Beneath a Billion Stars
Page 20
“Yeah, I hope the weather app isn’t lying.” Gwynnie shot a look over her shoulder at Meg who sat in the backseat. “Should we make sure she has her nails done first?”
Wade frowned. “Why would you ...?”
“For the pictures,” Gwynnie said, emphatically. “You do have a photographer lined up, don’t you? C’mon, brother. You’re slipping!”
“I wouldn’t worry about Priscilla’s nails. She’s a hairstylist, so they’re always pristine.” Meg shot out a laugh. “Though something tells me she would keep them that way even if she didn’t have a career that displayed her hands so openly.”
“You ladies are making me nervous.”
Meg put her hand on his shoulder. “You have nothing to worry about. I promise you.”
Wade gripped the steering wheel and drew in a breath, letting it out slowly as the world sped by. If he weren’t at the helm of this car, he would be at home pacing. Like a lion. Perfection wasn’t his strong suit—take his love life, for example. But tonight he wanted perfection—for her. She deserved it.
In his head, he could hear Jackson saying, Good luck with that.
Wade had done this once before, he reminded himself—and failed. But this time was different. His heart was at stake more than ever before. Everything he had built until now suddenly paled. He pictured Priscilla’s beautiful eyes gaping up at him those months ago in the harbor after she had fallen, her face framed by hair made a deeper shade of red by the drenching of sea water.
And Wade knew this: He would marry Priscilla even if he only had twine for rings.
Priscilla rolled a second coat of sea glass green on Amber’s bedroom wall, her fingers red and tired from gripping the wooden handle. But considering painting had been the last thing on her mind when she’d awoken today, she couldn’t help but be impressed with their progress.
She and Amber had been lazy this Saturday morning. School had begun—a new one for Amber—and so they had indulged in some downtime in their new place, the one they’d moved into in a hurry and had still to decorate. They had eaten toast and yogurt on her comforter and watched a home improvement show while still in their PJs.
But when they got to a segment on redoing a teen’s room, Amber shot up. “Can we paint my room, Mom?”
Priscilla could have said no—or maybe not today. But how could she refuse that earnest face? Besides, she’d called her mom.
The past few months they’d built a trust that she treasured. She knew Amber did too.
Priscilla stood back and admired the job they had done. The bluish-green color that brightened the room now would be perfect for those gray days that happened without warning on this part of the coast. “Good call on this color, dear one.”
Amber giggled and pointed at her. “Oh my gosh! You have paint all over you!”
Priscilla twisted her mouth and glanced at her hands. Flecks of paint, like stars, covered them. She wondered if the non-toxic body wash in her shower would be enough to tackle this unexpected body art.
Her phone rang. Amber grabbed it and held it out to her. “Wade’s calling you. Want me to tell him your hands are too paint-y right now?”
She laughed, shaking her head. The first thing he’d say is, Why didn’t you let me hire someone to paint the room for you? Generous man, that one.
“Hey.” She tried to keep the laugh out of her voice.
“Hi. You busy?”
She bit her lip, sliding a glance at Amber. She held a finger up to her lips and smiled. “Not too busy for you.”
Amber’s phone rang too, so she plopped onto the floor, laying on her back.
Wade’s voice pulled Priscilla back to him. “Take a walk with me tonight?”
Priscilla leaned into the sound of the soft yet husky voice she had fallen for—she loved everything about it. She would love nothing better than to walk with Wade tonight, but she couldn’t leave Amber alone. Not at night. She sneaked a look at the teen who laid on the floor, phone in her ear, a reminder of her own childhood.
Amber caught her attention. “Mom?”
Priscilla placed her hand over her phone. “Yes?”
“Gwynnie wants to know if I can help her with Sadie tonight. Can I? Please?” Gwynnie had relocated to the area and Priscilla could not have been happier to gain a new friend.
How perfect was this?
She nodded. “Of course. If you help me clean up this mess first.”
Amber cracked up. “Yeah, I will.”
Priscilla returned to her conversation with Wade. “A walk would be perfect.”
He chuckled. “What kind of mess do you ladies have to clean up?”
She glanced at her hands, evidence of a busy day on them. “Oh, you know, the usual.”
“Well, perhaps you will have to tell me tonight what ‘the usual’ entails.”
At twilight, after Gwynnie had picked up Amber, Wade showed up at her door wearing dark jeans and a baby blue shirt that outlined his muscular body. She pulled her gaze away, restraint becoming more and more difficult.
Wade assessed her with one long stroke of his gaze. She wore a lacy white cover-up over a red sundress and her waves loose and free. “You look ... perfect.”
He held out his hand and she took it. Together they made their way along the curvy path that led to the long sandy beach outside of her complex.
“Oh look at that sky!” She couldn’t temper her smile, nor did she care to. Swaths of pink and gold stretched for as long and wide as they could see.
Wade wrapped his arms around her as they watched the sun drop into the ocean, the colors of the sky melding together until darkness fell.
“Your hands are cold.” He turned her around gently, examining her hands finally. “Is that ... paint?”
She bit her bottom lip. “I got as much of it off as I could, but yes. It’s sea glass green, in case you were wondering.”
He quirked a look at her, his gaze quizzical. “Does this have something to do with the mess you and Amber had to clean up?”
Priscilla reached up and looped her hands around Wade’s neck. “Darling, she asked me if we could paint her room and I had no choice but to say yes.”
He nodded, grinning. “Uh-huh. You had no choice.”
She flashed him a smile. “You smell wonderful, by the way.”
“How come it feels like you are trying to deflect?”
“You are so suspicious!” Her arms were still looped around his neck. She dropped her head back, laughing.
He leaned his forehead against hers. “You are a mystery to me, you know that?”
