in San Francisco for some time now, but the ocean there doesn’t look anything like this.”
Tish came up beside them.“Even L.A.’s coastline doesn’t look like this.”
“We were just saying that,” Ray said to his sister.
