“So, you two aren’t…” Kalli waved her finger at us.
I put my hands in the air. “Talia is a great girl, but we just met.”
“Right,” Talia added, although she didn’t sound convinced.
“I see,” Kalli said, suspicion in her voice. “But you’re both single?”
It was my turn to choke on my beer.
“It would seem we’re both just recently out of bad relationships,” Talia confessed rather eloquently.
“Briggs’s wife was a slut bag,” Megan said without apology. I watched Talia’s eyes widen in shock. I, on the other hand, was used to Megan’s mouth. “We’re all glad it’s you who’s here with him, instead of her. Regardless of your relationship.”
“Well, I’m glad to be here too,” Talia replied with a nod.
“Talia’s brother and his wife have twin babies. It’s kind of ruining her vacation.” I felt the need to change the subject.
“Don’t get me wrong, I love my niece and nephew, but it is putting a hamper on the whole vacation aspect of vacation.”
“Ella, Kalli, and I are going to go on a whale watching trip tomorrow. You should totally come with us.” Megan’s voice was suddenly full of excitement. “Have you ever been whale watching?”
“I can’t say that I have,” Talia replied with a laugh.
“We do it every summer. Well, every summer since we all met. It’s kind of a girls’ day. It would be incredible if you came with us.” Now, Megan could be a little bitchy sometimes, even though I’d never say it to her face, and we all loved her in spite of it, but in that moment, I could have kissed her for trying to make Talia feel included. I couldn’t pinpoint why, exactly, but the idea of bringing Talia into the fold of my friends made sense to me and was something I hadn’t known I wanted until that exact moment.
“Oh, no, I couldn’t.” Talia was obviously very polite, something I really liked about her. I could see she was pleased she’d been invited, and I could almost swear she wanted to go. “I couldn’t intrude on your tradition. Thank you for asking me, though.”
Megan’s sweetness dissipated and one of her eyebrows hiked up. “Talia, come see the whales with us. It’s not like we’re some band of witches whose bonds keep others out. We want you to come, right, Kalli?”
“Right. I can always use more friends.” Kalli winked at Talia, but it was a sweet and sincere wink, as though she was trying to make her more comfortable. Just then, the sliding glass door opened and Ella came out carrying a tray full of condiments and bags of chips.
“Ella, tell Talia she needs to come whale watching with us tomorrow.”
“Yes,” Ella replied enthusiastically, placing all the food in the middle of the table with practiced ease. “It will be so much fun. Besides, all the guys will be over at Briggs’s house hammering and whatnot.”
“Babe.” This was grunted by Porter, who turned around to look at his wife. “Hammering and whatnot? After all these years, you think I just swing a hammer?”
“No, of course not,” Ella said, wrapping her arms around her husband’s waist from behind.
“Okay, you know what, Talia? You’ve got no choice. I’m coming to pick you up at eight. Whale watching starts early.”
“You should go,” I said quietly to her, giving her leg a gentle pat under the table, then forcing myself to remove it instead of leaving it there and feeling her underneath my hand. “What have you got to lose?”
She smiled at me, almost like a thank you, then turned back to Megan. “Okay, I’d love to. Thanks.”
“Great,” Patrick said, his fingers still absently trailing through Megan’s hair. “The girls are going to have a fun day on a boat, and the men will be slaving away at Briggs’s house.”
“Sounds great,” Megan said with a chipper excitement.
Patrick responded by using the hand that was previously threaded through her hair to grip her by the back of her neck and bring her mouth to his. She laughed at first, caught off guard by his affection, but there was an obvious moment where she melted into him and their intimacy. While not inappropriate, the action made something inside me uncomfortable.
Suddenly, it was Talia’s hand on my thigh under the table, giving me a squeeze as though to say she knew what I was feeling. I thought, perhaps, she was feeling it too—a longing for that connection. If I were being honest with myself, I’d admit I felt a connection to Talia. Perhaps not as strong as Megan and Patrick’s, but stronger than any connection I’d had for anyone in the last nine months. Last night on the beach, I could have sworn I’d never been closer to anyone.