She grinned and closed her eyes, their foreheads touching, a light breeze wrapping them. They swayed there together, the breeze carrying them until she opened her eyes and looked above them. She gasped.
“Look at all the stars!” She had never seen such a display—such brilliance in the sky. “There must be millions and millions of them!”
He followed her gaze, a flicker of a smile on his face. He returned his gaze to her. “Pricilla?”
“Yes, my love?”
He cinched her closer to him, his hands at her waist, warming her as the night cooled. “I want to spend the rest of my life solving the mystery of you. I love you.”
And there, beneath a billion stars, Wade Prince dropped to his knees in the sand. “Will you marry me, Cilla?”
With no haze in the sky whatsoever, Priscilla shouted, “Yes!”
“You knew about this?”
Priscilla wrapped her arms around Amber, hugging her close. After Wade proposed, they had walked the beach for a long while, dreaming together about their future. So many plans—new home, family, friends all around her now—her heart was full. They’d arrived back at her condo, an engagement party waiting for them.
“No. I didn’t find out about it until I was at Gwynnie’s.” She giggled. “Then we got to spy on you from inside the dunes.”
“Really? You were spying on us?”
“Yeah, and we kept telling Sa
die to shush.” Amber looked at Priscilla’s hands. “Good thing you got most of that paint off.”
Priscilla held out her left hand, showing off the ring Wade had given her. It sparkled, but more than that, its uniqueness reflected his thoughtfulness. She never wanted to take it off, not even for a minute.
“It’s one of the most beautiful rings I’ve ever seen,” Liddy said, joining them.
Gwynnie padded across the living room from the kitchen where she’d been refilling appetizers. “My brother couldn’t make up his mind! Until he did. And then there was no stopping him.”
Meg stepped over, giving Priscilla a side hug. “I was honored to be there, but honestly, he didn’t listen to me at all.”
“Typical!” Gwynnie said.
“Whoa. Whoa. Ladies, are you mocking me?” Wade’s glare was fake and they all knew it.
Meg winked. “We would never!”
Wade’s gaze connected with Priscilla’s and she shifted slightly, her hand still lingering on Amber’s back.
He held his hand out to the teen. “Amber, may I speak to you?”
The young girl looked at Priscilla and frowned. “Go on,” Priscilla whispered.
Wade took Amber’s hand and led her to the couch. The entire room went quiet—not an easy feat for this crew.
He pulled a box from his pocket and opened it for Amber to see. The ring shone brilliantly even indoors. Her frown gradually began to change, her expression questioning. “This is for you,” Wade said. “I love you, Amber, and can’t wait for us all to be a family.” He took the ring from the box. “May I?” Then he slid the delicate ring onto Amber’s finger.
Priscilla sat next to him now, smiling big. “We would like to adopt you, honey.”
Amber’s eyes widened, fat tears filling them. Sobs followed and she lunged forward with a cry, landing squarely between them, knocking both Wade and Priscilla over until all three of them were overtaken by peals of laughter.
The partygoers sent up a cheer, followed by tears and hugs and more laughter than Priscilla’s little condo had ever heard. Soon Amber was standing in the middle of them, showing off her ring to the oohs and aahs of the women in the room.
When no one appeared to be watching, Wade turned to Priscilla and kissed her hungrily.
A new kind of joy filled her, pouring over. “I always knew it,” she said.
He raised a brow. “Knew what?”
She took in every beautiful inch of his face, her hand reaching up to trace the edges that had softened over time. She smiled, a giddiness overtaking her. “That someday ... my Prince would come.”
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Dear Reader
Thank you so much for reading this fourth installment of the Sea Glass Inn series! This series started with Walking on Sea Glass (book 1), which is loosely based on a true story (mine). I had only planned to write that one book, but my readers asked for more and I couldn’t have been happier to keep writing.
Special shout-outs to Denise Harmer for editing help and Roseanna White for another gorgeous cover!
Big thanks to my husband, Dan, for inspiring this series, and our kids—Matt, Angie, Emma, and my parents, Dan and Elaine Navarro—for putting up with my angst while writing it.
Extra special thanks go to Emma for sharing your hairstyling expertise with me … and Priscilla :-).
If you enjoyed Beneath a Billion Stars, would you consider reviewing it at your favorite online retailer and/or Goodreads? Just a line or two would be so appreciated.
* * *
Thanks again,
Julie
Also by Julie Carobini
Pick up a free story for your e-reader here: www.juliecarobini.com/free-book/
Cottage Grove Mysteries
The Christmas Thief (book 1)
All Was Calm (book 2)
The Christmas Heist (book 3)
* * *
Sea Glass Inn Novels
Walking on Sea Glass (book 1)
Runaway Tide (book 2)
Windswept (book 3)
Beneath a Billion Stars (book 4)
* * *
Otter Bay Novels
* * *
Sweet Waters
* * *
A Shore Thing
* * *
Fade to Blue
The Otter Bay Novel Collection (books 1-3)
* * *
The Chocolate Series
Chocolate Beach (book 1)
* * *
Truffles by the Sea (book 2)
Mocha Sunrise (book 3)
The Chocolate Beach Collection (books 1-3)
About the Author
JULIE CAROBINI writes inspirational beach romances and cozy mysteries … with a twist. She is known for spunky heroines, charming heroes, quirky friends, and the secrets they keep. Her bestselling titles include Walking on Sea Glass, Runaway Tide, Windswept, the Otter Bay Novels, The Christmas Thief, and more. Julie has received awards for writing and editing from The National League of American Pen Women and ACFW, and she is a double finalist for the ACFW Carol Award. She lives by the beach in California with her husband, Dan, and loves traveling and hanging out with her three 20-something kids. Grab a free eBook here: www.juliecarobini.com/free-book