Take Me To The Beach

by K. L. Grayson, Karina Halle, A. L. Jackson, Marni Mann, Monica Murphy, Devney Perry, Kristen Proby, Rachel Van Dyken

  “No, but I’m ready to go.”

  We turn at Nina’s voice. She’s padding out, rubbing her still-swollen eyes. Rather than sitting in her own chair, she climbs onto my lap and buries her face in my neck.

  “Good morning, darling. Do you want some coffee?”

  “Yeah. This is good for now. When are we leaving?”

  “Whenever we want,” Christian replies. “I think Jenna’s still sleeping.”

  “Jenna went to get donuts,” she announces as she walks through the door. “I saw you guys out here having a heart to heart and didn’t want to intrude. So, I ran out for sweets.”

  She sets the box of baked goods on the table, opens it, and sinks her teeth into a glazed.

  “We’re all up now,” Nina says, leaning over for a donut of her own. “And after I’ve eaten all of these, we can go.”

  “You’re quite bossy, darling.”

  She grins. “I know.”

  Chapter 19

  ~Nina~

  “We don’t have enough space for everyone,” I say frantically as I bustle about the kitchen, putting together a charcuterie board full of cheese, veggies and meats, crackers, fruit. Snacks.

  I need to have plenty of snacks on hand.

  “Only Ellie and Callum are coming,” Sebastian says and steals a green olive.

  “No, not only Ellie and Callum. They bring a whole hoard of security with them, remember? Where is everyone going to sleep? I don’t have enough groceries. I don’t know—”

  “Whoa, calm down, love. Security will work things out with Liam. I told him to use your old place for overflow.”

  “Oh, right. Good thinking.”

  “Jenna said she’d stock the fridge over there, and here, so there’s plenty for everyone to snack on. You won’t tell me what’s happening tomorrow night, so I assume you have that under control.”

  “Under control,” I agree with a nod, not telling him anything else. He knows that his siblings are coming for his birthday, but I want some of it to be a surprise.

  “You’re worrying for nothing.” He swipes a piece of cheddar cheese. “This is delicious, darling. And pretty. How did you come up with it?”

  I stop and stare up at him. “Are you kidding?”

  “No, why?”

  “It’s a charcuterie board.”

  “A whosy what?”

  I laugh and replace the cheese and olive he just took. “It’s a meat and cheese tray on steroids. How do you not know this? Surely, they have this sort of thing in England.”

  “I don’t really pay attention,” he admits.

  “Well, this is all the rage in the States,” I tell him. “I have a whole Pinterest board dedicated to it. That’s how I discovered putting these pretty little peppers on it.”

  “What’s a Pinterest?”

  “It’s a place to find things.”

  He shakes his head. “If you say so.”

  “You’re playing with me. You know what all of this is.”

  “It’s fun to tease you, darling.” He glances over at Liam. “When do they arrive?”

  “They should be pulling into the driveway in two minutes.”

  “I haven’t made the boozy strawberry lemonade.”

  “I think it’s okay if the drink isn’t mixed yet when they arrive.”

  “I’m trying to make a good impression.” I stare up at him. “I’m a woman. This is my home. This is what we do when we have guests.”

  “Fascinating.” He yanks me to him and kisses me silly. Kisses me until I can’t remember my own name, much less how to pronounce charcuterie.

  “Are you trying to distract me?”

  “Absolutely.”

  He grins down at me. “It might have worked.”

  “Good.”

  Liam nods at Sebastian. “They’re here.”

  “They’re here!”

  I turn and run past Liam and Nick, past everyone so I can yank the door open in excitement.

  “Ma’am, you can’t—” Liam begins, but I cut him off.

  “Oh, yes I can.” I pull the door open and squeal. “You’re here!”

  “Oh my God, I just love it here,” Ellie says as she launches herself into my arms and gives me the biggest hug ever. I know, I don’t love to hug, but I love seeing my sister-in-law. “The view from the air is just spectacular. Those mountains!”

