A Walk Along the Beach(21)

“For my part, Chantelle and I are both adults, and frankly, I didn’t like the idea of Chantelle’s father paying for the wedding. I feel like I need to prove myself to him.”

“Lucas, you don’t have anything to prove to my family.”

    I silently agreed with her.

“Mom was horrified when I told her I would be sewing my own wedding dress,” Chantelle continued.

“Well, yes, considering they paid the price of a small car for the one your sister wore.”

“It took some convincing that we wanted to do this our way,” Chantelle said. “In the end, they agreed. I don’t need or want a large wedding. I’ve got everything I could ever want with Lucas as my husband and the man who will father our children.”

I had to admire Chantelle for sticking up for what she wanted and not expecting her family to foot the bill for their wedding.

“I couldn’t be happier,” Chantelle said. “I meant every word I told my parents. I’m the fortunate one.”

“My brother knew a good thing when he found it,” I said.

“And in the bargain, I get two new sisters.”

“Two sisters who welcome you into the family with open arms.” We were the fortunate ones. I’d known Chantelle was the one for Lucas the first time I’d met her. Lucas had dated several women since leaving the Army. Harper and I had met a couple of his love interests, neither one of which I’d felt a connection to. Chantelle seemed to be the perfect match for him.

I was happy for them both. December couldn’t get here soon enough to suit me.





CHAPTER 9





Willa


“I’ve got you covered,” Harper told me.

Her gleeful smile didn’t evoke confidence. It was hard for me to stay away from Bean There, even if it meant I would be able to spend the day with Sean.

“Leesa and I will take over for you. No problem. We have everything under control.”

Leesa was Harper’s best friend. They both taught yoga and fitness classes at Oceanside Fitness and had been friends since their grade-school days. I’d come to appreciate what a good friend Leesa was when Harper was first diagnosed with leukemia. She’d been a constant encouragement to my sister. Although it was inconvenient to travel into Seattle from Oceanside, Leesa had made the trip at least once a week during the worst of Harper’s treatments and long recovery.

Traveling with Sean, especially when he was on an assignment, was highly tempting. Even though I’d already agreed, second thoughts hounded me. I wasn’t sure I could say this was such a good idea after all. It was like leaving my baby unattended.

    To be fair, Harper knew how to steam a mean cappuccino; she was good with the customers, too. Still, I hesitated. I was the responsible one. The one who made sure that everything ran smoothly, and I kept my customers happy. Leaving it in the hands of Harper and Leesa gave me pause.

“Are you looking for excuses to get out of this trip?” Harper asked, hands on her hips. Her narrowed eyes challenged me. My sister didn’t back down often, and I knew she was determined to see me out the door at the crack of dawn and in the car with Sean on our way to eastern Washington.

“No…I want to go.” And I did, in the worst way.

“We got this, Willa. It’s one day. One. Day. How much damage could we possibly do?”

The answer wasn’t something I wanted to contemplate.

“Don’t even think about it,” Harper warned, wagging her finger at me. “You’re going.”

“Okay, okay.”

My sister knew all the buttons to push to convince me. And maybe, just maybe, that is what I needed, what I wanted from her. This thing, whatever it was with Sean, unnerved me. I wasn’t accustomed to men being interested in me, especially after they met Harper. I’d never minded, and didn’t now—I was just surprised and a little intimidated.



* * *



—

Thursday morning, Sean picked me up bright and early. Bandit was stretched out, taking up the entire backseat. I joined Sean in the front with a small basket of freshly baked cinnamon rolls and two coffee drinks, which I set in the cupholder. The basket went down by my feet, next to my purse.

    “You ready?” he asked, after I adjusted my seatbelt.

“Yup,” I said, smiling over at him.

For one awkward moment, Sean sat there and stared at me, his dark eyes intense.

“Is something wrong?” Harper had helped me dress and fussed with my hair, giving me advice, which she seemed to think I needed. And to be frank, I probably did.

Embarrassed, I looked away.

“Sorry,” he said, and abruptly returned his attention to the road before shifting gears and starting out. “You’re beautiful.”

“Oh.” I was sure I blushed. Unsure how best to respond, I placed my hands in my lap and looked straight ahead.

After a couple of minutes, Sean reached for his coffee and took his first sip. “Hey, what’s this? It’s not coffee and it tastes…different.”

“It’s a dark chocolate mocha. You said you didn’t enjoy coffee, so I decided to mix it up a little. How do you like it?”

“It’s fantastic!” He continued to sip the drink, keeping it in one hand and steering with the other.