Page 107 of Surfside Sisters

Brittany waved her arms and wriggled in her high chair.

“We should go outside,” Isabelle told her daughter. “Time to head to the swings!” Wiping banana from Brittany’s hands, she lifted her onto her hip.

Keely followed Isabelle and her daughter outside and down the stairs.

“Thanks for coming over,” Isabelle said. Reaching out, she enclosed Keely in a warm hug. “You’ve been really great about this.” Standing back, she looked Keely in the eye and said, “And I want to see you a lot, even if Sally doesn’t take my book.”

Maybe, Keely thought as she drove home, just maybe Sally would like the novel. Maybe that would make Isabelle’s parents like Keely again. Maybe the day would come when she would sit at their dining room table again, next to Sebastian.

—

Over the next few days, Eloise told Keely that Al was improving slowly but steadily. Sebastian and Isabelle were optimistic now that Eloise was in charge and could point out the small signs of recovery or discomfort. Donna Maxwell regretfully postponed her cruise until the next fall.

Keely stayed with a schedule as comforting for her as she hoped Mr. Maxwell’s was for him. She went for a run early in the morning when it was still cool. Returning home, her mind was so amped up with ideas, she didn’t bother to shower but wrote furiously for hours. Then she showered, ate a late lunch, enjoyed good phone chats with Isabelle and Sebastian, and went back to work in the afternoon. She bought groceries and cooked meals for herself and her mother.

And she spent the evenings and nights with Sebastian.

—

Keely and Sebastian lay side by side on his bed, propped up on pillows, watching the Red Sox. They’d just had a deliriously long session of lovemaking, and they were drinking Whale’s Tale Pale Ale and eating sandwiches they’d hurriedly slapped together before the game started.

We’re like an old married couple, eating in bed,Keely thought.

“We must look like an old married couple,” Sebastian said.

Keely laughed. “Exactly what I was thinking.”

To her surprise, Sebastian hit the remote and the television went blank.

“So we should be an old married couple. The sooner the better.”

Keely was speechless.

“I know this isn’t very romantic. I know I should get down on my knee and propose…”

Keely grinned. “Yeah, you should. Right now. While you’re naked.”

Sebastian threw the covers back, walked around to Keely’s side of the bed, kneeled and held out his hand.

“Keely Green, will you marry me?”

Keely tried not to laugh at the sight of Sebastian kneeling naked before her. “I’d love to marry you, Sebastian Maxwell.”

Sebastian stood up. He opened the drawer of the bedside table and took out a black velvet box. Inside was an antique ring, a ruby surrounded by diamonds.

“Oh, Sebastian. It’s beautiful.”

“It was my grandmother’s. My mother gave it to me last night.”

“Your mother gave it to you? She knows you want to marry me?”

“Why are you so surprised?”

“Because your mother hates me, or at least resents me, for getting a novel published when Isabelle hasn’t.”

Sebastian nodded. “Mom might resent you for Isabelle, but she loves you for me. Here. Try it on.”

Sebastian slid it onto Keely’s ring finger. The ruby glowed deeply. The diamonds sparkled.

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