"Aww, thank you!"
"Have a great day,” she said.
"You too."
When I turned around, Abby was holding up her hand to give a high five.
"I'm so proud of you for putting her in her place. What a slithering snake."
"Was it that bad?"
"No, it was that good!"
"Abby, you're crazy."
"I honestly didn't know you had it in you. That seems like something I would do, not you. After everything you've told me about those two, she had it coming."
"I think I felt more empowered after talking to Alice the other day. Even she was turned off by Lexi's bold ways."
Abby was right. The Donovans had been wreaking havoc for a long time. Hopefully, today's conversation nipped things in the bud once and for all.
We had several customers stop by, and at least ten more photo shoots lined up. It was a good start for the first day, and I was looking forward to many more good days to come.
Payton
Family beach day had finally arrived. The first few days of the store’s opening was a hit. Some family time on the beach was very much needed, and I couldn't wait to work on my tan. My niece and nephew were digging around in the sand with Emmie. The women were perched under their umbrellas with their guys by their side, except for Rebecca.
Abby's husband, Wyatt, began teasing Rebecca about a sensitive subject.
"Rebecca, how come you didn't invite the prom king to the beach today?"
All ears were listening for a response...
"Wyatt, now you're asking for trouble,” Mom said.
Rebecca sat up in her beach chair, looking like she was ready to put her boxing gloves on.
"What did you hear?" she said.
"I didn't hear anything. I've just seen him around the courthouse lately, so I assumed he's back in town. You forget I was already dating Abby when you two were an item in high school. I remember your prom night like it was yesterday."
"That's right. Wyatt was at the house the night of your prom," Abby said.
I slid my beach hat over my head. I had this funny feeling the conversation was about to head south real quick.
"Good ole Ethan. Wasn't he supposed to help us with cutting the grass?" Dad said.
I think Dad was getting Rebecca's former boyfriends mixed up. Even though who could blame him. She definitely had her fair share to choose from over the years.
"That's the wrong guy, Will. We're talking about Rebecca's prom date from Pelican High." Mom helped Dad to follow along.
"Go ahead, Rebecca. Tell them how the two of you have reconnected recently,” Mom said.
"We haven't reconnected. We're just working on the same case together, that's all.”
"Now that is funny. Out of all the lawyers to work with, the two of you get assigned to the same case?" Cole said.
I tried to silently warn him that he didn't want to get involved. Rebecca was liable to chop all their heads off for finding any humor in the matter.
"Wyatt… Mom… and Cole… I'm glad you all find this funny, but there's nothing more to it other than the case. That's it."
"So there's no chance the two of you, who both happen to be single, were assigned to the same case for a reason? Maybe it's fate,” Mom said.
"Fate my foot. We know absolutely nothing about each other. We've both changed, and that was a long time ago."
"Well, on that note, I'm heading down to the water. Who's with me?" I said.
Cole kicked off his shoes and volunteered to join me.
"Emmie, I'm going to take a walk with Payton. I'll be back."
"Okay, Dad."
We walked hand in hand down to the ocean. Cole was glistening from his suntan lotion. But more than his amazing looks, I was proud of the way he got along with the family.
He playfully flickered some water at me.
"Cole Miller, you better stop before I toss you into the ocean."
"Impossible. We both know who will go down first." He teased.
Knowing that I wouldn't stand a chance at dunking him in, I surrendered.
We continued walking along playfully like two teenagers in love.
"I think we might've hit a sore spot with Rebecca,” he said.
"We're good. It would've been worse if we stayed there and continued to participate."
Cole laughed.
"Do you think she still likes him?"
"He's having some sort of effect, but it's hard to tell with her."
Cole picked up a seashell and began writing in the sand. The message read 'Cole loves Payton.'"
"I know someone by the name of Payton Matthews, who's having an effect on me."
I loved how transparent he was with me.
"I'm sorry I made you uncomfortable the other night. I was just trying to express my feelings toward you. Perhaps I should've kept it simple like the message in the sand."
"No. You did exactly what you were supposed to do. And if you ever stopped being that transparent with me, it would break my heart. I wanted to kick myself later on that night. I realized that I was choosing to let fear get in the way of my biggest blessing, which is you."
"Really?"
"Really! I love you, Cole. I've never had a love like this before. Sometimes I freak out when I’m about to embark upon something new. But that's all it is… just a brief moment where I feel like I'm losing control. When the moment passes, and I let go of trying to be in control, my heart always returns back to where it needs to be.”
"Which is where?"
"It's with you,” I said.
He picked me up and twirled me around.
"So, does this mean you're actually okay with the conversation we were having the other day?"
"About the ceremony? Yes. I'm more than okay with the conversation. I think we should explore the topic wholeheartedly."
"Whoooooohooooo,” he yelled.
"You would've thought I just said I do, Cole."
"It feels like you just said I do in my heart. Of course, I want to do this the right way. We can talk about it