  “I know,” I say as she moves past me to greet her brother, and I turn to Callum, who’s grinning at me with the same smile as Sebastian’s. “I’m so happy to see you.”

  “Come here.” He snatches me up in a hard hug. “How are you, lovely?”

  “Never better.”

  And it’s true. I feel great. I’m in love. I have amazing homes in both Cunningham Falls and London.

  Life’s damn good.

  “Harrison.” I give the handsome friend of Sebastian’s a kiss on the cheek. “I’m so glad you came.”

  “Me, too. I’m excited to see the town that Sebastian’s been talking about for so long.”

  We follow the others into the kitchen where Ellie’s already attacked the charcuterie board.

  “This is gorgeous,” she gushes. “And so delicious. I’m peckish after that flight.”

  “Now, this view is something,” Callum says as he walks to the windows to look at the lake. “I’d like to take your boat out while I’m here, if you don’t mind.”

  “I don’t mind at all,” I assure him. “We have two now. Sebastian bought a little speedboat last week. Mine is a bigger ski boat.”

  “I’ll play with them both,” he says with a wink.

  “I want to go out on the lake, too,” Ellie chimes in.

  “You don’t swim well,” Sebastian reminds her.

  “Twenty-four,” she reminds him. “And old enough to make my own decisions. But thanks, big brother.”

  “Aww, look at that. Five minutes in, and you’re already having brother-sister spats.” I laugh and add more grapes to the charcuterie board. “I’ll show you around the house if you like.”

  “Yes, I want to see everything,” Ellie says, clapping her hands. “Show us.”

  I take them through the house, pointing out their guest rooms where their luggage has already been delivered. Then I show them the movie theater.

  “You even have a popcorn machine,” Ellie says. “And M&Ms.”

  “All you can eat,” I say with a nod. “We’ll have to watch a movie in here one evening. Or TV. We can get any of the streaming services in here, along with a library of movies.”

  “Brilliant,” Callum says.

  I take them to the gaming room, where there’s pool and ping-pong, and accordion doors that open to the outdoor patio. Steps lead down to the guest house, the boathouse, and the dock.

  “This place is just gorgeous,” Ellie says. She wraps her arm around my shoulders. “And you look happy.”

  “I am.”

  “I was sorry to hear about your mum,” Callum says.

  “Thank you.”

  Sebastian steps outside and claps his brother on the shoulder. “What should we do this evening?”

  “Aren’t you tired?” I ask. “The jet lag is awful. Maybe you want to nap?”

  “If we nap, the jet lag will be worse,” Ellie says. “Let’s just go upstairs and eat that amazing food, watch the water, and catch up.”

  “You’re my favorite sister,” Sebastian says, making her laugh. “That sounds perfect to me.”

  “It’ll give your security guys a chance to rest, as well,” I say with a nod. “Let’s take it easy tonight. We can take Cunningham Falls by storm tomorrow.”

  “So, tell me about Liam,” Ellie says later that evening as she and I sit on the patio, drinking boozy strawberry lemonade and watching as Callum, Harrison, and Sebastian have a look at the new speedboat. Liam is standing nearby, along with Callum’s guard.

  “He’s American,” I reply. “Nick knows him from the military.”

  I glance over at Nick, who’s sitting far
enough away to be out of immediate earshot. I like that he’s discreet, and he values my privacy.

  “He’s ridiculously hot,” Ellie says, still talking about Liam. “And he looks a little dangerous, too.”

  “I think he’s supposed to look that way.” Sebastian laughs at something Callum said, then looks up at the house, searching for me. When he sees us on the patio, he sends me a little wave.

  Of course, I blow him a kiss.

  “He loves you,” Ellie says with a sigh. “It’s written all over his ugly face.”

  “He’s not ugly.” My smile is smug. “He’s not ugly in the least.”

  “Don’t let him hear you say that. It’ll only give him a big head. Now, back to Liam.”

  “I don’t know anything else,” I say with a laugh. “If you have questions, go ask him.”

