I nodded, then unfolded my own beach chair and spread out my striped towel behind it, for a little shade. I liked to bake in the sun for a while before taking a dip, so after stretching out on my towel, I flipped open my book.
But someone called my name mid-sentence. “Olivia!”
I glanced over my shoulder to see Nick waving me toward him.
“Guys, this is my elusive step-cousin, Olivia…” he joked when I joined him and Sage. They stood near a huge circle of beach chairs. Music played from a nearby speaker and some people held playing cards while others sipped iced coffee.
“Hi.” I summoned a smile and wave. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“You too!” One woman smiled back. Her sun-streaked hair was up in a Tinkerbell top-knot and she wore funky sunglasses. Tortoiseshell with flecks of pink, white, and yellow. “I’m Meredith.”
“Our fearless leader.” The blond guy next to her affectionately squeezed her knee, then looked at me. “I’m Stephen, her groom.”
“But we call him Wit,” said the tanned brunette on his other side. “Even though his is questionable…”
Wit laughed. “I love you too, Luli!”
Luli smirked before introducing her husband, and then a guy in a T-shirt readingJUSTFLOSScleared his throat. “Olivia, have you met Connor McCallister yet?”
I raised an eyebrow. “You know him too?”
The court of beach chairs collectively cracked up, and the man nodded. “I’ve met him once or twice—”
“Austin!” A sophisticated blond kicked some sand at him. Austin caught her foot and she squealed when he squeezed it. His wedding band glinted in the sunlight.
“Get a cabana,” Wit said, even though there were none in sight.
“Name a year, Olivia,” Austin ignored him. “Name a year and I’ll be able to tell you what Connor was for Halloween. I’ve known him forever; he’s best friends with my younger sister.”
“Small world!” I said, because wow, was it ever. Areallysmall one. First a near-rom-com moment at Connor’s and my grandparents’ retirement community, and now this?
The blond raised her sunglasses to give me a look. “Be gentle with him, okay?”
“Katie…” Meredith sighed as a ripple went up my spine.Be gentle?
What was that supposed to mean?
“I’m serious!” Katie exclaimed. “He has—”
“A big heart,” Austin finished for her. “Connor has a really big heart.”
Hmm, I thought, but before I could turn that over in my head, the entire vibe shifted—from fun and lighthearted to serious and all business.
“Mer, he’s here!” Luli whisper-yelled. “He’s unloading thesurfboards from the Scout.”
“Here we go…” Sage said at the same time Meredith dropped to the sand and reached for a Super Soaker stowed under her chair. Nick clapped his hands and rubbed them together, excited for whatever was about to play out, but Sage made eye contact with me. “You feel like floundering?”
“What’s floundering?” I asked as she elbowed her distracted fiancé.
“Oh, man.” Nick turned to us, his blue eyes twinkling. “You have much to learn, cousin.”
Not your cousin, I thought, even though I smiled and raced after him and Sage into the water.
* * *
By the time we left the beach, I had less than fifty pages left in my book. Nick, Sage, and I had “floundered” in the ocean for a while (floundering[v]: floating on your stomach in the shallows and letting waves wash over you, which more often than not results in spinning out of control and laughing your ass off), and after that, I collapsed on my towel to read. Bryce handed out lunches a couple hours later, full of pride. He’d volunteered to help Peggy pack them this morning.
“Ooh, what’s this?” I started to unwrap the tinfoil as my stomach growled. “Turkey and cheese?”