So when her hand lingered on my thigh a little longer than mine had on hers, well, it didn’t bother me one bit.
Chapter Eight
Talia
It took a few minutes to get used to the rocking of the boat. I’d admittedly never been a boat person, but I was a whale person—if being a whale person was even a thing—so I wanted to try to stick it out. Eventually, the nausea had faded and I enjoyed looking out on the ocean.
The boat we were on went much farther out to sea than I had expected, and I began to feel very small as I looked around and could see nothing but water, imagining what was swimming around below the deck of our boat.
Kalli was with Megan, who was getting sick on the back end of the boat, and I watched with something that felt almost like jealousy as Kalli held back Megan’s hair and rubbed her back. Their friendship was very apparent and it made me realize I couldn’t think of one person who might hold my hair back for me as I wretched. My thoughts were turning depressing, coupled with the dark water surrounding me, so I was grateful when Ella appeared by my side.
“She’s always been a little overly dramatic,” Ella said, clearly speaking about her sister. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m upset she’s sick, but she’ll milk this for all it’s worth for the rest of the day.” As much as I could tell Kalli was Megan’s friend, I could tell Ella was her sister. That particular sometimes-love/sometimes-hate dynamic seemed apparent. It almost made me wish I didn’t get so annoyed by Angela, if only just to have that sisterly bond with her.
“I have to be honest. Ten minutes ago, I was pretty sure I was going to start heaving over the side of the boat too.”
“Oh, no!” Ella laughed. “Well, at least we’re evenly numbered. Megan’s got Kalli and you’ve got me. I’ll make sure the barf stays out of your hair. Trust me. I’ve got kids. Vomit has no hold on me anymore.”
All I could do was laugh.
“So, who’s watching your kids if you’re here and Porter is at Briggs’s house?”
“Tilly. She’ll take any excuse to watch the kids. I could call and tell her I needed her to take the kids so I could build a sandcastle and she’d be at my house in no time. Since we split our time between here and Salem, Tilly doesn’t have easy access to the kids. She loves any opportunity to spend time with them, to take care of them. So, we let her.” She shrugged and looked out at the ocean. “It always amazes me how tiny I feel out here.”
“I was just thinking the same thing,” I mused.
“Right? It’s so vast. It looks like it could go on forever.”
“Hmmm,” I agreed, nodding, looking out at the same endless ocean she was.
“Stuff like this makes me wonder how everything ends up happening, ya know? Like, this world is huge. Enormous. So, how did I manage to find the one single person I was supposed to be with forever? Or how was I given the two children I know I was supposed to love to the ends of this gargantuan planet?”
I nodded again, taking in her words, but thinking something almost completely opposite. How had I managed to find the one single person who was going to screw me over? And why hadn’t he been the one I could spend eternity with? Not that, in hindsight, I really wanted to spend eternity with him, but why hadn’t fate thrown me a few clues along the way? Why hadn’t anyone, or anything, shown me what was really happening? It took so many years of my life with him before he eventually cut me lo
ose.
Ella’s voice cut into my depressing thoughts.
“Makes me wonder what would have happened if my ex hadn’t cheated on me. What would have happened if I hadn’t walked in on him that night?”
“Your ex cheated on you?”
“Yeah, and I found them on my birthday. I met Porter that same night. And let me tell you, neither of us was looking for a relationship. Not even a little bit.”
“So, what happened?”
“I just couldn’t get him out of my mind.”
I tried to keep the thought of Briggs away, tried to force myself the think about anything but him, but there he was. Hell, he might as well have been out in the ocean next to our boat on his surf board.
“He was such a lonely guy, even though he didn’t know it. A bachelor, but not in the sleazy kind of way. And I didn’t take no for an answer.”
“Not to sound weird or anything, but last night it was really obvious how much he loves you.”
