Romancing the Beach
A.M. Williams
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Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Epilogue
Newsletter Sign Up
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Also by A.M. Williams
Copyright © 2019 A.M. Williams
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof
may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This novel’s story and characters are fictitious.
Certain long-standing institutions, agencies,
and public offices are mentioned, but the
characters involved are wholly imaginary.
ISBN:
Cover Design: Ran at Designrans
Edited by: Juliette Williams
Created with Vellum
To Jess P.
Thank you for your help with this and other books. I hope you continue to help me. And I hope your husband continues to say my books “aren’t that great,” yet continue to talk about them to people. :)
One
Bethany
Always the bridesmaid, never the bride. Bethany couldn’t help the thought that ran through her mind as she helped Jessica’s mom, Ruth, set up the bridal luncheon they were having at their beach house.
As she set plates at the place settings on the long dining room table, she tried hard not to listen to the conversation going on across the room. Jessica, her best friend since childhood, was getting married in a few days. They’d come to Surf City early to complete preparations for the wedding, which was taking place on the beach outside the house, and enjoy her last few days of singledom.
Jessica was across the room by the open double French doors that led onto the second-floor deck. A hint of the salt in the air permeated the room and a light breeze ruffled the curtains hanging on either side of the door, as well as the mint-colored dress Jessica was wearing.
Some of the women in her family surrounded her and were gushing over the details of the wedding.
“Oh, you’re walking out barefoot?”
“Your dress has a lace overlay? That sounds like Ruth’s dress.”
“Do you have a train? No? I guess that makes sense with all the sand.”
“What color are the bridesmaids’ dresses?”
“Isn’t this the third or fourth wedding you and Bethany will have been in together? When is she getting married?”
Bethany rolled her eyes and continued setting up for lunch. While she initially wanted to be over there with her best friend, after hearing the comments from the older contingent, she wasn’t in any hurry to join them.
“Bethany, dear, you don’t have to do this,” Ruth told her, coming to stand next to where Bethany was folding a napkin to place over the plate.
Bethany smiled at her. “I know, but I want to. I don’t mind helping out.”
Ruth shook her head while smiling. “You are always the one that’s offering to help out. I should know by now that you won’t just go enjoy yourself.”
Bethany shrugged. Ruth had hit the nail on the head with her. Sitting idly wasn’t her thing, though she swore to Jessica and to herself that she would try to sit back and enjoy the wedding. But based on how she was already helping, she doubted that would be the case.
“Are we almost ready?” Jessica asked from behind her.
Bethany straightened and turned to face her, a large smile on her face. “Yep. I think your mom said earlier we were just waiting for the caterers to arrive with the food.”
Jessica nodded and turned to her aunt, who had just asked her a question. Bethany looked at her friend and appreciated how beautiful she looked. She was wearing a mint green sleeveless dress that was gauzy and just floated around her. The corsage on her wrist had a pale pink rose surrounded by baby’s breath. Her wedding colors were mint and coral, so she wanted to highlight those colors today.
Jessica’s dark hair was pulled back into a low hanging ponytail that was draped over one of her shoulders. The only jewelry she was wearing was a delicate silver chain with a large diamond pendant on the end around her neck and her engagement ring. She needed nothing else to draw the eye of the room. Her happiness radiated off her and made people naturally gravitate to her.
She was thrilled Jessica was marrying Jason. She’d watched their relationship over the last three years. This wedding was a long time coming, that was for sure.
She heard a commotion behind her and turned to see the catering staff through the small cut out to the kitchen. She quickly looked the table over, reaching out to center the name placards and make sure nothing else was out of place.
“Girl, come on.” Jessica’s tan hand covered her pale one. “Let’s go outside for a minute.”
Bethany looked worriedly at the table, which was perfect, before following Jessica outside onto the deck. There was a breeze blowing steadily, and it caused her hair to blow around her face. She wished she’d put it up instead of leaving it down in waves. She quickly scraped her light blonde hair together and held the end loosely in her hands, stopping the worst of the hair-whipping.
“What did we talk about?” Jessica asked, leaning against the railing and looking at her seriously.
Bethany rolled her lips between her teeth before responding, “That I would take a step back and enjoy this.”
Jessica nodded and arched a brow. “Are you?”
Bethany sighed and barely refrained from rolling her eyes. She felt like Jessica was chastising her. “I’m helping your mom out so she doesn’t lose her mind. I don’t think that hinders my enjoyment.”
Jessica pursed her lips. “Okay…that’s true. But I want you, my best friend and maid of honor, to finally let loose this week. I want you on the beach with me drinking a margarita and not inside trying to figure out if my floral arrangements will work.”