  “It’s frowned upon to fraternize with the staff.” She sighs.

  “But he’s not technically your staff,” I remind her. “And he doesn’t even work in London.”

  “That’s true.” She grins. “Well, aren’t you the clever one?”

  “Does this mean it’s over between you and Alistair?”

  “It was never really on between Alistair and me. I officially told him that I don’t want to see him anymore.”

  “How did that go over?”

  “He didn’t really care. I think he was as interested in me as I was in him. My mother, however, was not happy.”

  “I’m sure it wasn’t that bad.”

  “Trust me, she wasn’t happy. But I feel better. I don’t want to be with someone boring. I want to be with someone interesting. Exciting. Maybe a little dangerous.”

  “I think you should talk to Liam. Just a conversation.”

  “He’s with Sebastian 24/7.”

  “That doesn’t mean you can’t start up a conversation. And they’re not together all the time. Maybe see if you can catch him early in the morning or when Sebastian’s gone to bed for the evening. And, I must say, when we’re here in Montana, the guys are a lot more relaxed, especially when we’re at home. They monitor a lot of stuff from camera feeds and footage in the guest house.”

  “They don’t hover all the time?”

  “A lot, but not like in London or when we’re away from here. So, you’ll probably be able to catch Liam when he’s not with your brother.”

  She bites her lip, watching Liam and seeming to think it over. “I’ll see what happens. It’s so silly because there are times I have to stand in front of hundreds of thousands of people, and I don’t get nervous. But talking to an attractive man has me completely shy.”

  “It’s not silly, and not the same thing at all,” I assure her. “So, why don’t you know how to swim? I’m surprised.”

  “I never learned,” she says with a frown. “And when I was a teenager, we were at one of our summer homes that has a pond in the pasture. I went out to get my toes wet. It was hot, and I wanted to cool off.”

  “Sounds reasonable.”

  “Well, I ended up falling in and almost drowned. Sebastian saved me.”

  My eyes turn to my husband. He’s in the boat now, watching as Callum checks out the controls.

  “That’s scary.”

  “Yeah. So, since then, I just stay away from the water. But this lake is absolutely gorgeous, and there’s no harm in going out on the boat. I’m not going to be swimming, for goodness sake. I’m going to sit in the boat.”

  “Exactly,” I agree. “And we have life preservers to wear, of course, if it makes you feel safer.”

  “Brilliant.” She clinks her glass to mine. “Perhaps after the party, you and I will slip away and go on the lake.”

  “By ourselves?”

  She nods, sending me a sly grin.

  “Without them?”

  “You need to live a little, Nina.”

  “Happy birthday, dear Sebastian…

  Happy birthday to you!”

  I snap a photo with my phone as Sebastian blows out the candles on the beautiful cake Maisey made. It’s round, and the icing is made to look like marble with golden gilding.

  It’s certainly a cake made for a prince.

  I opted to have a smallish gathering here at home, with the same group of friends who came to the wedding. If we’d gone out to a restaurant, there would have been security concerns, and maybe even some press.

  This way, we can all relax and just enjoy each other. I had dinner catered by Ciao, the cake came from Cake Nation, of course, and Brooke even brought in huge gold and silver helium balloons.

  Sebastian seems pleased. He’s been all smiles, has kissed me several times, and said thank you at least three times.

  I’m relieved.

  Because what in the world are you supposed to do for a prince for his birthday?

  Jenna helps me cut the cake, and once it’s set out for everyone to enjoy, I walk out onto the deck to find Sebastian by himself, watching the water.

  “Bailed on your party already?”

  He turns to me, takes my hand, and gently pulls me to him for a hug.

  “I thought I’d just grab a breath of fresh air.”

  “Are you enjoying yourself?”

  “More than I can say.” He kisses my head. “Thank you for thinking of this.”

  “It’s just a small party with friends, but I thought you’d enjoy it.”

  “I am, and the fact that you thought to invite my family as well means a lot to me.”