She blushed and smiled, just like a woman in love, and said, “I know. It hasn’t faded yet and I hope it never does.”
Just as she finished her sentence, Kalli and Megan approached. Megan looked green, but better, and Kalli seemed to be finding the whole situation a little funny.
“Next time we do this, someone remind me to get the Dramamine.”
“But then who would we make bets on to see how long they’d last before they lost their breakfast?” Kalli asked with a wicked grin. Turning to Ella, she said, “You owe me lunch.”
“Ugh,” Megan groaned with very little enthusiasm. “You guys are the worst. And no talking about food.”
“Hey, don’t bite the hand that holds your hair back,” Kalli quipped.
Even I had to laugh at that, and eventually Megan did too.
“How’s the wedding planning going, Kal?” Ella asked after a quiet moment.
“Well, we haven’t completely ruled out eloping, so it’s going well.” Kalli groaned, but continued, “I just want to show up and have everything the way I like it and marry him. Why must I make all the decisions and plan the whole thing?”
“Have you considered hiring a wedding planner?” I asked.
“I have, but I feel as though that’s still a time suck. And I’d still have to make all the decisions, I’d only be paying someone to hold up different table cloths for me.” She let out a frustrated sigh. “No, I don’t want a wedding planner. I just want to marry Riot.”
A stupid grin crept over my face. “I still can’t believe you’re engaged to Riot Bentley.”
“Yeah, well, me neither,” she replied sweetly.
“So, elope,” Megan said dismissively. “I could always use an excuse to go to Vegas.”
“Oh, me too! A vacation with Porter? And no kids? Yes.”
“Ugh, not Vegas. Ew. No, if we elope we’ll go someplace tropical. Warm sand, drinks in pineapples, palm trees.”
“That sounds amazing,” I said, a little breathless at the imagery.
Megan bumped her shoulder against mine. “Speaking of weddings, what’s up with you and Briggs?”
“Nothing,” I said with as much nonchalance as I could muster, but I couldn’t keep the traitorous blush from my cheeks.
“It didn’t really seem like nothing with the way he was looking at you last night,” Ella added.
“I don’t think either of us is looking for a relationship at the moment,” I said with confidence, hoping it would steer them toward other topics of conversation, but I was disappointed when they weren’t easily deterred.
“Cecily did a number on him and I think he’s more broken than he lets on,” Megan said softly.
He is, I thought to myself.
“He told me about what happened between them,” I stated carefully. “And I don’t know Briggs better than any of you, but I do think you’re right.”
“He told you?” Megan asked with a shocked expression. I only nodded in response. “I gotta say, Talia.” Megan leaned back a little, her hands gripping the railing of the boat as she rocked back on her heels. “He hasn’t even told Patrick everything that happened. We’ve only gotten tiny nuggets of information out of him.”
“Well, I don’t know if he told me everything,” I said in defense of myself, trying to downplay any thoughts they might have been having about Briggs and me. “I’m sure you and Patrick know more than me.”
“I don’t think so. I think somehow you’ve found a tiny crack in his armor and managed to break him open.”
My eyes went wide at her words. I didn’t mean to crack anyone open. I hadn’t meant to pry and Briggs had offered up all the information. I didn’t want those women who, for whatever reason I wanted desperately to like and accept me, to think I was forcing a relationship with Briggs.
“We were just talking. I’ve had a rough time too with relationships. Maybe he doesn’t feel comfortable talking to you all because you’re all so happy.” I said the words before I could think about the effect they might have. I didn’t want to isolate myself from them, didn’t want to make them angry or dislike me.
“That’s an excellent point,” Ella said softly. “Maybe he feels like we wouldn’t understand.”
“You’ve been cheated on,” Megan said to Ella.
“Yeah, but Briggs wasn’t going to come to me to talk about his failed marriage, and he probably doesn’t even know that about me. His best friend married his college sweetheart and has been head over heels in love with her for years.”
“Well,” Megan said with a soft smile, obviously thinking about Patrick. “That’s true.”