Bethany’s face heated at Jessica’s words. Earlier she’d been doing just that, worrying over flower arrangements, instead of sitting outside with Jessica and the other bridesmaids. Jessica hadn’t been happy when she came to find Bethany and found her looking at flowers.
“Yes, okay. I’ll try.”
“You’ll do more than try,” Jessica said, dead serious. “I love you and I love that you’ve been there to help me every step of the way with planning this, but I want my best friend to relax and enjoy this! I need you to help make sure I don’t freak the fuck out on Saturday.”
Bethany nodded, knowing she needed to do what Jessica asked. This was such an important day in her life and she wanted to be there to support her whole-heartedly. “Yes, you’re right. From this point on, I’m fully present and not fretting.”
“Good.” Jessica nodded and straightened before walking over to her. “I know it’ll be hard, but I think it’ll be worth it. Besides, remember the second part of our pact?”
Bethany blinked and played dumb. She remembered the second part that Jessica suggested to her, but she hadn’t technically agreed to it and she couldn’t see herself doing it.
“Bethany, come on! You have been a wallflower for too long. You need to get back out there and ride some dick!”
“Jessica!” Bethany hissed, trying to look through the double doors to see if anyone heard Jessica.
�
�Oh, please.” Jessica waved her concern off. “They’re probably in there trying to mash mine and Jason’s pictures together to see what our future children might look like.”
Bethany chuckled. Jessica was probably right. That didn’t mean she wanted Jessica going on around talking about riding dicks though. She’d never be able to look at whoever overheard it in the eye ever again.
Loud voices caught their attention from inside and they looked at each other before stepping through the doors back into the living room. She blinked a few times to clear the light spots from her eyes.
As soon as she could see, she saw what or who had caused the commotion. Jason had dropped by, so the ladies were all fawning over him. But he wasn’t who had snagged Bethany’s attention. Slightly behind him and dressed in what looked like a tailored suit was one of the hottest men she’d ever seen.
He had black hair that was ruffled, making it look like he’d either just rolled out of bed or had sex. He had piercing blue eyes as well. The only reason she knew that is their eyes met across the room. While her own widened in surprise at seeing this Adonis in the flesh, his were narrowed in seeming disgust as he broke eyes contact and raked his gaze over her.
She shivered at the harshness of his gaze and wondered what the problem was as their eyes met again. She didn’t know him, and he obviously didn’t know her, but his gaze was filled with such revulsion for her that she felt exposed and she suddenly felt unwelcome, and had the urge to leave the room to avoid his gaze.
Two
Bethany
Bethany pushed her shoulders back and took a fortifying breath before following in Jessica’s wake over to the guys. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach as she drew closer to the crowd.
“Hey, what are you doing here?” Jessica asked as she tilted her head up to accept Jason’s kiss.
Jason shrugged and straightened, throwing an arm over her shoulder. “I couldn’t stay away, so I decided I’d bring Scott by to meet your family beforehand.”
Jason stepped to the side and ushered Scott forward.
“Nice to see you again, Scott,” Jessica said with a smile while she cuddled up under Jason’s arm.
Scott smiled tightly. “Thanks.”
Jason pointed out the different family members, and Scott shook each of their hands. He was now standing in front of Bethany with a derisive look on his face, his right brow arched up in a seeming challenge. Now that she was closer to him, she had to agree with her earlier assessment: he was an Adonis in the flesh.
His suit fit him just right. His hair looked perfectly tousled, and he was wearing some kind of amazing smelling cologne that made her want to rub herself against him. She restrained herself. Barely.
“This is my best friend, Bethany,” Jessica said, widening her eyes at Bethany behind Scott’s back.
Bethany’s own eyes widened in return. She knew what Jessica was suggesting, considering their previous conversation, but she didn’t think it would happen and not just because she didn’t have the guts to do it. When he opened his mouth, he made it obvious that she wasn’t good enough.
“You’re Bethany? I thought you’d look…different.”
Bethany’s mouth dropped open. What did he mean by that? Different how? Fatter? Taller? Thinner?
Without sparing her another glance, he walked over to Jason and murmured something she couldn’t hear before walking through the silent group to the front door. The sound of the door slamming behind him reverberated throughout the still silent house.
Jason cleared his throat and said, “Sorry folks, he had to run home because he forgot…to feed his fish.”
Bethany wrinkled her nose at the obvious lie. Jessica even said, “But I thought he didn’t have pets?”
The sting of Scott’s words was made worse by the ending of the ordeal. But she wouldn’t let it get her down, so she cleared her throat, turned, and walked into the kitchen where the caterers were finishing the plating.
“Need any help in here?”