  “They were excited to come. Your parents and Frederick all had previous engagements, but they sent presents with Ellie and Callum.”

  “I have everything I need.”

  “Hey, you can’t throw a party and then disappear,” Jenna says, poking her head out the door. “I think Willa and Max are going to leave soon.”

  We go back in and spend the next hour laughing and talking with our friends. They start to leave, one couple at a time, until all that’s left is the two of us and Harrison, Callum and Ellie.

  Actually, Ellie’s gone, too.

  While the guys chat in the living room, I go in search of my sister-in-law and find her downstairs on the patio, talking with Liam.

  “I came to Cunningham Falls in the summers…”

  I back away, not wanting to interrupt, and mentally give Ellie a high-five.

  Attagirl.

  “Where’d Callum go?” I ask when I get to the top of the stairs.

  “He went to make some phone calls,” Sebastian replies. “I finally have you all to myself.”

  “It’s still early. Are we so old that our friends go home before midnight?”

  “It seems so,” Sebastian replies as he wraps his arms around my waist from behind and kisses my neck. “Let’s make it an early night, too.”

  “I have something for you.”

  “This party was my gift.”

  “No, this party was a party.” I take his hand in mine and pull him through the house to our bedroom. Sitting on the bed is a big, white box, tied with a red bow.

  “Is that for me?”

  “Yep.” I pass it to him, and we sit on the sofa by the big windows that also look out to the lake. “Open it.”

  He sits for a moment, not moving. “You honestly didn’t have to get me anything.”

  “It’s your birthday,” I remind him. “And I’m already nervous enough. What in the hell does a person buy for a man who literally has everything?”

  He smiles and unties the ribbon, lifts the lid on the box, and then looks a bit confused.

  That’s okay, I would be, too.

  “You got me a photo album?”

  “Sort of.” I toss the box aside and open the cover of the album. “I got this idea the other day when we were still in California. You see, I know or have access to pretty much anything I could want to know about you. I just have to Google it or buy a book. You don’t have the same privilege.”

  My baby photo is the first thing he sees.

  “This book is me. I know we’re still
getting to know each other in a lot of ways, and I thought this would be a fun way for you to see some of my childhood, and what brought me to you.”

  There are school pictures. Me on a bike. My prom photo. All kinds of things.

  “This was my first job,” I say with a laugh. I’m dressed in a black and white uniform, serving burgers. Then it changes into me working for Christian. There’s a photo of Christian and me on the red carpet at the Oscars.

  And finally, we come to a selfie of Sebastian and me. And then the last photo is a candid from our wedding day.

  “It may seem silly, but I just thought—”

  “This is the best present anyone’s ever given me,” he says, looking through it all over again. “I love it. I’ll treasure it always.”

  “I’m glad.” I feel kind of silly that he’s staring at my senior photo that my mom had hanging in her bedroom. I took it out of the frame and put it in the album. “I had bad hair in high school.”

  “Didn’t we all, darling?”

  “Ha. That we did.” I lean my cheek on his biceps. “Happy Birthday, Sebastian. I love you.”

  “I love you, too.”

  Chapter 20

  ~Nina~

  The party last night was a hit.

  Ellie, Callum and Harrison are having a good time.

  And today has been a lazy one around the house. I think the past couple of days caught up with everyone with the travel and the party last night, so I haven’t seen anyone today. Which is fine. A quiet day is nice now and then.

  I spent the morning brainstorming a few job ideas for myself watering flowers around the property. Now that things are calming down, it’s time I get to work. I enjoy working, and being a princess doesn’t change that. Now, I can choose to work in areas I’m passionate about, and maybe make a difference somehow.

  I’m sitting on the deck, curled up with a good book and a fresh cup of coffee. The weather is still beautiful, not a cloud in the sky, but autumn has taken hold. You can just feel the first nip of fall in the air.

  Soon, it’ll be time to put the boats away for winter, and I’m sure we’ll head back to London. So, for today, I’m just going to sit here and enjoy my view of the lake.