“Maybe it wouldn’t be a bad thing if Briggs opened up to Talia. Even if they’re both not looking for a relationship, there can’t be any harm in just being friends, right?” Ella was talking to everyone except me.
I agreed with everything she was saying, except I wasn’t sure I could just be friends with Briggs. I was fairly certain I could spend time with him and then go home to my old, boring, single life, but the feelings I would have for Briggs at the end of our time together wouldn’t be friendly.
“Are you ladies ready to see some whales?” One of the tour guides approached us from the back of the boat, all smiles. “We’ve gotten a lot of reports of a pod out today, just a little farther out. Pay close attention and you might see them breaching.” He pointed a finger out toward the vast ocean and we all turned our attention there.
We were silent for a few moments, as if our voices would scare the creatures away, but then, suddenly, in the distance, there seemed to be an explosion of water.
A whale shot out, almost as if it were propelled, then seemed to collapse back into the water. Then another whale appeared, and another, and soon there were at least six whales putting on a show for us, practically dancing in the water. They were enormous and as they continued to breach, our guide explained that we were looking at a pod of gray whales and that each whale could be as long as forty-nine feet and weigh as much as thirty-six tons. It was astounding to see them continue to jump out of the water.
“How many are there all together?” I asked, not able to look away from the sight, mesmerized.
“It’s rare to see this many together. It’s usually one or two.”
“They knew we needed at least six to be impressed,” Megan said with a snicker.
“Leave it to my sister to turn whale watching into something perverted,” Ella said with a laugh.
The whales continued to put a on a show for about thirty minutes before disappearing into the sea again.
“That was amazing,” Kalli said, a little breathless.
“Absolutely. Thank you all for inviting me.” I looked around at the girls and was met with smiling faces.
“Of course. I knew the moment we met you’d fit right in,” Megan replied.
The whales had departed and eventually the boat headed back to the marina. The girls had stopped talking about Briggs and me, which I was grateful for, and we decided to grab lunch before parting way
s. We stopped at Molly’s, which was an Oregon Coast institution, and happily waited for a table, browsing through their quaint gift shop.
The meal was simple, nothing fancy, but the food was pushed to the back of my mind. Instead, I was focused on the women around me. It had been a long time since I’d spent time with anyone socially, especially anyone I didn’t work with.
My split from Chris was also a split from my friends, as I’d learned afterward where most of their loyalties lay. Sure, I mourned the loss of friendships, but I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed being around other women. And these women were strong and smart. Each of them accomplished in impressive ways. More than anything, though, I loved listening to them interact. It was obvious they were close, that they had a strong bond that went deeper than friendship, and it made me long to be included, or even to be worthy of their inclusion. Even though I felt ‘less than,’ they never made me feel that way, which made me like them even more. I was welcomed, no questions asked, and that made me undeniably happy.
They asked me about my life and I explained the bare minimum, not wanting to turn our light and happy lunch into a pity party for four.
When the meal was over, I walked with Megan to her car. She’d picked me up that morning, telling me she had to drop Patrick off at Briggs’s house anyway. Ella and Kalli gave me hugs goodbye, waving, and promising to see me again before I left. We’d all exchanged phone numbers over lunch, but I wasn’t expecting to hear from them.
“That was fun,” Megan said as she pulled out of the parking lot, turning toward the direction of my rental house.
“It was. I’ve never been that close to a whale before. It was amazing. Thanks, again, for inviting me.”
“I don’t think any of us got any pictures.”
“Oh my gosh, you’re right. I was too caught up in watching to even think about getting my phone out.”
“Me too. Oh, well, there’s always next time.”
I didn’t respond because I didn’t think there would be a next time. I was just glad there was the first time.
Megan pulled up to my rental, but she didn’t stop. She continued down the road and pulled up to Briggs’s house. “I hope you don’t mind,” she said sweetly. “I thought we could check on the guys real fast. See what they’re up to.”
Never With You (The Never Series Book 6) Page 8