The smiled on her face froze at the look on Ruth’s face. “Dear, you don’t need to do anything. Are you okay?”
Tears clouded Bethany’s vision, and she blinked rapidly to keep them at bay. “Yep, I’m great.”
Her voice only cracked a little at the end, so she was proud of herself for not completely losing it. “Can I do anything?”
Bethany silently pleaded with Ruth to just let it go. Making her talk about it would probably result in her becoming a blubbering mess and that wasn’t something she wanted right now. She had to go back into the dining room in a few minutes and deal with Jessica’s family. Most of them would likely be looking to see how the encounter with Scott impacted her so they could gossip about it later.
She refused to give them something to talk about.
“You can help take the salads out,” Ruth said with a smile. “But after that, you’re to enjoy lunch and the caterers will handle the rest.”
Bethany nodded and took a few plates, layering them on her arm. She was thankful for her waitressing experience as she could take quite a few out to the table in one trip.
Whispers followed her as she walked past Jessica’s family and she could feel their stares on her back as she carefully set the plates out. But she wouldn’t let them see she was nervous and upset. She was better than that and would rise above.
“All right everyone,” Ruth said, coming to stand beside her. Ruth reached down and squeezed Bethany’s hand briefly before releasing it. “I’d like to say thank you once more for coming out today. I know it’s unconventional to host the bridal luncheon in the middle of the week and not the day before the wedding, but Jessica wanted something more low key to enjoy with her family and bridesmaids before the hustle of the rehearsal and the wedding itself. Please, come find your seat and let’s eat! I don’t know about you, but I’m starving!”
Everyone laughed and walked to the table. Bethany already knew where she was sitting, to the right of Jessica, who was sitting at one end of the table, so she stood and patiently waited for others to find their seats.
As she looked around, she realized Jason was nowhere to be seen. She leaned over and asked, “Where’s Jason?”
“He didn’t stay. He wanted to see me before he left for golf with the guys. So he slipped out when Mom started talking.”
Bethany nodded and straightened. That proved even further in her mind that Scott was lying about what he needed to do. Seeing that most people were already seated, she pulled her chair out and opened the cloth napkin with a flourish and set it on her lap. She was thankful, as she caught the eyes of a few women at the table, that she was boxed in by Jessica and one of her sisters. A cousin of Jessica’s was across from her, so she wouldn’t have to worry about trying to make polite chit-chat with one of her aunts.
She could do this. She could survive lunch.
It was a little dicey when she overheard some older women discussing Scott and how he treated her when he left, but other than that, she enjoyed the lunch. But she was definitely ready to retreat to the room she was staying in at Ruth’s house because she’d had about all she could take at this point of snide side comments toward her about the snub from earlier.
She sighed in relief as she stepped into her room and shut the door behind her. She briefly considered turning the lock on it too, but decided that would be overkill as it was unlikely that anyone besides Jessica or Ruth were likely to follow her.
She slipped out of the tan wedges she’d been wearing and sighed with relief. They were still fairly new and pinched her toes something fierce. But the thought of wearing closed-toe high heels in July in North Carolina did nothing for her. It would probably be worse.
She walked over to the large bay window in the room and looked out to the ocean. She always loved visiting Jessica’s family because not only were they welcoming, but they also had one of the best views of the beach and always gave her the room she was standing in. It was painted a soft mint color, much like the dress Jessic
a was wearing earlier, with white furniture and white linens. It was so relaxing to stay there and she hoped it would work its relaxing magic right then.
The door opened behind her and she glanced over her shoulder to see Jessica shutting the door.
“Finally,” Jessica sighed, kicking her own shoes off and falling face first onto the still unmade bed from this morning. “I love my family, but they can be so much to deal with.”
Bethany nodded, knowing exactly what Jessica meant. “Just think, only a few more days and you’ll be topped up on visits until the next big thing happens.”
“I can’t wait,” Jessica said, her voice slightly muffled in the covers of the bed.
Bethany looked back out the window, her eyes catching on the seagulls flying around the beach, diving every so often to capture something from the sand or water before rising again.
She was mulling over changing into some shorts and a t-shirt to take a walk down to the beach to look for shells when Jessica said, “Jason texted. He wants us all to meet him and the guys at some bar in downtown Wilmington. He’s rented two suites for us at the Hilton so we can do whatever we want and not worry about getting back here tonight.”
Bethany blanched. The guys. That meant Scott would probably be there. She was curious about him, she had to admit. He was too hot for her not to wonder what was up with him. But the little glimpse of his personality was more than enough for her. She wasn’t sure she wanted to be around him, no matter how hot he was.
“I can almost hear you thinking from over here,” Jessica said.
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